So just to recap, November 18, 2013 a piece of glass cut through my leg. It severed my Achilles tendon and three other tendons, which left my leg with a decent size cut/scar. I want to document all my major points during my recovery so I can look back on this experience and remember everything I went through. Also, who knows, maybe someone else could relate to my experience and take away something positive from what I have to say. So here it goes....
My first visit to my orthopedic surgeon was quite stressful to say the least. I had not seen my cut since the night of the accident and I constantly wondered what it was going to look like. I wondered if it had made my leg look deformed, if I was going to be able to walk normal again, if I would be able to feel my foot again, because at this point I couldn't feel my toes all that well, which frightened me more than I thought it would. Plus on top of all this worrying I was in so much pain you can't even imagine. The cut itself didn't hurt, unless you directly put pressure on the area. Or maybe it didn't seem to hurt because it was so overshadowed by the relentless firing of my nerve endings trying to find each other. The constant firing of my nerve endings was almost unbearable. The only way I can describe it is imagine your foot had been asleep for a very long time and you were trying to wake it up. You know, the pens and needles type of feeling that's really uncomfortable, but thankfully it passes quickly. However, imagine that feeling just 1,000 times more intense, unyielding, and on top of that like someone was lighting a small match at random points all over you foot at the same time. Needless to say I didn't sleep well for MONTHS. Okay, getting back on track... Finally after a little over two weeks with all the new sensations and thoughts I got to see the doctor and hear what news he had for me.
The doctor walks into the room with my father and stepmother there. He sighs and starts asking me questions about how it was feeling and we exchange meaningless chit chat. Then it comes down to the real part, taking off the splint and bandages for the first time since surgery. I was so anxious my heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest. After what felt like forever he finally got everything off and this is what I saw.....
The nurse then led us into a different room where she attempted to re-position my foot and cast it. They had put my foot into a pointed position so it would make the healing process easier on the tendons. However, this made bringing my foot back to a normal position extremely difficult. It took her and the doctor to pull my foot even slightly toward a neutral position, which felt insane for me. It felt like they were going to rip my tendons apart and my leg was going to snap. That was one of the most frightening parts of recovery. Sometimes though looking at my doctor gave me a bit of relief, well comic relief. I say that because he looks a lot like the dentist from "The Hangover" haha.
Anyways after they put my leg in a light blue cast I left and my sensations became even worse. I can only assume it was because of the new tension put on my tendons and muscles. However, it felt better for my ankle to be out of such a pointed position. This visit was by far the most intense and the most anxious I felt out of all the visits. Thinking about it now even makes me feel a bit anxious. PTSD I've unfortunately learned is a real thing.
And with that, I'm out.
--Butters--
