Threshold

It has been 14 weeks since my fusion surgery of my first metatarsal-cuneiform and first cuneiform-second cuneiform in my left foot. My last post detailed my progress weight bearing in a boot. In total, I spent 6 weeks in a boot. The first 2-3 weeks of which were filled with ups and downs related to pain, soreness, and stiffness in my foot and ankle. However, I was usually able to abate any pain or swelling with icing and rest. After about 3 weeks in the boot, most of the kinks were worked out and my foot and ankle were fine.

Having gone through this charade before, I was relatively happy with the progress of my foot while in a boot. I have slowly regained mobility and strength in my foot and ankle, which was nearly nil directly after my NWB cast was removed. The new found mobility that the boot afforded me was better than the best Christmas gift I ever received. My mobility gave me the freedom and independence that had been shying away from me for the 5 months I have been dealing with this particular foot problem. Because of this, my general mood and motivation have improved significantly.

Oblique X-ray showing my hardware and signs of fusion
of the 1st TMT joint.

Now after 6 weeks in a boot, it is finally time to approach the threshold moment in recovery - shed the moon shoe to make one more small step towards healing. This brings us up to speed with my progress as of today. This morning I went to the doctor and was cleared - after standing weight-bearing X-rays were analyzed - to transition to walking in a normal shoe. As in any step in this recovery, I will have to work out a few kinks before this next stage of freedom is complete. I imagine I will experience some pain, swelling, and soreness in the weeks to come as I wean myself off of the boot and mature to a shoe. Most importantly, I will have to listen to my body, more specifically my foot, in this next stage. As long as I feel I am making progress, I will be happy.

My cat sniffing my newly freed foot. I would guess it didn't
smell like roses.

Today marks 6 months since I last stood on the ground with both feet sans boot, crutches, or knee scooter. The mere fact that I can possibly walk unencumbered with my two feet makes me extremely happy but also anxious. Since I have gone through this terribleness - in some regard or another - four times previous, I cannot help but have thoughts of my foot somehow becoming hurt again. I do my best to assuage and process these feelings so that I am able to stay positive and look forward. For any of you veteran Lisfrancer's or the unfortunate newly indicted members that are reading this, you probably have some sense of this. It has been a long and arduous road and I am still on it. Patience is key. But I sincerely hope I am leaving behind an unfortunate period and moving on to better times - at least in regard to my feet.

For anyone with questions regarding Lisfranc injuries, treatment options, and recovery please feel free to ask any question you have. I don't claim to be all knowing about this type of injury - and as I have stated many times previous every Lisfranc injury is different - but I have a large amount of knowledge through experience and research on the subject. Today marks 3 years that I have been dealing with this injury. As far as doctors, treatments, and recoveries I have been through the gambit. I would love to use these otherwise useless credentials to help others because I know how frightening it is to not know. I can't put these things on my resume so I might as well use them somehow...

Pictures of animals always make things better.
Here my cat looks like a pear.