Friday December 27th we set out for my first PT appointment. I was so happy to set foot back in the clinic I spent so much of my time and energy in. Even though I wasn't there to "work", I was there to work. It was great to see all the faces of my co-workers. Everyone was happy and laughing.
My exam with Jordan went well. Even though my incision and the (once bruise that is now a scab) wound on my medial malleoli were still not completely healed over, they were looking better every day. He did some mild stretching and soft tissue massage and told me to do a few things at home as well. I left my first appointment feeling really good and my ankle felt amazingly well after it's first "torture". :)
At home I continued to work on doing more exercises to keep my strength up in the rest of my body. Some days it was easy and others I felt wiped out. We would occasionally go places and I loved getting out of the house. I now have a knee walker, which I got about a week after surgery. That thing has been my saving grace. It is amazing how much easier it is to get around with it versus any other assistive devices. I especially love going into big stores where I can roll like the wind down the isles and do laps. Great exercise when you have been laying down day after day.
My next PT appointment was on Monday December 30th and Jordan got a bit more aggressive with the stretching and soft tissue massage today, but it still felt good and was not to painful...yet.
Still have my good days and bad days. The electric shocks are mild or strong, but never seem to go away. The boot is always uncomfortable and continues to rub in spots that send the shockwaves into overdrive. I cut up an old memory foam pad last week to put cushion in spots to take the load off of the tender spots and it has helped.
Unfortunately, New Years Eve day was one of my bad days. We stayed home that night and even though I was up at midnight, I fell asleep several times before that hour. Donavan woke me up several times and ended up being mad at me that he had to stay home without a party for the first time in many many years. I didn't care, I had other things to worry about than a New Years Eve party.
My next PT appointment was Thursday January 2nd. He measured my ROM and it was actually worse today than it was on my first day. He was a bit more aggressive with the scar massage and I was a lot more tender. Although my scabs on my incision and ankle bone were shrinking, there was a bit of the infection kind of redness and some oozing in a couple places when he was working on the anterior tibial tendon scar massage. This sign of infection spiked both Jordan and my concern.
After my PT appointment I called my doctor's office and left a message about the infection. The PA called me back after a short time and called in an antibiotic to my pharmacy for me to take right away. I have been taking my temperature and so far it has not gotten to far away from my normal 97.2, but this extremely cold weather is probably helping to keep me cool. I am taking the antibiotic religiously and have now covered the wounds with gauze pads to keep the dry and protected, as well as keeping the boot on as much as possible.
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