X-Ray Update

Here are my most recent x-rays. My doctor was happy with what he saw. 

With 25 days to go till we are off to our Disney Vacation I am hoping that my graft starts to take. 

I have noticed a decrease in my pain level even though I still have daily pain =/

Three Weeks Post My Third Surgery

Hi Everyone,

Its about three weeks post my third surgery and my pain level feels like it has not changed in the past week. My doctor downgraded me from oxy to Vicodin and the Vicodin only takes a little bit of the pain away. 

On a good note I'm down to one crutch and I don't have to use my boot unless I'm heading out into the real world. 

-Kat

First X-Rays Post Surgery Number Three

X-Ray: Side View

X-Ray: Front View

Today I went to the doctor's office today to get a set of x-rays, stitches out and to see how everything is healing up.

My doctor says everything looks great and x-rays are exactly what he wanted to see.  He said that the tibia is definitely more compressed which is exactly what he wanted. Sorry for the quality of the pictures of the x-rays. The side view you can see the bone graft. The bone graft is the clump of bone chips on the bottom left. The front view you can see the osteotomy, which is the cut in the fibula.

Check out where my stitches were, they look pretty good. =)

Osteotomy and Bone Graft Site

Bone Graft Retrieval Site

Post Surgical Pain

It has been twelve days post surgery and I have been dealing with this numb burning pain, throbbing and some random sharp pains. After doing some research it seems like it is nerve damage from the surgery and will go away over time. 

I'm going to talk to the doctor about it tomorrow, hopefully that's what he says and he can give me something to help with the pain. 

1 Week Post Surgery

Today marks one week post surgery and I am feeling better. Pain is staying on the lower end of the spectrum.

Here's a little about the surgery. For the bone graft they took about two tablespoons of bone and marrow from my hip. This got placed in the back of my tibia. An osteotomy was performed on my fibula, they cut about one centimeter, and the portion that was cut out was placed in the front of my tibia similarly to the graft. 

Luckily I'm not in a cast or a backslab, I'm in an aircast instead, which is wayyyyy better!

I've been so tired lately and I'm started to feel tired again so until next time. 

-Kat

Sorry I've Been Away! Here's An Update!

Soooo it's been awhile world.

I have learned I now need a third surgery, osteotomy and bone graft.
My surgery will be this coming August 21st.

grrrr.

Week 18 & 19: Birthday & Hardware Removal Surgery

Week 18:  Birthday
I had such an amazing birthday and last celebration before my surgery. So many of our friends came to visit to celebrate with Alan and I. =)

Week 19: Hardware Removal Surgery
So its finally over and I had the screws removed from my tibia this past Thursday. Below you will see the screws they removed from my leg and some penny's for size reference, those weren't in my leg lol. The pain in my leg isn't too bad. Mostly a constant ache and sometimes sharp pain at the screw sites. 
I have started to walk with two crutches again. When I walk I feel a deep ache and pain at my fracture site and at my knee by where my screws were removed.
Today I get to shower and I can't wait! Its the small things I am looking forward to again. Hopefully in two weeks time I'll be back walking again. 

19 weeks down

Week 17: Bad News

So yesterday I went to my OS and after he examined my leg and x-rays he told me that he wants me to get the screws removed from my IM rod to dymatize the fracture.
This totally came out of left field since every time I went to see him he said that it was normal that we didn't see much bone growth on my tibia since it was an open fracture and they had to irrigate the wound. Now three months have past and the x-ray of my tibia looks like it hasn't changed. 

Anyway, I was able to avoid my birthday as my surgery date, March 27, so now I'm scheduled for April 3rd. 

I'm just really frustrated because I thought I was doing really well, guess not. 

GRRR

Week 16: Me & My FitBit

So I've had a FitBit for a couple of weeks now and I am using it to help me track my steps, activity level, sleep, food and water intake. I love it I even hit a personal best of 7,770 steps last Friday. My average is 1,500 steps a day I am working on doing between 2,000-3,000 a day. 

I do have pain in my ankle after walking for more then 15 minutes. The more I walk the more I notice that I sometimes I have pain at my fracture site.

Everyday I am trying to walk more and swim more.

15 Weeks Down.

Week 15: Just Keep Swiming

Today I swam for about 30 minutes today and it felt amazing! I did feel some pain in my knee but overall it felt really good. I'm super sore now but I'm guessing that is from not working out for three months.

Either way I'm happy!

14 Weeks Down!

Week 14: Fibula is Almost Healed!

YAYAYAYAYYAYAY!

I just got back from the doctors and my Fibula is almost completely healed! My tibia is healing a lot slower but my doctor said that is normal because it was an open fracture. 
No big deal, I'll take it. Check out the before and after:

Before

After

Week 12&13: Walking With A Limp

It has been 12 weeks since I broke my leg and I can now walk without my boot and crutches! I have a pretty bad limp and ankle seems like its collapsing in =/
My leg still seems more swollen at the ankle and foot. 

It has snowed twice this week and we are expecting another snow storm tomorrow. Which is making my leg hurt and ache like crazy. I'm hoping that as my leg heals it will hurt less and less with the storms and changing seasons. 

My PT sessions are down to once a week but I still go  there every other day to workout on the stationary bikes.

My next doctor appointment is next week, I'm hoping that my x-rays show actual bridging and that my pain is less.

12 weeks down. 

Week 11: Holy Snow, New England!

All week we've been seeing some serious snow. Monday we had snow, today we have a shit ton of snow and this weekend we are expecting even more snow. -_- 
So yea its been snowing A LOT. I know that we're not alone and a lot of people all over the country are battling this storm, I feel your pain. 

But, I have AMAZING NEWS! Monday this week I had PT and practiced walking unaided and I was able to do it! So now at home I don't use my crutch or boot. The only time I pick up my crutch is at the end of the night because I'm tired and my ankle hurts or because I'm heading outside. I'm still uncomfortable to head outside right now without my boot and crutch because of the snow and ice but as soon as it's all gone so it my boot and crutch.


I'm not sure if you can see it in the picture but my scars around my knee and the bruise around wound are starting to go down a bit. The scars from the screw insertion seem the same though.

Also, thanks to PT and some exercises I do at home like the one with the band in the picture I believe the atrophy of the muscles in my left leg have stopped and I am now even building back some muscle.


I feel amazing. I know that I still have about four more months until I am potentially fully recovered but in almost three I have come a long way. I mean I cannot believe that I am full weight bearing without my boot and crutch already. Part of me thought this day would never come. 

11 weeks down. 

Week 10: Time To Get Rid Of The Boot And Walk!

This past Monday, Jan 27 I had another follow-up appointment with my doctor and was told that I have increased calcification at my fraction site. There wasn't a lot of bone growth but the callous was more prominent this time.

My doctor has now cleared me to work on getting rid of my boot and my last crutch! When I heard the news I was ecstatic. For now I will only be wearing my boot when I'm outside my house. I'm still using my crutch but when I'm in the kitchen I can take little steps unaided. 

My goal is to be walking unaided in about three weeks. I'm hoping that with the aid of my physical therapy I'll be able to walk around Boston again. 

10 Weeks Down. 

Week 9: One Crutch Down, One To Go.

For the past few weeks I have been struggling with getting rid of my second crutch. I  was using only one crutch at home but then would automatically switch to two crutches if I had to leave the house. This week I've finally done it. I feel comfortable enough and strong enough to kick the second crutch for good. YAY!

Today I had physical therapy and was able to lift 4lb ankle weight during my exercises, woot! That is such a huge accomplishment for me especially since the first week where I could barely lift 1lb. 

As for problems, most of them now come from aching at my ankle and screws at the ankle area. I notice this mostly if I've been walking a lot like if I'm out with my fiancee grocery shopping. I'm hoping over time it won't be so achy. My second problem stems from having my knee bent for too long. I noticed that if I didn't straighten my leg every ten minutes that my knee would become very tight and is then painful to straighten. UGH. My last problem are the scars from surgery. Sometimes I have this deep itchy/ stinging sensation that nothing can remedy. After some Googling I learned that the feeling comes from nerves trying to repair themselves and you aren't suppose to scratch yourself. IT IS SO HARD! The only thing that stops me from scratching them is that they are so sensitive that even touching them makes me squirm. So I lotion, ice and try to ignore the itch.

This coming Monday, Jan 27, is my next doctor appointment. Hopefully he has some solutions for the itch and I get good news from him once I get another round of x-rays done too. Can't wait!

9 Weeks Down!

Week 8: The Road To Recovery Is A Long One

 Everyday I am noticing improvements in my mobility and strength, which is great after being unable to do basic things like showers on my own. 

My left leg is significantly smaller then my right leg, especially my calf. But I'm really pleased with my range of motion. Since my last appointment with my doctor two weeks ago I feel that I can bend my knee and flex my ankle way more. Walking with one crutch has become a little easier and I think that is all thanks to the Physical Therapy I've been doing the past two weeks. If it weren't for the strength I've been getting back I don't think I'd be able to let go of that second crutch. 

I've still been feeling some pain at my fracture site as well as aching in my ankle and some sharp pain in my knee, but overall I am feeling leaps and bounds better from day one post surgery. 

I am now even more determined to build up my strength and heal up with my fiancee's family reunion at Disney nine month away.  Hopefully I get good news when I go to the doctors in two weeks. 

8 weeks down.

Week 7: Physical Therapy Begins and I'm Back To Work, Kinda

Therapy Time

Electrotherapy Machine

I started my first round of physical therapy this week. My first session was this past Monday and my next one is today. During my first session my therapist only worked on soft tissue and gave me exercises to do at home. I am really exciting to start working on building muscles back up again. The first thing we did after filling out all the appropriate paperwork was this electrotherapy and ice pack around my calf as well heating pad on my knee. 

After 18 minutes of electrotherapy I got a calf massage and worked on some strengthening exercises then off to home I went. My knee was super sore from the work out but overall I felt really good.

So I'm kinda back to work, starting with just two days a week for about 4 hours. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be it was just really cold with this Winter Vortex thingy the whole country is stuck in. Check out how I stayed warm.


7 weeks down.

It's Really Cold Outside - How To Stay Warm With A Walking Boot

So I know that it's cold everywhere here in the US but after being mostly indoors for the past seven weeks the outdoors seems that much more chilly. So when I was cleared to go back to work the first thing I thought was how will I keep my toes warm. Even with a sock on they are pretty exposed since the boot doesn't cover them. 
After going through my sock drawer I found my rain boot's fleece liners.

So I slipped them on over my socks and leggings to provide extra protection and warmth for the toes on my bad leg. It helped a lot and it doesn't look too shabby if I do say so myself =) Thanks to my Uggs and my fleece rain boot liners I was able to stay warm through this crazy Winter Vortex. 

Showering With A Cast

I was lucky enough to only be in my cast for only a week, but the tips and tricks I learned in the first week still help me to this day since I still can't stand in the shower. 

1. Staging - make sure you have everything you will need near you once you are done with your shower: towels, clothes, etc. 
2. Set Up  - It helps to have someone help you place a stool or chair that won't get damaged by water in your tub/shower. If you have a tub I found it easier to get into the tub if I had another stool the same height right outside. 
3. Covering the Cast - I didn't know how long I was going to be in a cast so I didn't buy a shower cast cover. Instead I used a plastic shopping bag and covered the foot part of my cast with a small towel under my heel. Then I used a trash bag and moving tape to cover my whole cast, using the tape to make sure to seal up anywhere water may drip into. 
4. Migrating to the Shower - First I would sit on my stool outside my tub to undress. Once I was ready I would sit on the side of my tub and place my legs inside the tub. Then I would use my arms to get me onto the stool inside my tub. 
5. Shower Time - I would wash my hair, scrub my body and be done in 15 minutes because showers are pretty uncomfortable. Then I would repeat how I got into the shower to get out and would rest on the stool outside my tub while I got dried off.
6. Remove the Bags - I would remove the plastic bags once I was dried off and voila clean as a whistle. 
7. Dress & Relax