Amazon.com Widgets
---

My Achilles Tendon – On My Feet Again · 27 February 2009

I knew that it was not going to be easy, but I did not think that it would be so painful to put all my weight on my foot. So far, it has been the toughest part of the Achilles journey. Humpty Dumpty may be back together, but he sure can not walk very fast. Or very far. At least not without wobbling a bit.


After about 6 weeks of splints, casts, and crutches, I finally got to put weight on my foot. A few minutes is not too bad. But all day would be practically impossible without crutches or a chair with wheels. At least in the beginning. Of course, my foot is still swollen and I do not have much flexibility in my ankle area. Still, I thought getting back to walking would be relatively painless like the rest of the process has been. So far, it has been the worst part. Besides not using it.


It is funny to think that getting used to having two feet again would be a difficult thing to do. As long as I have my crutches, I have the temptation and habit to keep my injured leg off the ground all the time and just support my weight with my upper body through those crutches. And when I need to stand, I want to just keep one leg raised high to keep my hips from getting all messed up. When I have that hurt leg elevated, I feel like I should pose the rest of my body, purse my lips, and act like I am a statue spewing water into a fountain. I feel like I should be one of those little cherub fountains. But I usually resist the urge.


I am sure that getting back to “normal” will be a long process. Just putting weight on my foot is taking long enough (and it has only been a few days). I will endure and eventually I will be back to walking without wobbling and I am optimistic enough to believe that I will run and maybe even play basketball again. But I will take it a day at a time.


Even though it hurts a bit to just stand in one place with weight on both feet, I can still see myself running and jumping. I can even see myself making a couple baskets in a game. But I will not go too far and imagine making much more than that. After all, I can not see that having Achilles tendon surgery would make me a better basketball player than I was before. I will still probably look and play like the Humpty Dumpty I have always been. Just not as fast or as agile. I just hope that someday I will not wobble as much as I do now.

© 2009 Michael T. Miyoshi

Share on facebook
---

Comment

Commenting is closed for this article.