Achilles Surgery Incision
Today began the second stage of Achilles recovery.
I had an appointment with my doctor this morning. I was ready to get the surgery cast off and let my foot air out for a little while. I was also curious to see the incision.
The cast came off easily. It was a split cast held together by ace bandages. Once the bandages were off, the cast opened up like a shell. Next came yards of white cotton cloth wrapped around my leg and foot. The last thing was a bloodied gauze pad on the back of my heel. Sort of gruesome.
I was surprised at how long the incision was…and how many staples were in the back of my heel! Staples just don’t look right jammed into the back of your heel. I wondered what the “skin stapler” looked like and what that procedure would feel like without anesthesia. I don’t plan on finding out.
I wasn’t looking forward to getting the staples out…especially when the nurse said, “I am not going to lie. It will hurt a little bit.” I think I like the “oh, it’s no big deal” response better.
Most of the staples were not too bad. It felt like someone was pinching my heel with the very tips of their fingernails. However, the two staples that had to be dug out of my skin were a little more uncomfortable. I knew one of them was going to be a problem when the nurse said, “Oh, here’s another one I didn’t see.” Yippee.
I was glad when that whole procedure was done. It probably only took about 3-4 minutes.
My foot felt weird. It was sort of numb and just hung there. I probably could have moved it but I didn’t want to try.The nurse asked if I had any pain over the past two weeks. “None really. The cast was uncomfortable but that was about it. I do have a spot on my big toe that hurts.” Of course, she immediately felt my big toe…and it hurt. She wasn’t sure what it was. It is basically a sore callous on the bottom of my big toe close to where my toe meets my foot. She mentioned it to the doctor. He said to take a quick x-ray to make sure nothing else was going on. The x-ray showed nothing so apparently it is just a sore callous on the bottom of my big toe. I guess it must have been rubbing up against the cast at some point.
The Red Christmas Cast
Next I got to pick my cast color. I guess casts are accessory items now. I ruled out hot pink, thought about navy blue, but then went with Christmas red. Nothing like showing the Christmas spirit with your leg cast.
It was pretty cool watching them put the cast on. I have never had one before. It started with a thin stocking put over my foot and leg, then more yards of cotton wrapping, then about three rolls of a wet fiberglass material. The doctor wrapped it around my leg and smoothed it out. It hardened in about two minutes.
Next appointment is in four weeks when I transition to a walking boot. For now, I get a nice, heavy Christmas red stocking on my left foot.
After the appointment, my wife and I went out to lunch and then to a movie. A friend was watching the kids so we took advantage of the time to enjoy a date together. I guess we were celebrating my new red cast.
We saw The Blind Side. Excellent movie. I highly recommend it. It is one of the few movies I have seen that paints Christians in a positive light. Very well done. And a compelling true story. It certainly opens your eyes to the challenges that many young men face in the projects and how one act of kindness can have a lifetime of impact.
I wish the movie industry would make more movies with this kind of message. Before the movie started, we were treated to at least ten movie previews. Two of them looked pretty good…both based on true stories, Invictus and Extraordinary Measures. The rest looked like cinematic garbage. Sex, special effects, and/or crude humor make up the majority of films that hit the market. If art reflects culture, then our culture is in trouble.
I guess I already knew that. “The Blind Side” reminded me that instead of just talking about the problem, Christians are called to make a difference…one life at a time.
