Whew ... just got back into town a little while ago from the Chicago trip. I drove 700 miles in three days. Every time I go to Dr. P's office I forget how far into Chicago she is located - almost to the Wisconsin border. It was a great trip though!
Dr. P was very excited to see me and we spent the first minute or so hugging each other. She thought my foot looked spectacular! She agreed fully that we made the right decision with the Dallas surgery & couldn't believe the difference in improvement. My situation of having a contracted tendon as an adult was rather unprecedented, so no one really knew totally what to expect on outcome. She said that being able to wear a shoe is the critical component and since I can now do that I should see greater improvement with pt, walking, feeling, coloration, etc.
She watched me walk with and without shoes and felt that there was some rehab needed still, but not as much as she had anticipated. She felt like 4 weeks of physical therapy would likely be enough. Improved strength needs to occur in my foot and I need to get to the point that I'm comfortable driving with the right foot again. She said that everyone should practice standing on each foot several times a day to keep foot/leg/calf muscles strong .... she suggested doing it while I am waiting in lines for things throughout my day. I'll likely do another follow-up appt. with her after therapy has finished at some point. She also said that eventually I should be able to wear a shoe with a small heel (up to 1 1/2"), but this may take a long time for everything to stretch out muscle wise that this is comfortable.
It was fun to visit with relatives and it was one of my happier trips .... how many times have I driven home with little or discouraging progress. I am still relatively early in the recovery progress still (at 8 weeks), even though it feels like much longer since November. Gradually everything should feel more natural as time passes and the foot becomes stronger. Need to go unpack and get things organized. Thanks for continuing to pray!
Jenny
1 comment:
Hey...good news @ the trip & GREAT news that Dr P is so encouraged by your surgical outcome and progress! Yippie! Yip-huge-pie! The house smells like garlic b/c Mike made spagetti. I think anyone's sinuses would be 'bout cleared out w/i 5 minutes of arrival in our household. The boys are playing "hiding" w/ Mike and banging tambourines and whistling on slide whistles they got for Christmas and shouting, yes, shouting, into microphones, which only makes the din louder...or the den louder, whichever...or BOTH! It's kind of hard on the tympanum. But it's funny to listen to. Elijah counts but gets the words confused w/ the higher #'s and says: fourteen, fifteen, "sticky"-teen...it's hilarious! I don't even want to CORRECT him it's so funny...probably should eventually, though, or I may get dirty looks from teachers in his future. Here's lookin' at 'cha, kid! Hugs! L Jo
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