Update 1st Week Back to Work

I went back to work on Monday. By the time Friday came around I was wiped out. It was really hard to get past having so much pain during the day. I had hubby bring my wheelchair in, so I could keep my leg elevated. I also kept an ice pack in the freezer at work, which I used towards the end of the work day. I ended up working through my lunch, so I could leave early everyday. My ankle was swollen and painful by the time I got home, so I am icing and keeping it up as much as possible. I also started therapy on Wednesday. I did some stretching exercises, electric stimulation and the ice boot. I am still in the boot until I can get a little more range side to side and get my ankle stronger. I will post a new pic in a few days.

Ankle Update

My ankle still hurts along the back and at the top of my incision. I still have quite a bit of swelling and I am trying to be extra careful not to make my Achilles tendon issue worse. I am still taking pain meds (Percocet) at night and sometimes towards the end of the day. I am still in the Cam Walker when I am up and about. Here is what my ankle looks like today.



I thought I would blog about what I found to be very helpful during this ordeal. Let me say I have no invested interest in any of the products or companies I have listed below. I only listed this information if I knew the product might be hard to find otherwise.

First take a quick peek at this YouTube video. It really made me smile. Tendon Surgery

Here is the "Must Have List"
Cam Walking Boot (currently using)


One thing I did do was add mole skin inside where my stitches and tender spots were. This helped with the rubbing and friction. They sell this at any drug store and Wally World. I recommend getting the Molefoam.


Waterproof Leg Protector (a must have) www.drycorp.com

I used this when I had my cast and during my second surgery when I was still wrapped in bandage and I couldn't get my stitches wet. Here is a video Dry Pro Video




This slips over your cast or leg and you just pump the bulb until all the air is out and you can swim, bath, shower without worry. When you are done you just put your hand the top and it breaks the seal. I have bathed and swam in this.


Foam Contour Pillow - This is a head pillow, but I use it for my leg. It is the perfect fit and it is soft. If your ankle is painful in places this is perfect. They sell them everywhere.
Cryopak Flexible Ice Blanket - I found these at Rite Aid. Not sure if anyone else sell them. They are very thin, flexible and can be cut to size. I used them when I had my cast on. I slid them down in my cast (I know this is a no-no!). You will not be able to get them down to the ankle, but it feels so good on the lower leg. I used a very thin hand towel around it. They only stay cold for so long and it is not a intense cold, just a nice cold.







Shower Chair - This was another must have. I tried balancing on one foot, sitting on the edge of the tub and pretty much any other way to shower. My seat came with a back, which I removed. I also invested in a hand shower.

I hope this was helpful to someone.

On another note, I am going to attempt to return to work on Monday. My only concern is the pain factor and trying to keep my leg elevated. Keep me in your thoughts and prayers.

Peroneal Tendon Injury Part 11 Surgery #2

Last post was yucky...sorry! I have a new pic. I am now 5 week post-op and 9 months from my accident. WOW! Doesn't look as gross and we are almost in real-time with my posting. I went to the doctors and my major complaint now is that I am having heal pain and can feel this weird horizontal band thing in the back of my heal. Not the bottom, but in the back so...guess what the doctor said? He said it is my Achilles tendon. I am like what? He wants me to stay in the Cam Boot and to start therapy. Told me to be extra careful so I don't damage it. Great! Oh and I am going back to work Monday... that is probably a good thing.

Peroneal Tendon Injury Part 11 Surgery #2

So last post I talked about the gross factor. Not that any of this isn't, but at week 4 1/2 post-op I ended up going to the emergency room. Let me explain it was the weekend and my ankle was hot and red and still gross and oozing. I called the doctor's office and they were concerned I had an infection, so off my hubby and I went to the emergency room. My doctor happened to be on call (he wasn't at the hospital). The Dr in the emergency room said it didn't look infected but more like a skin thing. What? He took x-rays and gave me a shot of pain medication (the good stuff) and sent me on my way. What do you think this looks like? Oh, never mind!

Peroneal Tendon Injury Part 10 Surgery #2

I will try not to bore you with non-ankle stuff, but I am definitely not going back to work this time until I am up on my own two feet. "Not in a wheelchair and not until the doctor says it is OK". This is about 4 weeks post-op. I know last time I was still in a cast at this point, so I didn't get to see the healing yuckiness. Still gross! Still feeling pain. UGH!

Peroneal Tendon Injury Part 9 Surgery #2

I was sad we didn't get to go home for Christmas. I was pretty drugged up, but I don't think I could have done the long car ride. NH also had an ice storm and was without power. I still was sad for my family and myself. Christmas was very quite. Dog, Dad, Cats and Me. Daughter went to a friends for Christmas Eve with my blessings. I didn't want her to miss out.
Picture is what my ankle looks like week 4 after stitches were removed...which hurt like heck this time. What is with that? My ankle is still numb behind incision but I am having a lot of pain in the back of my ankle and where it is bruised. Doc said everything looks good, so I hope he is right!

Peroneal Tendon Injury Part 8 Surgery #2

The pain is pretty intense. I do have numbness just behind the incision at the ankle bone. This is the first pictures after surgery. 1 week post-op. You can see part of my old scar towards the bottom front of my foot. I have more bruising and the new incision is higher and longer. I counted about 20 stitches. At this point I am hopefully everything is good!

Peroneal Tendon Injury Part 7 Surgery #2

This is day 1 post-op. Surgery number 2. The first thing I notices ...No Cast YIPPY! I came home in a heavy duty ace wrap. The ortho doctor said they moved the nerve and released it off the tendon and moved the tendon. No Neuroma either. That was the first good news I have had through this whole ordeal. I was in a good amount of pain and believe it or not I couldn't get comfortable to sleep. I was also afraid I would hurt my leg without the cast. The nice thing I could ice it. See pic.

Peroneal Tendon Injury Part 6 ...WTH

Ok, so by now I am very discouraged. The nerve pain is just ungodly. My ankle looks like this. It is November now and I am 4 months post-op and 7 months after my initial injury. My doctor has given be a pain block. If I am pain free then it is the sural nerve that is causing my pain. Unfortunately...I had no pain for about 2 days. This means that I will need to have a 2nd surgery to free the nerve from the tendon and to check for a neuroma. I don't know if I am more upset this time or last. Everyone keeps saying at least I know what to expect. I keep thinking that is why I am scared sh**less. It is not a good time...not that there is a good time. My job is crazy and I am part of an aquisition team for a new agency we just purchased. And the saddest part for me is this is the only time we go back to New Hampshire (where I am from) for Christmas. And we drive home, which is about 16 hours.
So, I schedule my surgery for December 15th about 5 months after my 1st. I break the news to my boss and cry.

Peroneal Tendon Injury Part 5

The next photo above is probably about 15 weeks after surgery. After I was out of the Cam Walker and wearing a slip on shoe (I couldn't get a regular shoe on). I still have a lot of swelling and my ankle is huge. Pain is bad at the end of the day and at night. The nerve pain is driving me crazy! I was hoping this would resolve itself but...

Peroneal Tendon Injury Part 4

I am 7 week post-op. and 2nd pretty blue cast is comes off. I am still not feeling like my ankle is getting better. My leg did shrink a bit more, so I could still get ice packs down there. The doctor say I am doing great and I can go into the Cam Walker. I am still having weird sensations in my foot, but it was great to be out of the cast. I didn't take a photo...I wish I had. I am still having pain and decided to drop down my pain meds. Not really smart but I couldn't take them at work anyways. The doctor said I am having nerve pain and gave me a prescription for Lyrica. Jumping ahead a bit, the Lyrica caused me to gain some extra lbs. Which I didn't need. I began swimming after work to try to get a handle on the nerve issues and get my leg working again.

Peroneal Tendon Injury Part 3

About 3 weeks after my surgery, I made the huge mistake of going back to work. Yes, my darling husband drove me to work everyday and pushed me in a wheelchair. I say it was a mistake because I was in horrible pain and was trying to do a job that required way too much of me when I was 100%. I was miserable. In this next picture I am just about 4 week post-op (after 1st blue cast came off). My ankle looks pretty gross (sorry for the bad photo). The pain is pretty consistent and my leg has shrunk so much I can slip a very thin flat ice pack down my cast. I can't get it down to my incision, but it feels good anyway. I remember that this was about the time I started having these weird sensations in my ankle, like electrical shocks. I was thinking it was just because I hadn't moved my ankle in like forever. Cast number 3 went on (another light Carolina Blue one) and I remember thinking I just wanted to take my ugly ankle and go home.

Peroneal Tendon Injury Part 2

This is what happened next...
I had my surgery on July 8th and came home in this (sorry for the very bad photo). They called it a surgical cast. In reality, it was a very big heavy monstrosity of a thing. The doctor repaired my tendon tear and did a Brostrom stabilization of my ligaments. He also did a pain block which gave me about 2 days of manageable pain. I was able to get to the bathroom about 3 steps with a walker and a lot of help(no weight bearing). I mainly needed help because the cast was so heavy and awkward. The doctor also said to just stay on the pain meds (Percocet) every two hours to maintain my pain level. This was the best advise. No waking up in unbearable pain. I had my first surgical follow-up 1 week later. I didn't take a second picture until week 2. Cast 2 was blue and a lot lighter. Photo 2 is 2 weeks post op. when the 1st blue cast was removed. Stitches were removed at this time. Be warned they are very vivid and graphic.

How it all happened Part 1

I have not read much on this type of injury, so I have decided to post my experience. This is not your typical blog. I am back blogging in segments starting back on April 10th 2008, when I was injured in a bizarre accident. I was walking back into work and was tripped up by a dog that was tied to the rail at the back door. Unbeknown to me, I subsequently tore my Peroneus Brevis tendon.
I was initially told that I had a bad sprain and limped about on it for a few weeks, until the pain got unbearable. I went back to the urgent care doctor who now said I had torn ligaments. He put me in a air splint, gave me pain meds and told me to make an appointment with an orthopedic doctor. I made an appointment and the ortho doc said basically the same thing and told me to stay in the splint and to return if pain and swelling wasn't better within the next week. I ended up going back to the ortho doc who said that now that the overall swelling was better, he was now pretty sure I had a torn tendon. The MRI confirmed I had a longitudinal tear in my Preroneus Brevis tendon and I was scheduled for surgery on July 8, 2008. It will be about 9 weeks from the day of my accident.

What can I expect? I am scheduled for surgery July 8th and will be in a surgical cast for 1 week. In a plaster cast for 2 weeks (no weight bearing), stitches out, in another cast for 4 weeks (light weight bearing with crutches and then walking boot for 4 weeks. The recovery is a 6 to 9 month deal. Hopefully shorter.

This is a very good link that give quite a bit of information on the surgery (be warned very graphic pics) procedure and location of the tendon.

http://www.myfootshop.com/detail.asp?Condition=Peroneal+Tendon+Rupture

Where and what is the Peroneus Brevis...you ask?