Week 1

Week 1

I have replaced walking with painkillers and peanut butter.  The extra lard consumption should pair nicely with my atrophying muscles. My foot is still extremely uncomfortable, and the residual tenderness from surgery and being stuffed in the boot lasts all week. It feels weak and sad. I also have extreme numbness in ALL of my toes. I can feel the tips of them, but if I touch the top of them- I feel nothing at all.

Not being able to work absolutely sucks, but I'm extremely lucky to be self-employed with no major commitments. I can afford to be completely still and just WAIT it out, as mind-numbingly boring as it is. To be honest though, I would tell any job/school/whatever to politely eff-off anyway. Nothing is worth compromising a successful recovery!

I have to take my painkillers every 4 hours, even in the middle of the night. I can't get through the night without waking up in searing pain anytime my foot flexes in my active dream state. I want to stay in dreamland until this is all over but I continue to be interrupted by Mr. Toe, demanding midnight snacks of opiates and orange juice.

Sleeping flat on my back is the only option, and I have developed an aggressive cowlick in my hair which, to the untrained eye, looks like enormous bald spot.

Something I am extremely grateful for is my single-floor apartment. I have no stairs to climb, and I have an amazing roommate (Jeffy-Poo) who brings me food and helps me relocate pillows around the apartment.. a task which has recently soared to the top of my priority list. I rarely have to maneuver around, and that's a good thing. One of my few attempts to feed myself in the kitchen resulted in a paper carton of Orange Juice dropping onto my cast. I punished the rogue carton by drinking all of its juice, crushing it in my hands and throwing it to the floor in disgust. I then crutched myself back to bed and wept for us both.

Cookie Monster

3/6

A very kind friend brought me some delicious THC edibles to ease my recovery woes. (Sorry if this offends anyone- but THC is a majorly effective pain-reliever and improves circulation significantly-- precisely what I need right now!) Anyway, they were the most immaculate melt-in-your-mouth sugar cookies I have ever tasted. A single bite would certainly have sufficed but I dominated the entire cookie.


45 minutes later and I am soaring the cosmos with my toe riding shotgun, buckled up tight as we blast off into unfathomable dimensions of self-awareness. I am immediately dialed into an amazing sensation: electrical currents rapid-firing through my whole length of my toe. This impulse is something that is usually induced during Physical Therapy with an electrode-gun-thing. It stimulates the nerves with little shockwaves of electricity to help to restore communication with the toe, and basically wake it up. I am thrilled to be experiencing this naturally and eventually fall into a deep, restful sleep with an enormous cookie-eating grin on my face :-D

Post-Surgery: "The Morning After"

3/1/14

Over 24 hours later:

The local anesthetic from surgery has finally worn off, and Heeeyyy, wait-- why does it feel like my foot doth exploded? Without any exaggeration, it feels like my foot, ankle, and heel are broken. I assume that's not normal, considering these areas have nothing to do with the area that was operated on. I try to tough it out, but the Percocet I was prescribed is doing absolutely nothing.

I shuffle back to the ER for assessment. I dry heave several times into an empty trashcan  while I wait, and The Podiatrist who is on-call, says that my foot was perhaps "over-wrapped", and "too snug" within the boot.

I dry heave once more.

He unwraps my entire foot. It feels extremely fragile and vulnerable. Even the stagnant hospital air feels too windy. Feeling this exposed makes me extremely nervous! He asks me to wiggle it. It doesn't budge. The power I felt emerging from surgery is out the window, and I feel completely discouraged. Ugh, I immediately want my swaddle my poor footsie and sing to it the softest of lullabies!

Shockingly, there is still barely any visible swelling in the foot. Although it feels crushed, and is extremely sensitive to the slightest graze of a touch. I am re-wrapped with approximately 50% LESS bandaging, and am put into a basic splint, just like the pre-surgery splint. The relief is instantaneous! I am pissed that foot had to endure this "speed bump", but HAPPY that it's over. I can't wait to hurry home to my pillow kingdom.

Despite feeling this way, I think my toe looks very regal, and resolute in it's disposition.. no? The markings on it are just ink from being marked before surgery. The only stitches/incisions are on the actual foot.

On a side note-- I wonder if the location of an EHL laceration has any effect on it's recovery. For example: cut at the knuckle/joint of the toe VS. mid foot. Hmm. I must remember to ask this next time.

Surgery

2/28/14

Surgery day is here! After 5 days of meticulous care, I am literally giddy with excitement to move forward with this procedure and onto the next phase of healing. I have kept my foot elevated as high as possible: whether awake, sleeping, or reaping the benefits of my Pilates practice and maintaining perfect V-sit form in the bathtub while shaving my good leg and hosing myself down like a dog. I have had ZERO pain in my foot-- I don't know how typical that is, but I am obviously very happy about it!

Still, I force myself to remain completely immobile, unless I have to crutch myself to the bathroom. I basically starve because I'm home alone most of the time, but this excessive caution is worth it, plus my abs look flatter.

Also, my Mom, a Reiki practitioner, has been giving me daily Reiki treatments, plus additional energy healing with a powerful magnetic crystal. I highly recommend this!!

Thanks to this fluffy dog bed, I have been able to keep my leg elevated without any pressure points. It's large enough to provide support to my knee, and the stuffing is not too dense, so my foot is able to float effortlessly. It is the closest thing to a cloud that I have seen in a store. I purchased this luxurious dog bed for $20 at Homegoods.

My surgeon is very happy with the care I have taken and is pleased (surprised, even?) to see that there has been no swelling! My entire surgical team is AMAZING. My purple sweatpants match my Nurse's scrubs, which I consider highly auspicious.

Showtime:

I have my one-size-fits-all surgery pantaloons on and can I just say they are extraordinarily comfortable? Why doesn't Victoria's Secret have an entire ward devoted to gauze garments? I scribble a reminder to wear more cheesecloth in the future.

Next, I am given a local anesthetic to completely numb my leg out of commission. I want to be awake during surgery, so I opt out of the general anesthesia. Rather, I am administered a lovely intravenous sedative that has me just on the verge of sleep. Honestly, I highly recommend this. I feel NO anxiety. No impulse to wiggle the foot to distract the doctor. No temptation to launch myself off the table (This was a potential con I considered when weighing out this decision) I simply lay back and close my eyes. The nurses oblige my request for a warm towel to shield my eyelids from the bright Operating Room lights so I can lounge properly, like a civilized hominid. I feel nothing, and am comforted by the calm, chipper voices around me. In retrospect though, I don't remember a single word that was spoken. The moment surgery is completed, my sedative wears off and within 3 minutes I am completely back to normal. I have heard that General Anesthetic is a mess, and can make you feel weary and nauseous for a long time afterwards. Technically I've got plenty of "time for dat" but I typically prefer the option that includes less vomit.

Predicted surgery time: 30-90 minutes depending on difficulty. Variables include: swelling, retraction of the tendon (sometimes it retreats into the shin) etc...

How long did my surgery take? About 25-30 minutes. This makes me feel reassured because it must have been a simple, easy fix for the surgeon. The tendon pieces were reunited and sewn together. New collagen/ tissue will grow, and fuse everything together seamlessly. I did not need any grafts (borrowing tendon pieces from another area), which was a relief. Although I'm sure a skilled surgeon would have absolutely no difficulty with a more "complicated" procedure, I'm eager to tally a victory wherever I can. My situation is not ideal, but it could be worse, I suppose!

So, my surgery is successfully completed and my Surgeon is very happy with the placement of my toe. It is standing tall once again, perfectly in line with his friends. They are all still very hungover from their Lidocaine party. My foot is bandaged up, and I am placed into a full-leg air cast boot. I am given specific instructions to be COMPLETELY 100% non-weight bearing. I have to keep my foot elevated at all times and I cannot remove the boot, or get it wet. I am given a heap of Rx drugs to take including Percocet and antibiotics. My follow-up appointment is in 2 weeks. Do I have any questions? 

"Will I ever twerk again?"

"Yes child, in time."

I throw deuces up and roll out like a boss in my wheelchair.

Here we are resting comfortably. This dog bed truly is the ish.

XOXO

:)

The Incident

Food Processor VS. Foot SmackDown

So, my EHL was injured on 2/23/14 during an aggressive Spring Cleaning rampage. My brand-new KitchenAid 9-Cup Food Processor had been sitting on my counter, unused since Christmas. I decided to pack it up neatly, and return it to Bed Bath & Beyond in exchange for some satin sheets & pillowcases as an apology gift to my recently over-bleached hair. While fitting the Food Processor pieces into the styrofoam blocks, the largest blade popped out, as carefree as can be, blew me a kiss, and free-fell right onto the middle of my foot- my right foot. It also tickled my shin on the way down, and left a slice that would later be sealed with 5 stitches. Rude.

"That must have hurt!!!" said no one, because I was home alone, in a Victoria's Secret bathrobe cape for naked people.

Did it hurt, though? Barely. Just enough for me to bark "FUCK" for a 3-MISSISSIPPI count, and scamper to the bathroom.

My plan: rinse wounds, apply bandaid, make a snack, sit down.

What actually happened: rinse off blood, see gaping wounds, realize my big toe was completely paralyzed, somehow manage to clothe myself while calling for an ambulance to bring me to the ER.

At the hospital, I was given: antibiotics, tetanus shot, and an evaluation of my foot. The diagnosis? A lacerated EHL Tendon. This is the tendon that allows the Big Boss Toe to dorsiflex (reach toward the shin) I could lift and move all other toes, but the Chief just hung there, drooping about an inch lower than the other phalanges. Sigh.

The Podiatrist numbed the area, and poked around with a needle to "find the 2 severed ends" Yum. He was only able to find one, which means the other end had retracted back into the foot. An MRI revealed that the gap between the tendon was about 3 centimeters.

I rejoiced, because for the last 25 years, I have believed that a centimeter is roughly this size:  |

It turns out, that is false.

The Podiatrist says "This is a time-sensitive injury which will require surgery, ideally these should be operated on within 2 weeks. We can see you in 5 days." Phew!

Then they put me in a splint with my foot at a "90* angle" (it looked more like 70* to me, but they seemed to think that was fine?) Then, they gave me crutches, and commanded me to keep the foot elevated at all times, and DO NOT put ANY weight on it. This would keep the tendon still, and prevent it from pulling apart any further.

They told me the tendon would heal within 3-6 weeks. Okay! I can deal.

These were easy instructions but the next 5 days were completely fraught with anxiety, and I barely slept more than 10 hours collectively. Why? I made the epic mistake of googling the injury. What I found was terrifying and made me completely doubt the 3-6 weeks healing window I was quoted. 

Some of the stories I found online: People who took nearly 10-12 months to regain full strength, some who were grateful to reclaim "some movement" of their toe, or people who wore Keds forever and threw away all their high heels. What?!? On the other hand, there 2 beacons of hope that helped me stay calm: An actual case study of a touring Ballet Dancer who was able to return to the stage within 13 weeks after complete tendon laceration. And also, Serena Williams: EHL repair surgery in 2010. She is clearly still an agile beast of an athlete and also my Spirit Animal.

I started to wonder if I should trust a Podiatrist Surgeon with this surgery? Or should I choose an Orthopedic Surgeon instead? I have heard strong opinions rallying for both. An Orthopedic surgeon is a master of tendon repair, but a Podiatrist surgeon is a master of the dynamics of the foot. PLUS, in my case, this Podiatrist Surgeon was the chief of the entire department, and had already done 2 EHL surgery repairs that same week! Ultimately, I chose the Podiatrist Surgeon.

Are you facing this decision? My advice: Relax, and figure out your options. Don't be afraid to ask questions: How many surgeries has he/she performed? What is their success rate? etc. You deserve the best care! Simply choose the surgeon with the most relevant experience.

XOXO

:)

Welcome to The Blog!

Hey!

My name is Alli. I am a 25 year old Bostonian. I am starting this blog because I recently injured my EHL tendon. When this happened, I was desperate for some reassurance that my recovery would be quick, easy, and 100% perfect! What did I find? Practically nothing. Which was ridiculously frustrating. I found a couple of vague medical texts, and 2-3 blogs documenting individuals' experience with this specific issue- most taking months to heal. As disappointing as this has been, I noticed that some of these blogs are receiving a LOT of feedback from people seeking the same answers I had hoped to find. So, I am creating this blog to share my experience, and hopefully lend some support to anyone similarly afflicted.


XOXO
:)