11+ Months (March 1st)

I saw my doc today for the first time in 180 days (due to pre-existing condition clause with my insurance).  He said the burning pain I get in the back of my ankle is most likely caused by the screws and wants to remove them.  Since my achilles continues to swell and be painful, he has ordered an MRI next week to make sure it is not deteriorating.  If it looks okay, he will extend the incision up to my achilles to clean out any fragments etc.  Since I have also been having pain on the lateral side of my foot where he cut the heel, he would like to go in and shave some of the bone down as well.  Since I had so much trouble controlling the pain in my foot after the last surgery, he would like to do this surgery in the hospital and plan on me staying until the nerve block wears off to make sure we can control the pain.  I'm nervous as I really do not want to go through the same experience as last year.  I'm also very hopeful that the MRI is negative as that could add a whole new complication.  

Oh yeah, insurance will only cover 80%.  I can't imagine what two days in the hospital is going to cost me.

10.5 Months (February 15)

Here are some pics of what is happening with my achilles.  Today I took my mother to the doctors office, walked a total of 4 city blocks, and the rest of the time was sitting.  I was probably on my feet for 25 minutes total.

The first picture shows the difference between both ankles.

This second photo shows the left foot only.  The bottom circle is where the screws are for the oseotomy.  The middle circle is where I'm getting the burning pain.  The top circle is my achilles.

For comparison, here is my good foot.

10.5 Months (February 13)

It's been nearly a year since I had my surgery.  I recall very clearly that the doc said I should be just about back to normal within 12 months.  As normal is a relative term, let me put this in perspective.  Before I injured my ankle, I never had any problems (aka normal).  After the injury and before the surgery, I had swelling and discomfort.  Sometimes it was miserable but most of the time I could deal.  Now that I am nearly a year post surgery, I can't run, the slightest bit of exercise results in my achilles swelling and the back of my foot feeling like it's on fire every time I move, I have developed some serious popping, and my ankle feels very unstable and loose.  Maybe I'll get lucky and my ankle will return to normal in the next 45 days.  I won't hold my breath.
 

9+ Months (January 2)

I posted the below response to someone on the Healthboards forum that asked for an update.  Don't think there is anything in it that I haven't posted here before.


I would say my foot is about 70%.  I get random pain but it is pretty light most of the time.  I'm beginning to get more sensation along the lateral side of my foot.  When I first get up to move, it is very stiff and I still get burning at the back of my heel and the lateral side where the incision for the osteotomy is.  The bottom of my foot is still sensitive if I'm walking on an uneven surface, especially if I step on something.  Long walks (over an hour) result in stiffness and additional pain for about a day.  Long trips in the car also aggravate it for the rest of the day.  I went bowling over the holiday and was very sore the next day.  One thing that is very random is that I had to go up a full shoe size.  Now I need a 13 for my surgically repaired foot and a 12 for my non-repaired foot.  Makes things a bit challenging.

8+ Months (December 3rd)

Still trying to figure out what makes the back of my ankle where the achilles attaches hurt so much.  Pressing on it does cause a decent amount of pain but it is nothing compared to how it feels trying to walk after.  I applied pressure to different parts of the area with my finger for about 3 minutes (total).  Within an hour, I could barely walk.

Here are some pics of how my ankle and calf look 8 months after the surgery.  In the pictures of my calf, I was flexing to show the indent.  In the pic of my ankle with the arrow, I'm pointing out where something in my ankle is protruding.  It is most obvious when I'm pointing my foot down.

 

8+ Months (November 30th)

It has been a while since my last update.  Not too much has changed.

1.  I am able to go up on my toes using just my surgically repaired foot now.  It's up and down very quickly but still progress.  However, this type of engagement of my calf muscle results in swelling and tenderness where my achilles attaches to my ankle.  It will then be very painful and stiff for me to move around until the next day.

2.  The left side (lateral) is still partially numb as well as the ankle.

3.  I have had to go up 1 shoe size.  I have worn size 12 shoes since I was 18 and now have to wear a 13.  Doesn't make it easy since my non-surgical foot is still a 12.

4.  The ends of 2nd and 3rd toes are very sensitive and painful when walking barefoot on a hard surface.

5.  My ankle continues to discolor after extended periods of engagement (i.e. mowing the lawn).

6.  If I point my toes down and rub my fingers along my ankle, I can feel something sticking out where my doctor fixed the ligaments.  I'm assuming it is some of the wire he used.

7.  99% of the time, when I get up after sitting at the desk or watching tv, my ankle is stiff and sore to start out.

8.  A full day at the office still results in swelling.

9.  Still occasionally need to take pain meds.

I'll take pics of my ankle and calf shortly and upload them.  Still have a nice dent in my calf where the doc cut the fascia.

6 Months (September 26)

It's been over 6 months since my surgery.

Here's all the bad:

I continue to have terrible stiffness in my ankle when I first get up to move around.  Part of my foot (lateral side from heel to half way down foot) is numb or has very little feeling.  The rest of my foot is still very sensitive and stepping on a grain of sand still feels like a needle.  A walk for over an hour results in very sore toes and horrible burning in my plantar fascia.  An 8 hour workday also results in swelling of my foot.  Lastly, the burning pain on the lateral side of my heel and in my achilles has not gone away.  It still happens randomly and is miserable.

Here's the good:

I can almost go up on my toes using just my bad foot/ankle.  I can fly across country with a compression sock and have minimal swelling (only around my toes).  The bottom of my foot is slowly becoming less sensitive.

Still believe the osteotomy was not necessary and only served as a $ maker for my surgeon.  Sure, my foot is now "perfectly" aligned but at what cost?  A surgeon needs to take more into account than just the perfect alignment - age, stage in life, etc.  Perhaps the surgery could have been justified if I was rolling my ankle every month or 18 years old with a very active future ahead of me.

I'm obviously still bitter.