I stopped wearing the accursed boot May 5 and switched to tennis shoes. I wore the boot to Taste of Beaufort on the 3rd, and went to the beach with it on the 4th. The reader is wondering why I just didn't switch to tennis shoes three days earlier. The truth is that I was afraid I wouldn't be able to handle the activity level with tennis shoes. In retrospect I probably could have. The transition to a shoe was much easier than expected.
My last visit to the doctor's office was May 20 when I was seen by the PA who removed my stitches. I was still feeling a lot of pain and numbness in my foot - the same spot that was so bothered by the boot. I was rubbing the spot and asked him why it felt that way and what I could do. He said that the nerves had been pushed around and were still waking up and that what I was doing was the very best thing. I gave myself lots of foot massages for the next few days. The area started feeling better fast.
I asked about physical therapy, and he said walking was all that was recommended. After that I decided that I would mow the lawn myself since that is basically walking. That is really the most strenuous walking I have done so far. I walked a mile at Congaree National Park - a combination of boardwalk and trail. Hopefully by the time the weather is pleasant enough to do so I will be able to hike to the Harry Hampton tree.
The first weekend in June I attended a formal wedding and wore gold Birkenstocks! The dress was long enough that the sandals didn't show. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to dance at the wedding but I did. The increased swelling experienced over the next day or two I am blaming on the long car ride to and from Atlanta where the wedding took place.
I starting teaching my Monday aquafit class June 9 and the Thursday class on the 19th. Best of all, I have been kayaking several times and have even managed to load my own boat. I paddled on Cedar Creek three days ago for the first time since my surgery. It was great. I didn't realize how much I had missed it.
I continue to have some level of discomfort every day, and there is also some swelling most of the time, though less and less of both as time goes by. The pain is not always in my ankle but rather in my leg well above where one might expect it to be, or I get a strange twinge on my foot or even in a toe. Sometimes I have a tingling feeling or a little numbness, mainly in my foot, which I know is more of the nerves trying to get back to normal.
My activity level determines the extent of pain and swelling. An ice pack is sometimes enough to relieve both. The shoes I wear have an impact on my discomfort. If I am walking a lot or if I am standing for an extended time I need to wear tennis shoes or something similar. Even if I am working at the desk at the CNP visitors center where I am up and down I need tennis shoes.
Here is what the ankle looks like today. I'm pretty pleased with how it's coming along.
