I am continuing to go for walks on the lake trails around my house, about 3.5 miles each time, once or twice a week. Last week, I officially got my time under an hour for the route (57 minutes!). My foot was pretty sore that night and the next day, but I was really pleased with the progress.
I've also been experimenting with different shoes. Each shoe that I wear feels different, and I am more aware of what each type of shoe feels like, and what different muscles I engage. I now can cycle through several different tennis shoes, without inserts. I am wearing flats, and flat-heeled boots. I also like wearing my trail running shoes, and my hiking boots. I splurged and also bought a really expensive pair of orthopedic flip flops (a girl's MUST for summer). I cringed at the price, but as the doctor said, I will be getting what I pay for. They seem to be working out just fine - minimal and sometimes no pain at all while wearing them.
I can say that I'm starting to have more good days than I do bad days. I feel really positive about things! I think about my foot less and less, but it's always there in the back of my mind with every step. I'm a little terrified of heights, uneven ground, and tripping. I still can't come up on my toes yet, but I've been slowly seeing some progress there. The nagging big toe pain still kind of bothers me. I wish that would go away.
I have also started introducing some lower body weight lifting into my strength routine. The doctor encouraged me to keep it light when first starting out, and I should be able to do 3 sets of 20 reps. I feel kind of wimpy squatting with a body bar, but I absolutely do not want to push too much too soon.
The foot is slowly starting to turn into "just a foot." I still limp occasionally, when I've been on my feet more than usual, first thing in the morning, or after I've been sitting for a while. I always think it is not that noticeable, but I was at Costco on Saturday and got attacked by a sample man who noticed I was limping and asked if it was arthritis. He sold me some Wellense Joint Movement supplements, that may help with arthritis pain. I figured I didn't have anything to lose by trying it! My limp seems to be getting me into trouble it seems.
Hiking season is so close! We had a big snow storm this week, but in the next couple of weeks the snow should start to be melting and opening up some trails. That's the next milestone. For now, I'm taking advantage of the nicer weather in the valley and spending some time gardening. It's very therapeutic and I'm just happy to be outside again on my own two feet!
Hi CC
ReplyDeleteLovely to read your blog. I can't believe what you have written and parallel to you I cannot believe where I am now. It's been a gruelling 15 months for me. Started with hip replacement 15 months ago, followed by Lis Franc injury 10 months ago, followed by pneumonia 1 month ago - apart from that I am fine!
My Lisfranc is nearly forgotten it has become "my foot" in a way that I never felt possible. My on balance decision is not to have the hard ware out. It is causing no problems at all now and looking at the pros and cons will leave it as it is.
My surgeon originally said "I will get it better 80%" He was saying this to encourage me and all it did was alarm me. What was the 20% going to be? My biggest break through was being able to walk on rough hillsides, with the foot going at all angles. I had been using a machine to strengthen my ankles, him and foot movement called a Podiatron. This really improved me - whoopee! I have also done a crazy thing - going on a low carb high fat diet. This is brilliant and really suits me. So having lost quite a bit of weight that must be better for my lis franc too. More brilliant news please when you are ready!!
Thank you for taking the time to read it!
DeleteIt certainly sounds like you have had a rough stretch for the last 15 months, and you really need a break! Well... not literally a break ;)
I still have my plate in, and that will stay forever, but the other screws were bothering me quite a bit so we opted to have them removed. This obviously causes my joints to move a lot more and the more movement I do, the more the bones grind together and the more pain I have. But everyone is different and I am glad that it worked out for you.
I keep wondering when I will be "as good as it gets", whether that is 50, 80 or 95%! Time will only tell and I was told about a year post-op is usually when I can expect to know that.
And that is so interesting you are following LCHF! I have been doing Keto too since about middle January. I gained a lot of weight post-op, but since I've started to do the diet I have lost 15 lbs in 2.5 months. I absolutely love it, I feel so much better without eating all the carbs. And my cravings for sugars, pastas, and breads are all pretty much gone. I think it will be better for our feet too :)
Good luck on your healing journey!