It's been 5 months already?!

I had surgery on my ankle on Feb. 7, 2011 (removal of two bone spurs plus repairs to some cartilege damage that my surgeon found while he was in there-- eventually I'll go back and post details, but today is not that day). I've just realized: that was five months ago today. Five months! Shouldn't it be totally healed by now?!  I was on crutches, completely non-weight-bearing for 6 weeks, then went to PT for another 6 weeks. Jump ahead to last weekend, and I was able to walk 7+ miles. This is good progress, I know. But the ankle still gets sore randomly (like tonight-- major limping due to a sharp pain, no idea why) and is stiff for the first few steps after resting/sitting, until it gets loosened up.

My surgeon says this is not uncommon with ankle surgeries. "Ankles just always take longer to heal than it seems they should," he says. So far, my progress is looking good. I've put running out of my head until next year (if it ever becomes possible again at all-depending on the success of that cartilege repair technique), but I did ask when he thought running might become possible again. Maybe this fall he says. Interesting. I'll just keep the "after Jan 1" date in my head to keep my sanity. No pushing this particular envelope.

Besides, I suppose there will be no running until there is no more pain, and pain-free I am not. Ah well. I will do my best to remain patient, because really, what other choice do I have?

More waiting

Well it was fun while it lasted -- the 2 weeks of pain free running, that is. That's as long as the steroid shot got me. So on to the final, surgical option. I've got an appointment next week with the person who will potentially actually do the surgery. And I've still got an appointment on Feb. 3 with the internationally renowned local foot and ankle surgeon (who is actually retired from surgery) just for a consulation. If everyone agrees that surgery is at least worth a shot, then we'll move on with that hopefully soon after that Feb. 3 appointment.

I'm getting impatient, and have thought about just going ahead without the Feb. 3 consult, but I was reminded by my sports med dr that given his reputation, and given the seriousness of a surgery, it's worth waiting just a little longer to get this guy's opinon. So I'm waiting. Not terribly patiently, but I'm waiting.

In the meantime, I learned that there's a new minimalist running store that just recently opened in Bellevue, called, what else, Born to Run. I was particularly pleased to get to see in person and try on some of the Terra Plana VivoBarefoot shoes that I've been eyeing online. I hear that they'll have more VFFs coming in soon. I also hear there's talk of opening a second store in Seattle, but apparently that's still in the works. I'd wondered before how a minimalist-only shoe store would do around here....I guess we'll find out!  They gave me 10% of coupons to give to my friends so I'll be happy to share them with anyone who wants one.

This is your ankle on steroids

Back in June, I had my ankle X-rayed and was told that yes there was a bone spur causing "anterior ankle impingement," and perhaps an injection into the ankle could help atrophy some of the scar tissue around the spur and thus relieve my pain. At the time, I thought I had a mostly pristine ankle, and the injection proposed made me nervous. Nothing I'd learned from my research confirmed that the stuff to be injected  was some magic potion that could atrophy scar tissue without also atrophying the healthy tissue in there. Afraid that I might cause more harm than good, I decided to wait on the shot.

Several months, two doctors, and an MRI later, I was essentially told the same thing. Only this time I was ready for it. First, the news came from a doctor I trust. Second, because of the MRI, I now have a fuller picture of the situation. I now know that my ankle joint is hardly pristine. It's already mussed up in there with osteoarthritis. So my fear that they could put something in my ankle that might damage it-- well, it's already damaged so I figure there's no harm in trying the steroid injection.

Essentially this is the first step before potentially moving toward surgery. It is possible that the steroid breaks the cycle of pain/inflammation, and allows everything in there to calm down enough that the pain goes away forever. Yes, forever. (I'm praying for this option and invite anyone willing to do the same!!)  Or, the pain could go away and return in a matter of months, simply reaffirming that we're looking at the right spot. Anyway, if the pain returns, the surgeon says yes, surgery is a possibility. Yes, it could fix everything. Or it could not. It's hard to say, but the specificitiy of the pain does bode well for the efficacy of surgery. But the first step, before doing surgery is to try a steroid injection.

I'm cautiously optimistic. At the very least it suggests that I should be able to run without pain for some period of time. (I'll test that theory tomorrow.) It's been a long time, so I'm pretty excited about the prospect. If this gives me a chunk of time without ankle issues, I also expect to get a not insignificant amount of grief from my husband and my running partner, both of whom thought I should have gotten the shot when it was first suggested six months ago. Oh well. Getting some mental buy-in to the whole process should only make things go more smoothly than had I done it while thinking that I was doing something harmful. We will see what happens in the coming days/weeks.