Ankle Surgery

How did we get to this? Wasn’t surgery off the table in January, even after the MRI, in favor of physical therapy after 8 weeks first of immobilization? Yep. Annelise eventually did PT for over 2 months, and while she gained some strength & mobility, she was walking around at a constant 8 out of 10 on the pain scale, all while on 3 different pain meds multiple times a day. She tried an additional round of oral steroids that did nothing, followed 2 weeks later by a steroid injection directly into her ankle (not fun!) and when neither of those did a thing to ameliorate the pain (the shot actually made it worse) her doctor said the only option left was surgery.

That was the day before Will’s graduation. Needless to say, an already-emotional time was heightened to another level.

We got her scheduled for Tuesday, June 21st. Insurance denied covering the surgery. (Her surgeon was flabbergasted & said she has never had complete ligament ruptures this serious ever be denied! Pray for justice – we have officially submitted an appeal, but we had to drain everything we had saved to pay out of pocket. American healthcare…don’t get me started…)

The surgery was 100% necessary! In technical terms, it was an ankle scope to clear out the scar tissue, evaluate the cartilage & bone, and provide relief in the ankle joint itself + reconstruction of her lateral ankle ligaments (the ATFL & CFL) with an Artelon graft. It was a complete success, and she is healing faster than we even anticipated! 

She was off the prescription pain meds after 48 hours, and by a week & a half post-op, she was only taking either 3 ibuprofen or 3 acetaminophen once in the morning! That’s all she needed for pain, period. I can’t express what a huge miracle this is: to go from Celebrex, gabapentin, Voltaren, & ibuprofen multiple times a day to just 3 little anti-inflammatories first thing in the morning as you recover from major reconstructive surgery, *not* because you are in constant nerve & ankle pain = PRAISE PRAISE PRAISE!!!

At her 1 week post-op appointment, they cut off the soft wrap & splint from the first week & replaced with a cast - the *first* cast in our family:

They removed that cast at her 2 weeks post-op appointment, along with most of the sutures, except for a couple that dissolve over time.

She did not get a new cast - because she’s healing so well, she can be back in her old friend, the boot, for probably the next month. She’s already walking on it probably more than recommended, but as long as there’s no greater pain or any swelling, it’s just better healing. We’re not returning the knee scooter that one of her wrestling teammates let us borrow, yet, though…

PS - did you catch the giant hair chop? (And toning down the navy to dark brown?)