I gave him two...

Yesterday I went for my 10 week check-up. Things started poorly and I started to get fearful about the results of my visit.

• I left work early to go to my orthopedic and they had no record of my appointment anywhere in the computer.  Luckily, I had my appt card so they agreed to squeeze me in.
• Finally the nurse came to get me in the waiting room and said in a nasty tone, “Where are your crutches?” I said that I didn’t need them. Then she asked, “Where is your boot?” I said that I wasn’t wearing it any more.  She looked at my folder and said nothing.
• When the doctor came in,  he said “Are we here to talk about your 12 week removal of the screws?”  I replied in a shocked tone, “I don’t think so…but you tell me.”
• Then he said, you need to go get x-rays.  And the nurse escorted me to the x-ray area where I got x-rays.
• The nurse then came back and said “Why don’t you hobble back to the examination room and wait for the doctor.” Let’s just say I was trying to impress them with my best non-limping walk… (Did she have to say “hobble?”)

Thank God, things improved after that.

• The doctor looked at my x-rays and realized that he didn’t put in the long cross screws like he usually does and I don’t need them taken out at 12 weeks – PHEW!
• He said that everything looks great – the bones, ligaments, tendons, cartilage spaces, etc, etc.
• We talked about how I was doing & what I was doing… he said the swelling was normal and it will be swollen for a year.  He recommended wearing support stockings, elevation, icing and NOT OVER DOING!
• He said the range of motion will come back and that he was impressed on how well I was doing…much better than he expected at this point…better than most with this injury!  YAY!
• He cautioned me not to rush things (Patience is not my strong suit.) and stay out of the sun (SPF 80-100) and massage the incisions to help the scarring and nerve endings rebuild.
• He wrote a script for 4 more weeks of PT cuz I said it helped.
• He asked what the PT guy thought… I said that he was encouraged with the degree of side to side range of motion (which he thought would not come back this quickly) but that I couldn’t run for 6 months.
• Here’s the good part.  The doctor said, “You won’t have to wait that long… Start cranking up that treadmill…but don’t run outside for a while yet.”

Next visit is in 6 weeks.  If those x-rays are good, he’ll release me until 9 months out when he’ll decide if all the hardware needs to come out.

I’m trying not to get too excited but I swear my ankle has more movement today… (probably in my head)

Happy Running!