One year ago today…

I didn’t hear any snapping sound like so many victims of Achilles’ tendon rupture say they do; I just felt that I had hurt my right leg. Since that fateful occurrence, I have made some fast progress into full recovery in spite of being… in my sixties! My skiing is the same – if not better – and I can walk, run and mountain bike without problem. The only things that are not quite the same is my repaired tendon that still looks quite a bit thicker than it used to, and my right calf muscle that remains significantly smaller than its left counterpart. Any thoughts or suggestions on how I could “blow” that muscle back to its original shape, or how long will I have to wait for it to catch up?

Getting better, faster

One thing I’ve learned out of my Achilles tendon rupture is how to get better fast. Since I was fortunate in not having to go to work, I could spend ample time to study and understand my healing process; in so doing, I discovered three important rules that, so far, have worked remarkably well for me:
1. Accept the situation. This is a critical step; if instead, we allow for too many “woulda, coulda, shoulda,” it’s going to take much longer before the healing process gets underway. Again, fully accept the situation, smell it, sense it, just make sure it is intensely experienced. Don’t let other people tell you otherwise, feel sorry for you or remind you how reckless you were. It’s your deal, not theirs. This decisive step builds a clean, unambiguous starting platform and clears the dead-weight of second-guessing and regretting.
2. Stay sharply focused. Thrust every resource available into the healing process, making it your single largest goal. Work on measuring progress and visualizing the positive, desirable outcome. Being competitive helps, but maintaining a sharp focus requires one’s undivided and relentless attention.
3. Push the envelope. This means strive to walk the delicate path between staying safe, while always trying to grab any opening for going a bit farther or for pushing a bit harder. The danger of relapse (re-rupture in my case) always looms large, so moving forward becomes a balancing act that demands both ability and willingness to manage risk effectively. This certainly is not for everyone, but if used wisely it may pay off handsomely.
So here you have the recipe to getting on your two feet much faster and with a lot more fun; just give it a try the next time you need it!

Physical therapy?

Between the daily exercise on the elliptical bike, the walks in the street gradually getting longer and the regular, self-administered massage and stretching sessions, I really don't believe I need to go to physical therapy. I’m wondering what kind of better treatment I could receive from it. I have no balance problem and my right ankle has now fully recovered its previous “range of motion”… Okay, you’re entitled to think that something is wrong with me and that I've become a tiny bit too cocky...

38,000 Service

This is just a euphemism for my medical examination by Dr. Morgan, on Day 38 following my surgery. After waiting for more than one hour, my surgeon finally showed up. His first reaction was to look for my crutches… that weren’t there! He said that I was doing just fine, in fact better than most and said that after another two weeks I’d be out of the “boot” and can start physical therapy.

He also gave me a protocol to measure the exercises that I would undergo at that time and use it as a benchmark towards my actual progress. Last, but not least, he also told me to remove some of the huge wedges off my boot so I could walk on a more even keel.

Back behind the wheel

Do you remember the feeling when you first got your driver’s license? Well, this is almost what I experienced yesterday when I got back behind the wheel. What an excitement! I first drove to the nursery where Evelyne wanted to check out some plants, and then to the post office to pick up the mail. Later that day we drove again all the way to Salt Lake and shopped at a couple of places. All went well. My right leg and tendon perfectly held together and pressing on the brake and the gas pedal was not hard at all. This was Day 46 after the accident and Day 36 after the operation. Life is good…

Remembering the fall

As I'm trying very hard to be patient and wait for my Achilles tendon to heel (a little like watching grass grow), I can’t help but think how I could have avoided the stupid fall that led to the injury. Again, and as like to say, a fall is rarely smart; I could have hurt myself even more and there's no sense trying to replace the toothpaste inside the tube…

Never the same again?

Yesterday, as I was crutching my way out of the Racquet Club, following my daily workout, an older man (much more dated than me, for sure) saw me with my handicapped attire, smirked and said in a caustic tone of voice: “You’ll never be the same again!” How nice it is to run into folks with such a positive outlook on life… He went on to say that he had hurt himself years ago while skiing in Alta and he’d never go back again on a pair of skis. He valued his tennis too much to do such a folly. I told him that I could care less and let him ride away on his crummy bike while swearing to myself that I don’t plan to be the same again, simply a whole lot better, when I hit the slopes next season.

Ticking time to heal

It’s now 24 days since I had my operation and I feel so much better! The lingering pain felt all day and night is now gone and for the first time, I feel my Achilles tendon pulling a (very stiff) calf muscle.

Since yesterday, I started bearing some weight on my right leg, which I consider a great breakthrough. As you see on the picture, I was told the operation would be largely “mechanical”, and also that it would take a long, long time, hence the watch cogs seen through the “x-ray”…

Time to exercise

I haven't exercised since my accident on March 23; in fact, my not being able to run daily has been the worst punishment of all. Yesterday, we went to the nearby municipal racquet club to get a three-month pass to their health club after we inspected some of their work-out equipment. I’ve laid my eyes on an elliptical cross trainer! This is what I will start doing today, keeping my injured, right leg lifted in my back for at least 30 minutes; we’ll see...

Lucky day?

This morning looks like a blue-bird day, albeit quite cold (27 degrees F). With my cast removed yesterday, and a stiff, black boot in its place, I’m now looking forward to my next visit to the doctor on May 15. This means that the trip to Chacha’s graduation in New York is off and that really is too bad!

We’ll need to make up for that… The black boot is great though and allows for great mobility around the house and particularly up and down the stairs. If I’m good, in one month I should be able to start walking around and seriously begin my rehab. This weekend is also tax time and a reminder that when there are a few checks to write, there has to be income and that certainly beats the alternative.

Crash site revisited

I was skiing in my favorite spot, up in Jupiter where a bunch of unexpected big rocks caught me by surprise, stopped my momentum, made me fall and broke my Achilles tendon... Skiing down "Tower 13" as the line indicates looked like a good idea at the time. Tell me, where's the "undo" button?

If you can’t go to the lift…

…have the lift come to you! That’s precisely why we took delivery of this modest, garden-variety chairlift. This two-seater comes from the old “Supreme Lift” in Alta and is a genuine Yan product.
As evidenced by the picture, Evelyne must consider that I have made enough progress in my recovery to take me on a ride with her!
Now, how am I supposed to unload with crutches?

Stairs and crutches

When I received my brand new pair of crutches no one told me how to use them. I just assumed that I would easily figure these walking sticks. That was until I went down the stairs with them. Juggling with imbalance, gravity, fear and enormous luck, I landed unscathed at the bottom of the staircase.

I then realized that the law of skiing “what goes up must go down” also applies to crutches. I have since done some research on the net and found some safer methods for navigating in style, up and down the stairs.

Ouch!

While post-surgery was quite comfortable, pain suddenly came out of nowhere yesterday... And what a pain that was, especially last night; the stinging, relentless kind (voodoo style, pins included). I spoke with the nurse and she said that it came from some upset nerves. Come to think of it, fixing that ruptured tendon came with... strings attached!

Almost... seamless

I underwent surgery yesterday at TOSH (that's The Orthopedic Specialty Hospital in Salt Lake City). It's amazing how low-tech these institutions still are! From my first visit with the orthopedic surgeon last week, I've been asked the same questions or have filled out the same forms over and over... Seems to me that data could be entered once and for all by the patient on a digital tablet or some P.D.A. Aren't we in America? Going digital would shave costs off an increasingly costly health care system.

In spite of that cumbersome way to handle records, the operation went perfectly well. Getting the I.V. in worked fine (usually, no one can find the largest of my veins!), the anesthesia was smooth and easy, and when the nurse woke me up 75 minutes later, I was so awake that I impatiently asked her when the operation was scheduled to start; I felt perfectly clear, a bit elated (a shot of morphine always does the trick) and after 30 minutes extra rest was able to converse with Evelyne as we drove back all the way up to Park City.

Dr. James Morgan (the surgeon) and Dr. Farnworth (the anesthesiologist) did an almost seamless job (I still have the stitches;) I can barely wait till my next accident and surgery!

My Achilles Heel

For years, my two Achilles tendons have always done a fine job. That was until March 23, 2007, when the right one decided to break apart from my loose federation of free and flexible limbs.

Sure, the break-up took some provocation on my part: I went to a place where I wasn't really supposed to be, gathered too much speed, ignored the mystery of blind corners and wham! I hit a pile of huge rocks that caused a tearing deceleration and a spectacular separation of the man from his skis and tendon...

Today, I suppose that most of that poor Achilles tendon hides all curled up into the depth of the right calf muscle that reluctantly plays host to the intruder. Ever since the incident, that muscle has been protesting, sending me a daily dose of painful signals.

Tomorrow, a modern shaman will attempt to reunite the tendon with its heel attachment and will pour a white cast over the whole thing in order to contain the crisis for ten to fourteen more days.

I'll soon let you know how the relationship patches up...