Week 2 - Progress Report

Week 2 - Progress Report

In some ways Week 2 is more difficult than Week 1. During Week 1 you are really hurting and mostly flat on your back the afternoon with the leg elevated as often as possible to avoid swelling. However, because you are anxious to start really recovering, you will always be trying to get up and assert some independence. The problem with be the tenderness and rigidity of your repaired leg.

I came home on Day 5 using my walker. I used the walker on Days 5-7. By the morning of Day 8, I had completely switched over to a cane. And I must say, it was rough. Your leg is not even close to being straight and your are relying solely on your good leg to get upright. Once you start getting to the standing position, you need the leg to "settle down" and that takes a minute. I'm not sure of the physiology behind what "settle down" means, but it's almost like the rush of blood to your foot after having it elevated causes an acute momentary tenderness. For me it was around my ankle and around the curve where my lower calf meets my foot. 

After getting up and waiting for my leg to settle down, I always made the effort to slowly put weight on my foot, to stretch my back straight, and to open my knee as far as possible. I also started a process before attempting to stand. While lying in bed, I would do preparatory leg stretched... bending the knee and gently pulling it closed... then extending my leg however far straight it would go. I'd also wiggle my toes and stretch the toes back to stretch my calf. If I completed that routine prior to standing, it would make things easier. To walk, you will need to get comfortable with alternating your weight between your good leg and the cane.

I personally went to work on Day 9. By that time I was hobbling around pretty good. I drive a full size van so it wasn't terribly painful lifting myself up onto the seat. The motion was upward, as opposed to taking my sedan, where the motion would have been horizontal and down. Lifting myself to a raised seat was actually easier. To get myself out of the van, I simply turned and slid down my seat until my good leg touched the ground.

I work mostly sitting at a desk looking at a computer screen, which was very doable. I also need to walk into a small warehouse to pick merchandise, pack it in a shipping carton, then carry it to the UPS pickup location by my front door. The first day back was a very busy day, and I made the mistake of doing way too much. By the time I got home, my calf, ankle, and foot were pretty swollen. I immediately laid down and elevated my foot. This was pretty much my pattern for Week 2. I'd go to the office late, spend as little time there as possible, go home and immediately lay down.

Keep in mind that you still have all the staples in your leg and that Frankenstein incision line is starting to be bothersome. You're still struggling to straighten your leg. Your skin is starting to feel very dry and they tell you not to apply anything directly to the incision. I personally started thinking that all the pulling of my skin, which kind of felt like having a sunburn, was due to the extraordinarily dryness of my skin. I started applying Nivea moisturizing lotion to all the skin on my leg, really messaging it in, just to soften it's leathery.

I was also taking showers and had been doing so since Day 7. We have a handheld shower, so I could run a gentle stream of water down my leg, and I must say, that felt wonderful. I was imagining my leg just absorbing all the moisture and that thought alone made me feel better. By the end of Week 2 you'll be looking at those staples as if they're little clamps holding back your leg from making any improvement.

Everyday beginning with Week 2 there is a 1% improvement in your condition. This carries into Weeks 3-4 where slowly but surely the healing process is working. You're never going to make as much progress and you want, but without any unforeseen complications, everything seems to be getting easier.