In my imagination I thought sleeping in bed the first night was going to be very difficult. It turns out that I slept like a baby. I got up to go to the bathroom once, which was uneventful. Hopefully the rest of my nights can go like this.
This morning I woke up at 8:30AM, and felt really good. As a matter fact I felt so good that I felt I did not need any pain medication. It's 12 hours later and I still have not taken any pain medication, how awesome is that. All day I have felt really good, but I do have one complaint I have had the stinking hiccups all day long. They are about to drive me nuts.
I had another awesome turkey sandwich, and a great chicken and rice dinner. All thanks to my wife, she has been a huge help doing pretty much everything.
Hopefully things keep going the way they have been. I am going to keep trying to go without the pain medication for as long as I can. As of right now I am in no pain at all.
I guess I will update you tomorrow, and hopefully I will get rid of these stupid hiccups. Later.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Peroneus Longus Tear: At home after the surgery
I made it home feeling great, but super tired and hungry. I was craving a turkey sandwich and a sprite. My wife fixed me up on the recliner with pillows to elevate my leg and an ice pack under my knee. She also made my sandwich and sprite, tasted awesome. I kept dozing off while I was eating though. My parents went to the pharmacy to get my prescription while I napped a little.
They got my pain medication, Norco, some Tylenol, Ibuprofen, and aspirin. The doctor said to take the Norco as needed. If I didn't need that then I could alternate Tylenol and Ibuprofen. I am suppose to take the aspirin once a day to help prevent blood clots. Before the surgery the nurse put a long support sock on my right leg to help prevent blood clots also. This is suppose to stay on until my appointment on Tuesday, March 1st.
I took the Norco when my parents got back because I figured the anesthesia would wear off and I would be in a ton of pain. I kept dozing off the rest of the day. Never in any pain. My foot actually feels like it did when I went into surgery. The same dull achy sensation I have had the last 6 months. I kept taking the Norco, 2 every 4 hours, up until I went to bed at 10:30PM.
I felt pretty good all day considering I had gone through surgery. My main concern was taking the narcotics, but I have not had any problems at all. Usually when I take narcotics I hallucinate really bad, so much so that I can't take the meds anymore.
I almost forgot to mention the awesome dinner my wife fixed, chicken stroganoff in the crock pot. The chicken was so tender and the sauce was an Italian cheese sauce that was amazing. She added rice to it as well. It was so good I had to go back for seconds.
Peroneus Longus Tear Surgery
They wheeled me in and I had to climb up on the table. I just had a short open backed gown on, which practically fell all the way off. So, the whole team got to see the whole package before the procedure. I really did not care at all at that point. Anyways, how often do you get to be completely naked in front of a bunch of people, and it be perfectly fine. Never for me.
After I got on the table they set everything else up, and shaved my leg. They put the oxygen mask on and then the sleeping juice. I remember someone asking my name and by the time I said it I was out.
I woke up what seemed like seconds later (actually an hour) and felt really good. I was wide awake and in no pain at all. The clock said 10:15AM. The nurse came over and asked me some question, and I think I asked her a ton of questions also. I really don't remember very well. I do remember the doctor coming in and talking to me. He told me he had to make the incision a lot longer than anticipated because my muscle and tendon was a whole lot longer than he had ever seen. I'm not sure what this means. I will have to ask at my next appointment. He said he found a tear where he marked before surgery, and there was also a tear down by the knob on my foot also. So its a good thing he exposed the whole tendon.
Once I got back to the waiting room with with my family the nurse gave me an ice cold Pepsi and a nice warm blueberry muffin, which tasted so good. I got a little nauseous but after a couple of seconds it went away. They took the IV out and I went to the bathroom. I had no pain whatsoever. When I got back in the room my wife helped me get my clothes back on and then I was free to go. On the wheel chair ride down to the car I got nauseous again, but held it in. I then got in the car and we drove off. Once we were driving it was apparent that I was going to have to vomit. Luckily they gave us a bag, because I threw up all the liquid I drank and the blueberry muffin (I felt sorry for my wife having to listen and watch while she was driving). After the vomiting, which only lasted about a minute or two, I felt like a million dollars. I have not been nauseous at all since. I have been pain free, but extremely tired.
After I got on the table they set everything else up, and shaved my leg. They put the oxygen mask on and then the sleeping juice. I remember someone asking my name and by the time I said it I was out.
I woke up what seemed like seconds later (actually an hour) and felt really good. I was wide awake and in no pain at all. The clock said 10:15AM. The nurse came over and asked me some question, and I think I asked her a ton of questions also. I really don't remember very well. I do remember the doctor coming in and talking to me. He told me he had to make the incision a lot longer than anticipated because my muscle and tendon was a whole lot longer than he had ever seen. I'm not sure what this means. I will have to ask at my next appointment. He said he found a tear where he marked before surgery, and there was also a tear down by the knob on my foot also. So its a good thing he exposed the whole tendon.
Once I got back to the waiting room with with my family the nurse gave me an ice cold Pepsi and a nice warm blueberry muffin, which tasted so good. I got a little nauseous but after a couple of seconds it went away. They took the IV out and I went to the bathroom. I had no pain whatsoever. When I got back in the room my wife helped me get my clothes back on and then I was free to go. On the wheel chair ride down to the car I got nauseous again, but held it in. I then got in the car and we drove off. Once we were driving it was apparent that I was going to have to vomit. Luckily they gave us a bag, because I threw up all the liquid I drank and the blueberry muffin (I felt sorry for my wife having to listen and watch while she was driving). After the vomiting, which only lasted about a minute or two, I felt like a million dollars. I have not been nauseous at all since. I have been pain free, but extremely tired.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Peroneus Longus Tear: Surgery day
I had to be at the hospital this morning at 6:30 AM for registration and prep. My surgery was scheduled for 8:30 AM. Of course we had a snow storm over night that made it difficult to get to the hospital, but we made it without any events.
During prep the doctor came in and initialed the leg to be operated on, and circled the spot where the greatest pain was. He filled me in on the procedure letting me know that he would use stitches instead of staples because they are easier to remove, meaning less painful. I was also going to receive a soft cast with a walking boot instead of a hard cast like I expected. He also re-informed me about exposing the entire tendon. The medication he put me on is called Norco. The procedure would take an hour, and then I would be asleep in recovery for a half hour. Once I would awaken I would meet with the doctor and then they were going to take me to my family after another half hour. I was going to have to stay in that room for about an hour. So roughly 3 hours from start of surgery to heading home.
During prep, a student got to experiment on installing the IV in my hand. It was kind of funny because she kept asking the nurse for diredtion like she wasn't sure of how to do some steps. She ended up doing an exceptional job. I told her she did very well, and let her know the horror story of my last IV insert. The nurse tried 4 times to get it in my arm, and even broke the needle off in my arm one time. Her excuse was that I had the toughest skin she had worked with. I find that hard to believe. After that I sat in the waiting room with the fam until 9:00 AM when they took me to surgery.
During prep the doctor came in and initialed the leg to be operated on, and circled the spot where the greatest pain was. He filled me in on the procedure letting me know that he would use stitches instead of staples because they are easier to remove, meaning less painful. I was also going to receive a soft cast with a walking boot instead of a hard cast like I expected. He also re-informed me about exposing the entire tendon. The medication he put me on is called Norco. The procedure would take an hour, and then I would be asleep in recovery for a half hour. Once I would awaken I would meet with the doctor and then they were going to take me to my family after another half hour. I was going to have to stay in that room for about an hour. So roughly 3 hours from start of surgery to heading home.
During prep, a student got to experiment on installing the IV in my hand. It was kind of funny because she kept asking the nurse for diredtion like she wasn't sure of how to do some steps. She ended up doing an exceptional job. I told her she did very well, and let her know the horror story of my last IV insert. The nurse tried 4 times to get it in my arm, and even broke the needle off in my arm one time. Her excuse was that I had the toughest skin she had worked with. I find that hard to believe. After that I sat in the waiting room with the fam until 9:00 AM when they took me to surgery.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Peroneus Longus Tear: The day before surgery
Ok, lets fast forward almost 6 months after the injury. Yes, I am still off work,and do not see the end in sight. Tomorrow 2/25/2011 I will have surgery to repair the longitudinal tear in my peroneus longus. It is torn where the calf muscle and tendon meet. It feels like it is about 3 inches long.
The injury is on the outside of my left foot. The doctor plans on exposing the entire tendon, so I am going to have one heck of a scar on my foot. He said he is going to remove the scar tissue that has built up, and then suture together the torn part of the tendon. I will then be put in a cast and sent home. Sounds pretty simple. I'm guessing that I am going to be in a ton of pain though.
The pictures show exactly where the pain is. I feel pain in between my to fingers in the one picture, and the other is the exact spot that hurts the most.
I have been told that this spot is not where people typically tear their peroneus longus. Usually it is on the foot where the tendon attaches or at the bump on your foot. I never get injured in an ordinary spot so it was no surprise.
I am hoping to get some good pictures to put on this blog so people know what to expect. Also, you will just have to excuse the bad writing. I'm a lineman so writing is not my strong suit.
If I am up to it tomorrow I will post some pics and fill you in on what happened. For now wish me luck.
The injury is on the outside of my left foot. The doctor plans on exposing the entire tendon, so I am going to have one heck of a scar on my foot. He said he is going to remove the scar tissue that has built up, and then suture together the torn part of the tendon. I will then be put in a cast and sent home. Sounds pretty simple. I'm guessing that I am going to be in a ton of pain though.
The pictures show exactly where the pain is. I feel pain in between my to fingers in the one picture, and the other is the exact spot that hurts the most.
I have been told that this spot is not where people typically tear their peroneus longus. Usually it is on the foot where the tendon attaches or at the bump on your foot. I never get injured in an ordinary spot so it was no surprise.
I am hoping to get some good pictures to put on this blog so people know what to expect. Also, you will just have to excuse the bad writing. I'm a lineman so writing is not my strong suit.
If I am up to it tomorrow I will post some pics and fill you in on what happened. For now wish me luck.
Peroneus Longus Tear How it happened.
It all started September 7, 2010. I was at the job site framing a pole, a job I have done countless times. I stepped back to roll up some wire that was coming out of a lightning arrestor. When my foot finally hit dirt it was in a tire rut that I didn't realize was even there, but then again I step into holes that I don't know are there all the time. I have never had a problem with my ankles at all, but all that changed with this step. As soon as my foot landed I felt a nice little twinge, nothing really painful. So I continued to work on it with a little bit of a limp. It was a little sore but I figured it would go away if I just kept working on it, it kind of did and I really didn't think much about it the rest of the day.
I got home from work that day, slipped off my work boots, and took it easy for a little bit. I got up to get a drink a little while later, and with my first step I knew I was in trouble. I was in major pain, and could hardly put any weight on it at all. It was a sharp throbbing pain concentrated in one specific spot. So I took some ibuprofen and went to bed hoping it would get better over night.
Around midnight I got called out to work because a tree limb had fallen through one of our three phase lines. My boss went on the call out with me, and on the way out to the job I told him what I had done. I don't think he liked the news very well but what else was I to expect. We ended up spending most of the night out on this job because it turned out to be a whole tree instead of just the limb. Plus, there was wire down, and the tree was on fire, it was a mess needless to say. Anyways I worked out of the bucket and Matt did all the ground work, since I couldn't walk. We got done around 4 in the morning, and ended up sleeping at the shop. I could hardly sleep because I was in pain. My foot just kept throbbing.
I know this is kind of long and you don't want to read all the details, but I think people that have this same type of injury would be interested in hearing about my chain of events that put me in this situation. I'm sure if they have been laid up for as long as I have they have plenty of time to read it. Just bare with me an I will get to the good stuff.
I got home from work that day, slipped off my work boots, and took it easy for a little bit. I got up to get a drink a little while later, and with my first step I knew I was in trouble. I was in major pain, and could hardly put any weight on it at all. It was a sharp throbbing pain concentrated in one specific spot. So I took some ibuprofen and went to bed hoping it would get better over night.
Around midnight I got called out to work because a tree limb had fallen through one of our three phase lines. My boss went on the call out with me, and on the way out to the job I told him what I had done. I don't think he liked the news very well but what else was I to expect. We ended up spending most of the night out on this job because it turned out to be a whole tree instead of just the limb. Plus, there was wire down, and the tree was on fire, it was a mess needless to say. Anyways I worked out of the bucket and Matt did all the ground work, since I couldn't walk. We got done around 4 in the morning, and ended up sleeping at the shop. I could hardly sleep because I was in pain. My foot just kept throbbing.
I know this is kind of long and you don't want to read all the details, but I think people that have this same type of injury would be interested in hearing about my chain of events that put me in this situation. I'm sure if they have been laid up for as long as I have they have plenty of time to read it. Just bare with me an I will get to the good stuff.
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