I got a phone call last week after I had my MRI (read my entire synopsis of my ankle injury saga here) from my podiatrist who received the report back. I was surprised to hear from her just one day after getting the MRI, and she called from her cell phone while in the middle of moving office locations. I really can't tell you know awesome she is. More on that later.
My first MRI was nearly 2 years ago, and nothing of significance was revealed. That's why the treatment was to immobilize and then strengthen it back up.
Obviously since I'm still writing about this, that didn't work. I had given up just thinking I'd have to deal with the pain and swelling until someone emailed me asking if I had tried orthopedic inserts, and if so what kind. She had read my saga on my blog and reached out as she works for Lexington Podiatry and they had some new insoles she thought might help. Dr. Freels was recommended to me by several other people when I was going through this stuff the first time, but I ended up going to see someone who I could get an earlier appointment with. So, I made an appointment and we've worked together the past few months on figuring this out.
Anyway, when she called, I immediately thought “oh gosh, she's going to say they couldn't find anything” and I was going to just have thrown away all the money I had to pay to meet my deductible for the MRI. When she told me there was a 2.5cm tear in my posterior tibial tendon (PTT), I swear my tears welled up with happiness.
So, she recommended surgery since past immobilization hasn't helped and the problem has gotten worse (since no tear was on the first MRI). I can't travel or anything a while after the surgery, so I'm not meeting with the surgeon until mid-July as I'm traveling much of June and the first week of July. The surgery will likely be scheduled a week or two after meeting with her. Apparently they will do a graft of animal tendon (cow or pig I think??). I really have no details about the procedure or recovery time and I've vowed to not Google it. No use in worrying about it until I need to.
I immediatley told myself I needed to start swimming more to really keep the impact off of it. I started thinking about other things I could do, and immediately thought of Fat Amy (from Pitch Perfect. If you haven't seen the movie, GO RENT IT. NOW!). I could do horizontal running:
It just makes me laugh.
Anyway, I'm relieved and a little nervous about what's to come, but am just going to take care with my ankle as best I can for the next several weeks of travel. I'll probably be out of all FitBloggin‘ activities and won't be able to wear cute shoes during Full Figured Fashion Week, but I'll happily pay those prices knowing that there is a solution on the horizon.
Thanks again to Dr. Freels at Lexington Podiatry for really taking a comprehensive approach to this problem I thought I'd have to live with. No, this is not a sponsored post in any way, shape, or form. I just think it's incredibly rare to find a physician that will act as an advocate for their patients. She kept pushing for answers when I was ready to give up. My husband is now a believer in her as well, as he went to get his own orthotics for his “worlds highest arches.” He didn't think he was in that much pain, but now regularly comments about how those insoles really have made him feel so much better. As a nurse on his feet over 8 hours each day, you can imagine what a relief that is.
So, that's the latest. Anyone have experience with PTT surgery?
