The Appointment

Ok, I saw my doctor. As he opened my chart and started going over the report from the CT he was shaking his head, and let fly a couple of expletives. While some might find this as unprofessional, I myself find him to be very personable. So this is what he told me:

First off, there is a complete collapse of the fibular/tibular something-or-other. I really can't begin to say what exactly all that means, but it sounds bad. On the flip side, I think what they are calling a collapse is simply years of abuse and wear.

Second, there are signs of arthritis. Again, there is nothing new there.

Last, there are 4 "loose bodies", also known as bone fragments. The largest of which is nearly 1/2 inch in diameter. This is most likely causing most of my pain.

So there is the report. The doctor's official diagnosis? And I quote, "Your ankle is wrecked."

He then told that my ailments are far beyond the scope of his practice, and I am being referred to an orthopedist. This information is really nothing new to me either, and was expected. It seems ridiculous to me that I have had to go through all this red tape and a couple of hoops in order to see the orthopedist, but that is just the way it goes I guess. I can't say I have ever personally felt the need for health care reform, but if ever I did, it would be now. It should be a little easier than this to get things done.

OK, so for now, I am wearing my little boot on a regular basis, and waiting for an appointment with the orthopedist. I'll keep you posted.

Reflections on Modified Duty

Where I work, there is a certain expectancy that you are going to show up for work every day and be prepared to perform your duties. I realize that this expectation seems rather obvious, but there are other factors to consider. For example, here at the office I accrue sick time. Right now I have almost 400 hours of sick time on the books. That's a lot of time I could miss and still receive my normal salary. We accrue vacation time (of which I use a lot), which is more time I could use to miss work. And last, for every designated holiday (of which there 8 per year) I accrue 8 hours of holiday time which, yes, I could use to take time off from work. All these things in mind, people still issue out a verbal assault on those who are not at work (usually in good fun, but still an assault none-the-less).

Now, I myself am in a particular quandary. I plan to miss a minimal amount of work, although I will be put onto a light duty status tomorrow. I will be here, but will pretty much be limited to a desk job and answering phones. Not ideal, but is better than me not being here at all. Even though I won't be missing work (yet) I am not exempt from the verbal abuse.

Take my good friend Dean, for example. Apparently, according to him, my modified work status will not really change anything because my co-workers are used to carrying my slack anyway. My good friend Tim has stated that they hardly notice me at all anyway, and simply have gotten used to the very little amount of work that I do. My wife, simply states that I do my best to do as little as possible and this won't make any difference either.

Do I take offense to this? Not in the least. Do I think they don't care? Absolutely not. I don't know where this odd way of showing support and care for a person came from. Saying the opposite of what you really mean seems, well, backwards. But it is what it is. There is a saying that goes around the office to some of the new guys, as they take a ration of flack for simply being the new guy, "When we are joking with you, its because we like you. When no one talks to you, you should be worried." And so it is, and so it is.

So I am here at work right now, knowing that moving my ankle as little possible is the only thing that keeps it from hurting. And to my dear friends who so happily comment on my inability to do my job, I say "The phone in front of me is ringing. Some one hand it to me!"

It seems, anymore, that if I am at home I barely have time to do anything. If I am not at home, I am at work. This schedule is not conducive to my overall well being. But I seem to get by anyway. Here is what's new:

1. The ankle join is causing me pain on a regular basis. A regimen of Motrin and Tylenol helps, but I don't think its an end all solution. It is rather frustrating, though, because I'll be at work and labeled a "gimp," and I just feel like a burden to the shift. Such is life though, and I know its the needed thing to do in order to make it better in the long run. So for now fellow co-workers, you have to pick up my slack.
2. My truck has been having trouble lately. It has been idling a little on the rough side, and the other day the electrical in the dash went out all together. Then, on Saturday morning, it simply would not start. That sucks. So AAA towed it for us and the prognosis is still unknown.
3. Our house has been somewhat of a Kitty infirmary. Stinky had her dental work done, and the Vet extracted 6 teeth. On the plus side, she doesn't stink at all any more. I guess we will have to come up with new name for her. Ubu is still not eating and drinking. We are having to administer fluids through IV every other day right now. His prognosis is still unknown.

So that's the rundown. I see the doctor again on Wednesday, but I don't expect to know anything different by that time, only to be referred to an orthopedist.

X-Rays and Enemas

So I have an appointment for a CT (commonly referred to as a Cat Scan, although I am pretty positive that there will be no felines involved). I am set up for 0800 tomorrow. I have had an MRI before, but never a CT, so I figured this was something I should know about ahead of time.

A CAT scan, or Computerized Axial Tomography, is used to analyze various structures in the body. The imaging machine is shaped like a large doughnut and my leg will simply be in the hole while the machine takes pictures around me.

All this is well and good, really not too different from an MRI (in procedure, anyway). But then there is the contrast material, or maybe it would be better known as X-ray Dye. Some of this can be ingested through the mouth. I would assume this is some sort of beverage mixture that tastes horrible. It can be injected intravenously, which I think would be my preference. Or it be administered with an enema. I guessing that won't be done to me tomorrow, and quite honestly if it were I would have to assume that my physician has a really bad sense of humor.

I'm glad this is being done in short order, and I'm sure I'll have more to say tomorrow.

Ankle Updates

Its a funny thing about this ankle problem of mine. For the past 20 years I have known that an ankle fusion is going to be in my future. Having always known this, not once have I ever actually looked into what the process entails.

Here is what I have learned:

1. I had hoped that in the past 20 years there would be significant advances in this particular field that would eliminate the need for a fused ankle. Sadly, this is not the case. Thanks to the availability of copious amounts of medical information (courtesy of the World Wide Web) I have learned that ankle fusion is really the most common fix for a guy like me and the most successful.


2. I never really knew the process of an ankle fusion, but now I do. There is a particularly useful site that was found by Dean Flint. Allow me to post a link: http://home.earthlink.net/~janny01/. This lady had the surgery done, her ailment might be slightly different, but the idea is the same.


3. Recovery from ankle fusion is not a quick process. It seems that 5-8 months is a normal recovery time. Thinking about it now, that seems like a really long time. Especially when you consider the first 6-8 weeks there can be no pressure put on the joint at all.

Here is a picture of what an ankle fusion would entail:

So, it seems like I should have known all this information sooner than now, but as they say, "There is no time like the present."

Right now I am in a state of pretty constant pain, I'm living on ibuprofen and Tylenol at work, and the occasional vicodin at home. I'm waiting for the doctor's office to call with the information about a cat scan before I can be referred to an orthopedist.

I'll keep you posted.