Hello again it's been about 5 months since my last post and 9 months since surgery. I attempted the Spartan sprint race (obstacle race in mud) with my daughter in March and we both finished and no issues. I did slip a few times and never injured it so that's good.
Now for a follow up on my surgery. I am still having pain issues not were the tendons are at but what appears to be nerve pain or suture pain. I still limp when I walk and at times it is very hard to bend the ankle to walk without it hurting. I went to the doctor and he did an ultrasound and he thinks the suture (has metal in it) might be irritating the area around my ankle and causing the pain. He injected some cortizone in the area and I was pain free for a few days but I am thinking I am having that issue and another issue with a nerve. I have pain when I do calf raises or try and push off (like running or walking). I am going to schedule another appointment with him and see what else we can do to get rid of this pain. He is wanting to remove the suture as I am no longer needing it that way if he has to do an MRI he can because with it in there the metal will make the image not as good to see. I may end up scheduling an appointment to have it removed or get a second opinion from another doctor as he suggested.
I am unable to run or jog still so my triathlons have been put on hold until I get this problem fixed. I will keep you all updated as I progress.

It has been 5 months since surgery and all is coming along fairly well.  I am swimming, riding the bike, and doing cardio on the elliptical and stuff with no real discomfort.  I still can't run, although I can jog but my leg is still so weak its hard to push off without some pain.  I have lost about 21 lbs since I have started back being active so thats a good thing.  I am still walking with a limp but is mainly because of the nerve around the ankle area.  I may have to have that looked at later on down the road if it doesn't get better.
I will be attempting my first triathlon since surgery sometime in April or may I believe and see how things go.  In    March I will be doing the Spartan race so that should be a challenge too.  Anyways, I think I am about done with this blog but will keep checking it and may add a few things later on when needed.  If you have any questions you can ask me here and I will try and answer it for you.

I have been at work for close to a month now and things are a lot better than the first day back.  I still need some mobility but overall it is good the Therapist said, so no more therapy for me!!  I still have a lot of pain around the ankle area (possibly nerve pain) that comes and goes with activity.  The only thing I can do is just keep an eye on it and see if it goes away with more time.  I am just hoping it's not the nural nerve thats entangled with the scar tissue. I will keep updating this as needed but for the most part I am done.

I have been at work for 3 weeks almost and I have been struggling with different issues throughout the night.  My main issue is trying to deal with planter fasciitis on both feet but more so on the right.  I have tried new insoles and new shoes as well as different shoes I had laying around and nothing has helped.  It is getting less intense but it still makes for a long night walking on concrete floors!!!  I also have started to notice that when I wear shoes the part of the arch that is more towards the heel feels as if there is a knot there when walking but nothing is really there.  I also just started feeling like there is a stone or rock in my shoe near my heel area.
As far as the recovery I am still attending PT and will be for the next 2 weeks.  My mobility is good but not great and am still have pain off and on towards the bottom area near the incision as well as around the ankle area.  I am going to the gym about 5-6 days a week depending how my foot feels after work.  I do what I can to try and lose this weight I have gained (BTW I started off at 178 and got up as high as 203, I am now at 195).  I am swimming and getting in the sauna and steam room too.  Still not able to jog or run just yet.

Today is Sept. 21st and overall I am feeling pretty good except for some pain near the incision site.  I am still going to physical therapy twice a week.  The therapist is now doing ultra sound and massaging the area to try and loosen up the scar tissue and relieve some pain.  I am progressing pretty good but still have issues with some pain in the toe joints and ankle joint as well as the area near the ankle bone.  I am hoping it will go away and not the nural nerve that has entangled itself in with the scar tissue.  I still walk with a limp as I am still unable to walk normal because the joints hurt when I put weight on it and when I try and push off the pain is strong in the area around the ankle and incision.  I will see if it goes away in the next month or so and if not then I will return to the doctor.

Therapy and strength are getting a lot better.  I am able to get in the pool at the YMCA and have been doing some walking in it and that seems to help out a lot!!  Other things I do at the YMCA to help me is the stationary bike, leg press, treadmill, and some squats.  I am doing laps in the pool using a buoy because I can't flutter kick just yet.  Trying to get more range of motion is pretty tough when your leg is so weak, LOL.  I am able to walk in a shoe so thats a good thing cause last month I couldn't.

I go back to work on the 26th and will see if I am able to stand and walk for 8+ hours.  If not then I will have to see about another schedule until my foot is able to.  I am so ready to start riding my bike, swimming, and running!!!!  I would like to try and do a sprint triathlon sometime in March next year and hopefully end up doing a Olympic that year.  Because by the year 2014 or 2015 I would like to attempt a Florida Ironman!!!!!!

Oh, and before I forget again, the pics at the bottom of this post are from about 3 or so weeks ago.  I decided to go walking with the G/F and daughter and it ended up swelling up on me pretty bad.

My high arch!!

This is how my foot looks (see how its curved up)

How the scar looks today!! 

Swelling after walking for about 4 hours!!!!

This morning I had my 2 month post op check up and everything looks good he said except for the swelling.  He didn't say the swelling was really bad but would have liked it to have been less is all.  That plus I am still  having joint pain so he has me out of work til Sept 26th. but said I can go back to work sooner if I feel like I am able to and the swelling and pain has subsided.  He wants me to keep it elevated anytime I am laying around. 

I went to physical therapy yesterday (5th time) and they had me do all kinds of stuff.  They first started me off on the bike for about 8 min and then I went straight to the treadmill to walk for about 5 min.  This got the blood flowing and she went straight into some massaging of the ankle joint and bottom of the foot because both were very sore and tight (or swollen).  After that she was stretching my toes cause they seem to be the worst as far as being stiff and hurting.  After all that I walked around the room barefooted trying to loosen up the joint and to try and stop limping and hobbling.  It was very difficult because the toe joints hurt so much when the toes are brought backwards when walking.  I don't have the strength to push off with my toes either so walking makes it very difficult right now.  After that I played a game of pick up using my toes only and wow that was hard, its even hard for me without the injury LOL.  The day ended with some electric shock treatment and ice!!! 

I have been given the OK to walk crutch free and do whatever I can tolerate except running or anything impact once the swelling and pain has left.  After my check up I went to the YMCA and got in the pool for about an hour and walked forward and backward. This helped out a lot!  My goal is to be walking in a shoe with minimal limp by Sept 26th so I can get back to work and my training!!  

Physical therapy going good

It's been 4 days of therapy so far and everything seems to be going good.  Therapist has been doing massage on the side and under my foot to try and loosen things up and that has seemed to help out alot!!  The last session I was at on Thursday the therapist tried a electric stimulation on the ankle joint and I think that really has loosened things up.  For the most part I am now walking (limping flat footed) without crutches.  The only time I use crutches is when I am going somewhere with a lot of walking or in the morning when my foot is very tight.  I use flip flops to walk around in because walking barefoot doesn't allow as much cushion and starts to hurt the bottom of my foot.  I have pain on the top and bottom of my foot when I walk or put weight on it.  I am unable to actually walk because my toe joints and ankle are still to stiff and sore at the moment but hopefully in about 3 weeks I will be good.

Aside from the injury, I have decided I am going to go to school to be a Physical Therapy Assistant (PTA) because I think I would enjoy it. Next semester I will start taking some pre reqs and getting them out of the way.  

Here is what the scar looks like today.  Still kinda swollen but not to bad huh!!