Recovery

About 7am the following morning I noticed I was starting to get the feeling back and was able to wiggle my toes some.  That was a good feeling cause I hate not being able to feel something or able to move it when I try.  About 5 days after surgery I started noticing that the splint was getting a little to tight for my liking and that the pain was the worst it had been.  I decided to take off the ace bandage to relieve some tightness in which it helped out a lot but still felt a little to snug for me so I called up the Dr. office and asked to have a new splint put on.
On July 12th I went in to have a new splint put on and would you believe it or not it felt worse than the first one.  Not tightness but just the pain it was causing me overall.  I would have said something to them but it wasn't that bad when I left, it wasn't until we were riding home did I realize it.  I got home and immediately removed the ace bandage and then reapplied and it was ok but not great.  Through the course of the next 8 days I was a hurting man off and on.  I couldn't sleep because I couldn't find a position I and my leg were both comfortable in.  It had gotten so bad I was thinking of cutting it off and putting my walking boot on instead. When I am saying pain it was more of a pressure pain instead of hurt pain.  It basically felt as if the splint was pushed up against my incision an making it hurt.  Well that and along with it also pushing on my heel and inside of ankle.  I thought for sure maybe a staple had come out and was jabbing me in the side and causing this pain cause thats exactly what it felt like.

July 20th couldn't come fast enough and was so excited about getting the staples out and this darn splint off!!  I arrived at 8:15am and his assistant came in and removed the splint and sutures (not staples as I had thought).     I felt so much better after that splint was off let me tell you!!  The sutures didn't hurt being removed they kinda tickled some.  The Dr came in and looked at it a said everything looked great and wanted to put me in my walking boot for an additional 2 weeks with no weight again.  I still have to use crutches!!  He did say though I am able to remove the boot if I am in a controlled environment but I have to keep it still and dont move it to much.  When I go back on Aug 4th I will probably be able to start putting some weight on it as well as start physical therapy!! My calf has dwindled away to nothing now.
Anyways, here are some pics of the incision with the sutures

Here it is with sutures taken out

Me chillin after getting sutures out!!!

Once I took a shower this is what I saw, YEP DEAD SKIN!!

After some scrubbing it looked better and felt better!!

SURGERY

That afternoon I had to be there at 1:45pm to get prepped  for the surgery around 3:45pm. I had not eaten or drank anything since midnight (13+ hours) and I hated it cause I was not used to not eating or drinking anything for that long.  Anyways, I get called back after checking in.  Once I was back there a nurse came in and was told to lay on the gurney and that an IV would be started.  She numbed the area on my right hand were the IV would be placed  and got me started with some fluids.  A few minutes later she walked in and gave me a pill and a small sip of water and told me the pill was to help with the side affects of the anesthesia.  After she was done the anesthesiologist came in and briefed me on what all he was going to do to give me a nerve block on my leg.  The nurse came back in to scrub and clean my whole leg up to the knee.  After all that was done the anesthesiologist came in and joined the nurse to prep me for the block.  They had me roll over onto my stomach and then the nurse said she was going to be injecting some meds into the IV line that was going to make me feel relaxed and in lala land, hahaha.  As soon as she said that I started feeling weird and just placed my head on the pillow and just kinda gazed off at the wall.  I started to feel pinching below and around my knee for the next minute or so.  Once that was done they had me roll onto my back and relax until the block kicked in.  About 45 min later my leg from the knee down was numb and I was so relaxed I didn't care, LOL.  The surgeon and his team came in to get me and wheeled me off to the o.r. soon after.
 Once I was in the o.r. they had me lay on my side and then they proceeded to make me as comfortable as possible.  During this whole time I think I was being injected with the drugs into my IV line that make you go to sleep.  I say this because I was starting to feel a burning sensation in my hand were the IV was inserted.  The nurse then asked me if I was feeling OK and I told her "NO my hand was stinging" and she then told me "it will go away in a few minutes".   That it did cause I was out!!! LOL.

Here I am after having the nerve block and ready for surgery.

After surgery was done I was brought to the recovery room for roughly an hour and was sent home with meds and instructions.  2 weeks later on July 20th I am to have my 2 week post op visit.  Once in the recovery room I started to come out of it and has repeating myself like for my GF to take a pic of me holding my drink, LOL  "Take a picture of me with my drink"!!!  

Here is a picture of it

 Once I was awake enough to go home I quickly realized that my right leg below my knee was so numb and paralyzed that I couldn't even wiggle my toes!  Anyways, when I got home I laid down and started my recovery. They had put me in a splint to keep my foot still and to protect it. I was told to have no weight put on for 2 weeks and to use the crutches to get around. 

Here is my splint for 2 weeks

I was prescribed Oxycodone and Ultram as my main pain meds.  I was to use the Oxycodone for severe pain and then go to the Ultram once the pain subsided some.  When I was taking the Oxycodone I was very nausea and had hot flashes were I would be sweating real bad.  In that case I would take some Promethazine to help.  

How It All Started

• March 7, 2011:  The weather was cold and rainy that morning and this being my first triathlon I knew I was in for an exciting day.  As I was coming into the transition area and getting off of the bike, my right foot slipped on the wet pavement causing me to twist my ankle.  Unfortunately, I did not feel any pain at the time and continued on through my run to finish the race. 
• March 8, 2011:  When I woke up in the morning, my ankle was a little sore.  It didn't seem swollen or tender at the time. That evening I had to go to work and I knew that being on my foot for 8+ hours was going to be a long night.  By the end of the night, I was in such excruciating pain that I could hardly walk.  My ankle was swollen and very tender. 
• March 9, 2011:  I visited the Podiatrist.  He had my ankle X-rayed during the visit.  He concluded that my ankle was sprained and to ice it and take it easy for several days.
• 2 Weeks Later:  I saw the same DR again since I was not healing.  He basically said nothing was wrong and to give it time.
• May 1, 2011: The pain at this point is bearable and decide to continue on with my 2nd sprint triathlon. I decided going into it that if it started to hurt bad I was going to not do the run and get a DNF.  This swim was good as well as the run from the swim to bike.  The bike also was good.  The run was a different story.  It hurt when I ran (jogged) but deep down inside I didn't want to quit since I had already gone this far, that plus it was only 3.1 miles!  Anyways I finished the race and was pretty sore for the next 6 hours or so!! 
• Mid May 2011:  At this point, I am still in a lot of pain.  I finally seek out a 2nd opinion.  Xrays were clear again at this appointment.  This DR said something is definitely wrong since the ankle was not healing.  He sent me for an MRI. 2 weeks later, had the MRI.  MRI report showed possible tears in the peroneal tendons but wasn't for sure cause MRI's can be misleading.  He then referred me to an Orthopedic surgeon.
• June 22, 2011:  I visited with an Orthopedic surgeon.  He reviewed the MRI and explained to me that an MRI is not always accurate too.  He said having surgery is the only way to truly find the problem and to see what was going on.  He gave me options of walking boot, physical therapy, or surgery, however, the surgeon felt surgery was the best choice because the exam he gave me said the symptoms were leading towards some kind of tear. They then scheduled me for surgery on July 6, 2011.

Here are some pics of how my ankle looked prior to surgery. Swollen and red under ankle.

I even used KT tape for about 2 months and it helped out a lot!!