Events leading to the surgery and the surgery it’s self, plus the first few days post surgery.
The first time I rolled my ankle was nearly 20 yrs ago while deployed to South Korea as a U.S. Marine. For PT one morning our platoon Sgt. decided on something light for once. We picked teams and played pickup basketball. During the game I drove into the paint, doing the best Jordan impression a 5’11” white kid from Kansas could muster. As I picked up my dribble and tried to put up a layup, boom. My right ankle rolled inward. I heard and felt the pop. I collapsed in a heap with a scream. The pain I felt immediately was some of the worst I’ve ever felt in my life. I would feel this pain so many more times in life, I just didn’t know it yet. The swelling was instant, within minutes I had what looked like a tennis ball trying to push it’s way out of the side of my ankle. Our corpsmen was with me immediately and he got my shoe off and started to render first aid.
Where we were in South Korea at the time the options for advanced medical care were limited to a basic medical tent only. The corpsmen we had were top notch but they lacked the tools to really see inside my ankle. I was diagnosed with a severe sprain and was given some pain meds and the all curing corpsmen prescription of water and ibuprofen. I was given 2 weeks of light duty with orders to follow up every two weeks until I was better. Anyone who has ever experienced a solid ankle sprain knows that it takes a bit more time then that. The macho world of an infantry Marine unfortunately made following a sound protocol for healing and rehabbing out of the question. I was on light duty for a total of 4 weeks, after which I was back to carrying 60lb rucksacks and running PT with my brothers.
Looking back I can honestly say that from that moment on, my ankle was never the same. There was no x-ray, no MRI, just and order for R.I.C.E. and good old ibuprofen and water. This was my last deployment before I reached my end of active service date. Any real medical intervention when I got back to the states would of kept me from the civilian life I had been dreaming of but quite a while. I was young and stupid so I just gritted it out, I didn't want to spend any more time in that world so I ignored my corpsmens recommendation. In hindsight, that was one of the worst mistakes of my life.
Over the next few decades the instability in my ankle only got worse and worse. I would go on to have three fractures of that ankle, one from snowboarding, one from skateboarding, and then an avulsion fracture suffered from jumping from the bed of a pickup for good measure. I never followed any instructions given by the doctors when the casts came off. No physical therapy or ankle braces, I again would again just grit it out and deal with the pain until it lessened. Another huge mistake on my part. Mixed in with those injuries were too many inward ankle rolls to count. I would roll my ankle under the simplest of circumstances, when they happened I would rate the severity by how many days I would have to limp on it.
In the last few years even the simplest of athletic endeavors required me to tape and splint my ankle as tightly as possible. Sometimes that still wasn’t enough to keep me from rolling it. I once rolled it by jumping feet first into a swimming pool, the water, not the bottom of the pool. The daily pain slowly began getting more and more uncomfortable. It was always a dull ache, like a mild headache in my ankle. Nothing debilitating but just enough to annoy. It would often be the thing that made a bad day, a really bad day. There were always times when I would step wrong, or turn and pivot to quickly. These moments were met with very severe, sharp pain. Like I was being stabbed with a hot knife. Afterward that dull ache would be quite a bit worse for a few days.
The final straw came 3 months ago, I was taking the garbage out through our dog run I stepped on a small rock, it was just enough to make it roll. I had a full head of steam, two full garbage bags and I wasn’t ready for it at all. It was violent, again I felt and heard a pop and again I was in a heap on the ground yelling the “F” word as loud as I could. That always seems to help a little. This time though was was different, this time my wife would not let me be so cavalier in my attitude. She insisted I see an orthopedic doctor so I could once and for all figure this thing out. After I met with the foot and ankle specialist and gave him my history he determined that traditional treatment and physical therapy wasn't going to work. He ordered an MRI, which surprisingly was going to be the first one I had ever had on my ankle. I had to wait a few weeks for the swelling to go down but I was finally doing the right thing. When I followed up after the MRI a few weeks later he laid out the damage. All of the ligaments were toast, I had a longitudinal split tear of the Peroneal Brevis tendon. I was told it needed to be surgically repaired. I looked at the calendar, spoke with my employer and scheduled the surgery for March 13th, 2020. This is what it looks like.....
The morning of the surgery it was cold and grey, a nice little rain/snow mix. The Coronavirus circus was just starting to pick up in My home state of Colorado. I received several pre-op phone calls making sure I wasn’t coughing or running a fever. As my wife was driving us in, I coughed a
few times, just clearing my throat, she joked that if they heard that they would cancel this thing in a heartbeat. For a second I thought to myself...this is your way out man! Once I got checked into the surgery center in Longmont, Co they had me put on the surgical gown and started to scrub and shave my leg. They then set the IV in the back of my hand the anesthesiologist came in and explained that he would be giving me a nerve block behind my knee first. They gave me some sedation through the IV which instantly made me very calm and relaxed. I never felt the nerve block set in, just the sting of the needle going into the back of my knee. I'm glad I didn't see it happen, my wife described the needle as quite aggressive. I hate needles and by aggressive she meant really fucking big. Shortly after that they wheeled me into the surgery room. They had me breath in oxygen from a mask and told me I would be falling asleep in about thirty seconds. Next thing I know I'm waking up in the recovery room. Fucking time travel! Such a crazy experience. I remember shaking uncontrollably for what seemed like five minute or more but was really only a minute or so. The nurse explained that it was normal, just the anesthesia leaving my body. The nerve block was now at 100%. I felt no pain just the uncomfortable feeling of a dead leg. I tried to wiggle my toes but they were completely paralyzed. That was a weird feeling for sure. The doctor came in and told me the surgery went fine and there were no complications. He said there was even more damage uncovered when they cut me open then was seen on the MRI. He informed me that he had to repair the other tendon as well and do quite a bit of clean up. They had the ice maker I purchased from them wrapped up into the splint and gave my wife the rundown on how to use it. (Side Note) The nurse that sold us on the ice maker did so on sales pitch that they sell them at cost, $175. When I got home in my boredom I checked good old Amazon, could of had one next day for $120. We got had. That being said I definitely recommend it. They told me to run it for 3 hrs on 3 hrs off. It comes with bottles you fill with water and freeze so you can swap them out easily. You can also add ice cubes and it will stay cold for as long as you need it. Once we were given all the post-op instructions they wheeled me out to my truck and my wife drove us home. She set me up with an incredible leg elevated sofa situation and hooked up the ice maker. The nerve block was good, she got the TV remotes, IPad, PS4 controller, water bottle. She got the blanket situated for me and I began my week of couch arrest.
The first 24 hours were uneventful, the nerve block was still good and I was keeping myself entertained by binge watching Westworld on HBO. Right at about the 26 hour out mark the surgery center called to check on me. Everything was still going smooth. As I was on the phone I regained the ability to wiggle my toes. What a great feeling, but it was also a sign the nerve block was finally wearing off. It probably took about 30 hours total for the nerve block to wear off, and when it did, hello pain. It was actually not nearly as bad as I expected, I had followed the doctors suggestion about staying ahead of the pain by taking two pain pills when I could wiggle my toes. I’ve been able to stay fairly comfortable with it so far, not at any more then a 2-3 on the scale.
Day two out of surgery was a bit more interesting. I slept comfortably all night but woke up to around a 7-8 on the scale. I moved from the bed to my sofa situation. I took some pain meds and was able to get the pain under control. I was able to rest comfortably for most of the day. I have quite a bit of blood that has soaked through the bandages and splint wrap. I think that is to be expected. This was also the first day at home alone. The lack of mobility really was the worst part. Hobbling around to do anything was very taxing and brought the pain back big time. We had to leave the dogs outside and that sucks, our younger Saint Bernard Lou is as gentle as they come and was a pretty good cuddle buddy but I can't imagine the pain if he plopped down in the wrong spot.
I will return to work in 3 days and I’m sure there will be more to add. I am a teacher and this Coronavirus thing has made my school decide to transition to a remote learning model. I’m not sure how it’s going to work since I’ve been out. My fingers are crossed that I will be able to teach from my laptop at home. Two weeks until I see the doctor again. I will update my blog then. I hope this helps. It helped me with some boredom for sure.
Where we were in South Korea at the time the options for advanced medical care were limited to a basic medical tent only. The corpsmen we had were top notch but they lacked the tools to really see inside my ankle. I was diagnosed with a severe sprain and was given some pain meds and the all curing corpsmen prescription of water and ibuprofen. I was given 2 weeks of light duty with orders to follow up every two weeks until I was better. Anyone who has ever experienced a solid ankle sprain knows that it takes a bit more time then that. The macho world of an infantry Marine unfortunately made following a sound protocol for healing and rehabbing out of the question. I was on light duty for a total of 4 weeks, after which I was back to carrying 60lb rucksacks and running PT with my brothers.
Looking back I can honestly say that from that moment on, my ankle was never the same. There was no x-ray, no MRI, just and order for R.I.C.E. and good old ibuprofen and water. This was my last deployment before I reached my end of active service date. Any real medical intervention when I got back to the states would of kept me from the civilian life I had been dreaming of but quite a while. I was young and stupid so I just gritted it out, I didn't want to spend any more time in that world so I ignored my corpsmens recommendation. In hindsight, that was one of the worst mistakes of my life.
Over the next few decades the instability in my ankle only got worse and worse. I would go on to have three fractures of that ankle, one from snowboarding, one from skateboarding, and then an avulsion fracture suffered from jumping from the bed of a pickup for good measure. I never followed any instructions given by the doctors when the casts came off. No physical therapy or ankle braces, I again would again just grit it out and deal with the pain until it lessened. Another huge mistake on my part. Mixed in with those injuries were too many inward ankle rolls to count. I would roll my ankle under the simplest of circumstances, when they happened I would rate the severity by how many days I would have to limp on it.
In the last few years even the simplest of athletic endeavors required me to tape and splint my ankle as tightly as possible. Sometimes that still wasn’t enough to keep me from rolling it. I once rolled it by jumping feet first into a swimming pool, the water, not the bottom of the pool. The daily pain slowly began getting more and more uncomfortable. It was always a dull ache, like a mild headache in my ankle. Nothing debilitating but just enough to annoy. It would often be the thing that made a bad day, a really bad day. There were always times when I would step wrong, or turn and pivot to quickly. These moments were met with very severe, sharp pain. Like I was being stabbed with a hot knife. Afterward that dull ache would be quite a bit worse for a few days.
The final straw came 3 months ago, I was taking the garbage out through our dog run I stepped on a small rock, it was just enough to make it roll. I had a full head of steam, two full garbage bags and I wasn’t ready for it at all. It was violent, again I felt and heard a pop and again I was in a heap on the ground yelling the “F” word as loud as I could. That always seems to help a little. This time though was was different, this time my wife would not let me be so cavalier in my attitude. She insisted I see an orthopedic doctor so I could once and for all figure this thing out. After I met with the foot and ankle specialist and gave him my history he determined that traditional treatment and physical therapy wasn't going to work. He ordered an MRI, which surprisingly was going to be the first one I had ever had on my ankle. I had to wait a few weeks for the swelling to go down but I was finally doing the right thing. When I followed up after the MRI a few weeks later he laid out the damage. All of the ligaments were toast, I had a longitudinal split tear of the Peroneal Brevis tendon. I was told it needed to be surgically repaired. I looked at the calendar, spoke with my employer and scheduled the surgery for March 13th, 2020. This is what it looks like.....
few times, just clearing my throat, she joked that if they heard that they would cancel this thing in a heartbeat. For a second I thought to myself...this is your way out man! Once I got checked into the surgery center in Longmont, Co they had me put on the surgical gown and started to scrub and shave my leg. They then set the IV in the back of my hand the anesthesiologist came in and explained that he would be giving me a nerve block behind my knee first. They gave me some sedation through the IV which instantly made me very calm and relaxed. I never felt the nerve block set in, just the sting of the needle going into the back of my knee. I'm glad I didn't see it happen, my wife described the needle as quite aggressive. I hate needles and by aggressive she meant really fucking big. Shortly after that they wheeled me into the surgery room. They had me breath in oxygen from a mask and told me I would be falling asleep in about thirty seconds. Next thing I know I'm waking up in the recovery room. Fucking time travel! Such a crazy experience. I remember shaking uncontrollably for what seemed like five minute or more but was really only a minute or so. The nurse explained that it was normal, just the anesthesia leaving my body. The nerve block was now at 100%. I felt no pain just the uncomfortable feeling of a dead leg. I tried to wiggle my toes but they were completely paralyzed. That was a weird feeling for sure. The doctor came in and told me the surgery went fine and there were no complications. He said there was even more damage uncovered when they cut me open then was seen on the MRI. He informed me that he had to repair the other tendon as well and do quite a bit of clean up. They had the ice maker I purchased from them wrapped up into the splint and gave my wife the rundown on how to use it. (Side Note) The nurse that sold us on the ice maker did so on sales pitch that they sell them at cost, $175. When I got home in my boredom I checked good old Amazon, could of had one next day for $120. We got had. That being said I definitely recommend it. They told me to run it for 3 hrs on 3 hrs off. It comes with bottles you fill with water and freeze so you can swap them out easily. You can also add ice cubes and it will stay cold for as long as you need it. Once we were given all the post-op instructions they wheeled me out to my truck and my wife drove us home. She set me up with an incredible leg elevated sofa situation and hooked up the ice maker. The nerve block was good, she got the TV remotes, IPad, PS4 controller, water bottle. She got the blanket situated for me and I began my week of couch arrest.
The first 24 hours were uneventful, the nerve block was still good and I was keeping myself entertained by binge watching Westworld on HBO. Right at about the 26 hour out mark the surgery center called to check on me. Everything was still going smooth. As I was on the phone I regained the ability to wiggle my toes. What a great feeling, but it was also a sign the nerve block was finally wearing off. It probably took about 30 hours total for the nerve block to wear off, and when it did, hello pain. It was actually not nearly as bad as I expected, I had followed the doctors suggestion about staying ahead of the pain by taking two pain pills when I could wiggle my toes. I’ve been able to stay fairly comfortable with it so far, not at any more then a 2-3 on the scale.
Day two out of surgery was a bit more interesting. I slept comfortably all night but woke up to around a 7-8 on the scale. I moved from the bed to my sofa situation. I took some pain meds and was able to get the pain under control. I was able to rest comfortably for most of the day. I have quite a bit of blood that has soaked through the bandages and splint wrap. I think that is to be expected. This was also the first day at home alone. The lack of mobility really was the worst part. Hobbling around to do anything was very taxing and brought the pain back big time. We had to leave the dogs outside and that sucks, our younger Saint Bernard Lou is as gentle as they come and was a pretty good cuddle buddy but I can't imagine the pain if he plopped down in the wrong spot.
I will return to work in 3 days and I’m sure there will be more to add. I am a teacher and this Coronavirus thing has made my school decide to transition to a remote learning model. I’m not sure how it’s going to work since I’ve been out. My fingers are crossed that I will be able to teach from my laptop at home. Two weeks until I see the doctor again. I will update my blog then. I hope this helps. It helped me with some boredom for sure.
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