Compartment Surgery Recovery - Elliptical Baby Steps

Got on the elliptical today and felt no pain - Granted, it was only for 5 minutes, as the physical therapists say it's important to take it slow and not aggravate things.  It was a baby step, but a significant one.  Tomorrow or Wednesday I'll ramp it up to 7, and hopefully in about a week I'll begin light jogging.

Some Good Signs

Biked on Friday for 10 minutes - No issues, but still haven't ramped it up yet - Either way, it's progress.... Start Elliptical in a week, and running in two...I'll keep everyone posted

Some Encouraging News - Recovery from Surgery Seems to be Back on Track

Good News! Swelling in my right foot went down dramatically over the course of yesterday (Day 11), and like magic, my right leg's ability to carry out normal walking functions vastly improved. It is still not quite up to the left leg's recovery yet, but hopefully it will continue to catch up. Also, although it might be wishful thinking, tt seems as if I am regaining some feeling in the 4 square inch swath of leg that has been lacking any sensation for the past 4-5 days.

Also, a little comically, I tried to take an actual shower 2 days ago for the first time (rather than just washing my hair in the sink - yeah, do the math, it means I didn't really wash my body for 11 days - It was an experience). I was warned not to get the incisions wet and was told garbage bags could provide the necessary protection - MAJOR MISTAKE- By the end of the shower, both legs were pretty soaked, and since I kept my ace bandages on during the shower, the incisions were to a certain extent being continually kept in water. Since it was already day 11, I hope it wasn't to damaging (and it was also a pretty quick shower), but a word of advice - If, unlike me, you need to actually be a real person during the initial 10 days of your recovery, and thus actually shower, I would recommend investing in something like this - It seems a tad expensive, and I'm sure if you look around you could find something cheaper - But really, it's not worth putting your recovery in jeopardy by screwing with your incisions, so be careful.

My first post-op appointment with the surgeon is tomorrow, and I am hoping he will tell me I can begin physical therapy - We'll see how it goes....

Recovery Days 5-7 - Post-op fasciotomy - Surgery Fights Back with Swelling and Numbness

While days 1-4 went relatively peachy, 5-7 encountered myriad issues that warranted a couple calls to my surgeon's office in order to find out what constituted "normal". Moral of the story was, unless something is really fucked up, it's probably within normal variations of recovery.

The first problem arose the night of day 5. On day 4, I had accidentally knocked the inside of my right lower shin/ankle pretty hard, sending a strange sensation up my leg. I thought nothing of it, however, until numbness came on in the exact spot about 24 hours later. The numbness basically encompassed the upper half of my ankle bone, extending for a swath of about three square inches upward until one of my incisions. I knew numbness was one of the side effects of surgery, but I was under the impression that if numbness had happened, I would know right away post-surgery. This numbness, however, had taken me by surprise 5 days down the road. Worried, I called the office and spoke to a fellow. She explained that while it is somewhat unusual for the numbness to come on five days after, it's not unheard of and not too worrisome. If the numbness was actually caused by the hit to my ankle I sustained, feeling in that area could come back rather quickly, but if it had nothing to do with it and was a natural outcome of the surgery, sensation in the area could take anywhere from 4 months to a year to fully be restored. What was reassuring, however, was the doctor's assurance that the numbness in that area does not hinder recovery at all, and the numbness that doctor's worry about pertains to the foot, which thankfully so far, I do not have.

Days 6 and 7, however, brought a new challenge - moderate swelling in my right foot. Along with the numbness that I also experienced in the right lower leg, it was also apparent that my two legs were simply not recovering at the same rate, which I also found worrisome. The pain in the calf (which is what hinders one from doing strong heel to toe strikes) was strongly persisting in the right leg while quickly waning in the left. Cue another call to the fellow at the surgeon's office. She explained that the swelling in the foot is the most common and very expected, as it is the primary weight bearer, and that a combination of icing, elevation, and compression stockings would help alleviate the symptoms. And in terms of one leg recovering faster than the other, she added that it is the most common complaint from patients, and is simply natural - eventually they will catch up to each other.

I also had one more overall complaint for the doctor - It almost felt as I had regressed from Days 1-5, and I was not as comfortable on my feet nor proficient at ankle pumps as I had been earlier. Once again, the fellow dexterously assuaged all my doubts by saying that as patients feel more comfortable on their feet, they probably push their limits too far, causing the legs to stiffen up temporarily and recover.

So, what's the conclusion? First of all, that this fellow I spoke to should definitely be employed in some sort of suicide prevention program. I could have called in saying both my legs had fallen off, and she probably would have found a way to calm me down and make me feel that it was a normal process of recovery post-surgery. In all seriousness though, it made me realize that post-op recovery is not going to be a linear progression, and I need to be emotionally and physically prepared for the ups and downs that are coming. I just hope that at the end, I'll be back to where I want to be....

Days 1-4 post-op fasciotomy - Recovery Begins

For the first 4 days, everything was going alright. I was slowly able to progress from barely being able to lift my feet off the ground to being able to do some nice heel to toe strikes. On day 3, I was told that I was allowed to switch from the four-point crutch gait to the two point, which allowed for much greater mobility. Whenever I was laying down, (which I probably was 90 percent of the day), I would have my feet steeply elevated and be icing. After my second night sleeping on the first floor, I moved up to the second, and while a flight of stairs is certainly not easy, there wasn't any major problems or pain from doing it.

Starting on Day 3 -Three times a day, for about 5 minutes, I alternatively lift both legs in the air and do a couple sets of twenty ankle pumps, but quite lightly, as I was told it is important not to push anything, as the body is recuperating. By day 4, I was moving around the house without crutches, and even was able to drive to the post office to mail something. The doctor said that on walks that are longer than those one would typically take around the house, crutches should be used until day 7-8.

In terms of physical therapy, my surgeon told to me that under no circumstances should I begin any kind of PT before my post-op appointment on April 12th.
So far, no swelling or numbness to report, and I keep ace bandages on both legs tightly wrapped - Step by step, my recovery is taking shape.....