December 28, 2008

19-Weeks

The holidays are coming to a close. Hold on....let me thank god. Thank God! Don't get me wrong...I love the holidays, but the overindulgence of food, family, friends and house guests can get a bit tiresome. Ohh...and alcohol too. But, as my family and I clean up today, we look forward to the next big holiday.

The Achilles feels tight but no pain. The foot is still weak....but trying to support 210 pounds would make any foot weak! Man did I pack on some pounds between injury date and holiday party time! I'm usually cruising around the 188 to 191 mark. So...210 is huge for me! I broke an all time record! But all the eating, drinking, and lazing around has felt great!

Our family Christmas tradition is to go to the zoo on Christmas day. There's probably 6-people total when we showed up, so we tend to get the entire Denver Zoo to ourselves. Here's how my foot held up from all the walking and standing: not well. My heel and the portion of foot where the big toe attaches became quite painful; to the point of wanting to leave early. But...again...at 210 pounds, a weak foot is going to tire out easily. The Achilles actually had steady pain at the end of the day. That was the first time in a long time that I could actually feel the tendon flaring up. I iced it, and put myself on ice with a rum and coke. All was well after that!

I have not been on a run since the 23rd (2-miles), so I better get my butt in gear and start shedding the holiday fat storage. I need to get down to 188 pounds to be competitive and survive my marathon in May.

See you in a week.

P.S. Work is going well. The foot and achilles to get painful during the course of the day, but I'm able to rest and ice it to get ready for the next big call.

December 21, 2008

18 Weeks...back to work

I returned to work on the 19th for a 48-hour shift. Finally.

I was definitely lost when it came to my routine and rhythm of firefighting. The first time I went to put on my bunker gear, everything felt "off." It took me much longer than the other guys, and my gear did not fit! I had gained some weight during the injury, and my bunker pants were still set for my pre-injury abdomen. Man...was that tight!

The only other issue with the gear....I could not get my boot off! The scar tissue is so thick, that it change the shape of my ankle. Now, I struggle to get my fire boots off. I could get in them easy enough, but getting out I actually needed my Captain to help me get the boots off! Embarrassing, but that's the way it's going to be for a long time.

My foot got tired the first day of the shift, but felt pretty good on the second day. I forgot how physically demanding the job is. My first day back and we had 3 hours of vehicle extrication training in blowing snow and wind. Wow! When we finished, I felt exhausted. My ankle hurt and my cardio was screaming at me. I'm definitely out of shape for my return.

The second day I was able to get two solid workouts in, and we did not run a bunch of calls. So, I was able to rest the ankle and foot throughout the day and had a better day because of it. We ran a medical and and a car fire, and I felt good on both.

I need to get back to where I was fitness wise prior to getting hurt. Overall, it felt good to be back hanging in the house with the guys.

I'll keep writing about my comeback up until the 1-year anniversary of the injury.

December 17, 2008

Cleared for full duty!

17-weeks after the injury, and I'm now cleared to return to work as a firefighter! I spent the last two days seeing my surgeon and the department's doctor. Both of them gave approval for full duty. My surgeon said everything looks great. My range of motion and strength are a couple of weeks ahead of schedule. I attribute that to getting out of the boot earlier than I was supposed too, but I'm also returning back to work quicker. The department doctor did a couple of minor tests and said, "you're good to go!" So out the door I went. I do have to check in with my surgeon in 6 to 8-weeks for a progress report at which time he said they will probably close the case.

I start back on the fire engine on Friday. It's been 4-months since I've been a firefighter, so I have a very quick learning curve when I return. I'm fairly nervous to get back into the rhythm of working 48-hours on and 4-days off. It should be interesting.

I'm going to continue the blog until the 1-year mark passes. I want to see what kind of progress I get during marathon training starting in January. I ran 2-miles today...and I felt terrible. I've got a long ways to go to gather my cardio back from where it used to be.

So...for all those who are just starting the rehab process...you will make it! I promise! The Achilles will heal and you will be walking normal again. Hang in there.

c.sco

December 14, 2008

17 weeks

I see the doctor on Tuesday. I have a good feeling I'll be released for full active duty as a firefighter. I have a fit for duty test on Wednesday following the surgeons appointment, and they will give me the thumbs up or thumbs down for a return. My fingers are crossed.

The Achilles feels fine. There is still some tightness in the morning, but it subsides quickly. My foot still gets fatigued in the evening if I've had a hard workout or on my feet all day. But, the Achilles feels fine. Probably the most fatigued part of my lower leg is the pad under the big toe. Not the big toe itself, but the pad of the foot that leads to the joint of the big toe. That sucker gets tired! That's when I tend to "roll" my foot towards the outside to avoid that area. I still, in the late afternoon, concentrate on pushing off that pad to get the strength back.

Here was my workout on Friday:

3 rounds of
10 pullups
20 box jumps
135 pound deadlifts, 11 reps.

I felt no pain in the foot or Achilles during the box jumps. That leads me to believe that I will get the final approval on Tuesday. I finish every workout with some calf raises and single leg calf raises. My right foot and leg are able to support a "quick" single calf raise. I still cannot sustain standing on the toes of my right foot for any amount of time. I was told that will take some time while the foot regains the strength lost during its non-weight bearing days.

Overall, progress has been great. My cardio is coming back and I'm shedding the injury pounds that I gained.

I'll check back in after both doctor's appointments.

December 06, 2008

16 Weeks

I had a bit of a breakthrough. I was able to run a mile...pain free. Yep...pain free! I concentrated on pushing off the toes and working on my running form. I never felt any pain in the Achilles, shin or foot. It felt great! Granted, the run was in the morning (45 degrees F), so by the end of the day my foot and leg were pretty tired. But I think the foot and lower leg are much stronger than last week. The first steps in the morning are much easier as well. I walk with a normal gait now, but I'll tend to limp in the evening hours due to fatigue.

I have one more week of light duty; hopefully one more week. I see the doctor on the 16th, and have a fit for duty test on the 17th. If I pass both of those, I'll be back in a fire truck on the 19th. I do not recommend light duty if your used to being out in the field doing your job. Again, how folks work 8-hours a day in an office perplexes me.

My weight training is mostly lower body at this point with concentration on the lower and upper legs. Overall fitness had improved, but I have a long way to go to get back to the level I was pre-injury.

I did have a small slip on the snow and ice catching myself full force on my right leg. Everything held up fine. I had a tiny limp after the incident, but my confidence has greatly improved with my Achilles.

See you at Week 17.