6 more weeks of crutches

Been waiting for today for a while as I am sure you have too.. It's been way to damn long since I've posted. I'll be lucky if anybody reads this work has just been nutz.

*updated on 8/1/07 - see below*

I met with the doc this morning to figure out how I have been progressing and what the time table for the rest of recovery is. When I got there they called me in to get x-rays. w00t! I finally get to see my post-op pictures. I never got a copy of the ones they took right after the surgery.

Well... with out further ado here are the pics: (click the pics for larger views)


And to answer your question I can't feel the screws on the inside of my ankle. However, I am sitting here comparing the pics to some scars on my leg. I do actually see two small spots on the inside of my ankle where the screws probably did bruise me. I wish I had the actual 1:1 x-ray so I could compare. But I am pretty sure that's them.

So, again the doc wasn't very communicative but I did get some info from him. Basically he says I am progressing well, the x-rays show that everything is right where he put it. I am still required to use both crutches at all times for the next 6 weeks but I can use them for assisted walking. I am now allowed to place 1/2 my body weight on my leg. He did adjust (by this I mean he said I can adjust it myself) the boot to allow for the additional 30 degrees of planter flextion. I was already allowed to flex my foot up (dorsiflextion) so now I am able to flex my foot down. So the most interesting thing the doc told me was that I may not have to do physical therapy. wha?!?! He is expecting that I will work up the muscle and flex just by starting to walk around on it. So I guess that also means I will just have to do PT on my own. Swimming and working the upper part of the leg is going to be the first steps.

So I started the assisted walking around today. Well.... yeah ankle is a bit sore.

After I got home and started going through the pics I took of the x-rays I noticed something in one of the pics that you may or may not have noticed already. I can tell you what I think it is, but here's the closeup so I'll let you look first. (once again if you click on the pic you'll get the big big version)


So what do you think it is??
Yeah I agree with you. It does look like there is a big chunk of the fibula still just sitting there. Unfortunately I only have FE (fucking expert) at the end of my name and not MD or in my doctor's case DO. So I didn't want to call the guy up first thing and say "yo dude, why does it look like about 1/4 of my fibula is still intact at that spot? and, is it supposed to be like that?"

I have sent the pictures out for a friendly second opinion. I'm not going to go see another doctor or anything. I just happen to know an orthopedic surgeon very closely that is about 1200 miles away. I've sent him the hi-res pics and we shall see.

**UPDATE 8/1/07**
So I've heard back from the orthopedic surgeon that I know. The official name is called a butterfly fragment. He said it is going to take a LONG time to heal but that I am still ok with easing into activity like I am doing. Also he is concerned that my doc is not intending on removing the screws prior to me walking. I have been told by both doctors that there is a good chance they will break. But despite that he wants to leave them in. My thought still remains that backing out two screws is a shit load easier then extracting 4 broken pieces of screws. Related to that he also says that removing the screws will probably allow for the fibula to heal much faster. Finally, he agrees that there should be no problem with me getting back on a bike by Oct/Nov.
**End Update**

The thought did cross my mind tonight... this guy is saying no PT necessary, and that I am progressing well, yet I have a fucking chunk of what appears to be bone floating in my fucking calf......... ok ok ok.. Let's all calm down. Let's just go one day at a time.

So there you have it. 6 more weeks of these bloody crutches. I am glad I bought 2 extra pairs of after market crutch tips. Although the first set of replacement tips I put on are holding up much better then the original (or as some would say the OEM). Does MTV have a show "Pimp My Crutches" yet?

Stay tuned for the update about work this week... oh what a frickin mess. You'll love it!

Go for a ride...

Well, I have now been out of work for about three weeks. I ran out of PTO days (vacation days) last Tuesday. I am still waiting to receive legible paperwork so I can submit for my short term disability claim. And I am getting pretty bored sitting on the couch. So I am making no money and I've got no job. Wonderful eh?

"What?! No job" you say? As I discussed in the beginning, this has been a very interesting turn of events in the past couple weeks. I talked to my boss last Sunday and basically his hands are tied. We just don't have enough money to pay more then one person. He has tried talking with the other partners to see if there is something that can be done, anyway to get me some work. The only real things my boss could really come up with are just some BS things. Granted they would be helpful but I can't be doing work that we can't charge my hours back for. So if something comes up like programming some lights or something like that then we could probably work something out.

So I decided that I need to start finding some work. Either via my job or some job but I need to find someway to bring some money in. I decided to call the other partners in the company in the NJ office. After explaining the situation I think they realize they need to find some work for me or they may lose me. They have decided to push down some engineering work for both the Miami and NJ offices. So basically I'll be working with CAD and Visio to generate drawings for the technicians to follow. I'll get paid an hourly rate (yet to be determined). It does look like I may get some work directly from Miami after all. We got a call from a customer last week saying there was an issue with some outside lights not turning on consistently. So I get to make some programming adjustments. I am not sure how they are going to pay me, but I am going to submit my time worked. Also we have a new prospective client. I spent about an hour generating a lighting and motorized shade quote to pass along to engineering for a proposal. A whole hour. w00t!

My week could be busy. Well at least for the first couple days. Between getting caught up with the engineering software and doctor appointments.

I have finalized the acupuncture schedule. I will meet 3x a week for a month, then 2x a week for two months and then 1x a week for another 2 months. Basically a 5 month program that he believes will cut my recovery time down by about 30%. Like I've said before my realistic goal it to be back on a bike by Thanksgiving. One comment I would like to add on behalf of my grandmother regarding Acupuncture. I found out recently she is experiencing similar yet more severe hand numbness that I was having. Hers is pretty much permanent and effects the whole hand. After completing a nerve conduction study (which she says doesn't hurt), seeing orthopods and finally seeing an acupuncturist she still has no relief. I ended up telling my acupuncturist about this. I think we agree that it is possible the nerve damage may be too far along but it does seem like quite a coincidence that my grandma and I have the same symptoms in the same hand.

I will know much more about my recovery/physical therapy timing once Tuesday afternoon rolls around after my meeting with the orthopedic surgeon. I'll keep you posted.

Other then all this drama I have a bit more to throw on the fire, although it isn't really dramatic. I met a girl online about two weeks ago. We've exchanged a good handful of emails. She seems like a great person, seems to get my sense of humor, and overall is somebody I would like to meet, oh and is cute to boot. So we decided to meet on Saturday. The only stipulation for meeting was we couldn't go somewhere where I would have to walk a lot. So no romantic walks on the beach or anything. We decided on a nice sit down at the stereotypical Starbucks. Unfortunately her car broke down on Friday so we are going to reschedule for some time this week. We were both bummed about not meeting but we did get a chance to chat online over the weekend. As I've been typing this I as thinking of a name so you could identify her as I post more of the story. But of course I wouldn't post her real name, it would have to be a nickname or something. But then I realized I am not Jacqueline and I don't come up with nick names for all my friends and people I've dated. If she comes up with one I'll think about it and let ya know.

Since I screwed up my ankle I have thought about riding quite a bit. But last week I was on my way home from acupuncture. I was driving down the road and I was thinking about what I was going to do that afternoon. First thought that popped in my head was "hey I'll go for a ride"..... "aww fuck."