After eight weeks, the cast is off. I am still tethered to my crutches. I now wear a huge black boot. It protects my foot from most bumps. I can lean my weight on my heel, much like I did with my casts but I can not put my body weight on my foot. No walking for at least another month.
The foot is ugly. Still very swollen. I do a stimulation treatment everyday. It sends little shocks to the bone in my foot, meant to stimulate the bones to heal. I used to do it through a cap built in my casts. Now I take the boot off and have a portable cap I strap on my foot to hold the device that does the stimulating. I thought this was going to be so great. Wrong! I got the boot off, did the treatment and rested my bare foot on the couch for a while. Then I thought I had better get the boot on in case I needed to get up for something. That is when the trouble started.
I couldn't get the boot on. My foot was so swollen it hurt to pull hard on the boot. The guy who fitted me with the boot, put air into a valve on the side of the boot to inflate the heel area in the boot. He then gave me this "simple" little thing so I could remove or add air as I needed for comfort. I tried to remove air as I thought I would have more room to get my foot in. Wouldn't work. I tried everything. Nothing worked. I got very frustrated and upset. I swore. That didn't work. By this time Bob got into the picture. He said I was doing everything wrong and to give him the tool and the boot. I did. (If the darn thing hadn't been so big and heavy, I would have thrown it at him.) He worked and messed with it for quite a while. He swore. That didn't work. Couldn't get air in or out. He gave the darn thing back. ( I wanted to tell him, "I told you so" but I kept my mouth shut.)
Our solution. I sat on the couch. Bob stood in front of me holding the boot and toe flap. I forced my foot it. Painful. Very. The metal parts on the side of the boot cut into my swollen ankle and into the side of my foot. Everything throbbed when we were done.
I took two aspirin, went to sleep and didn't wake up until three this morning. Which is where I am right now. Today I will take the boot off while I shower and wash my foot and leg real good. There are still tape strips across all of the incisions that I will have to work off with soap and water. And dead skin. Nasty.
Then I will do a treatment. Then I will put on a pair of jeans!!!!! Then we will repeat the process I described above.
8 comments:
I'm pretty sure the swearing thing is only good to make you feel better - it doesn't actually fix things that are broken.
I oughtta' know...
Amen
Yeah, jeans! Hope you figure the boot out, though, cause you shouldn't have to hurt like that all the time.
Colleen, why are you posting at 6:47 AM? Are you addicted to the internet?
I used to work with a guy who had a favorite expression for when things dont work like we were told they would. His expression? What it is, is it aint worth a s--t!!!!
That pretty much describes the darn boot.
Old Irish
Good one dad!
-Kellie
My big ugly black boot I had to wear last Feb when I broke my ankle was so much easier to use. Or at least it sounds like it... (That was not said to make you more upset)It had a little button on the front to inflate (so as not to feel the bumps when I knocked into things or kids jumped on me)
and then it just had a simple little dial type valve to release the air.
WHAT IN THE WORLD DID THEY GIVE YOU?!?!?!?!? Take it back and demand one like I described. That stinks you have to go through that everyday!!!
But, oh a shower and jeans......I soooooooo remember being glad that day came!!!!
Good luck!!
I don't often scroll down the side bars - I forgot for a moment whose blog I was on and started going to the bottom to get somewhere else. hmmm...Colleen....???
but cute cute cute cute cute picture of your Carley angel!!!
Their birthday is coming up so soon.
Bobbie, they do make orthopedic boots with velcro for old people like us. I know I had to wear one back in 1993. Janet once had a knee brace that had to be pumped up to tighten, it never worked very well either. Just hang in there, it will be over soon. Jerry
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