Reflecting on my Posts

Why did I dedicate 2 posts to my recovery, back to back? This is the question I asked myself.

While the Olympic games are being played, it has made me think. Many people are receiving medals for their  great efforts. All I have to show after a year of "work" and diligence is the possibility to get back to my former activity, although that's a lot more than some people can do. Not everyone literally climbs mountains. And some never get back what they lost.

I knew I would get back into my alpine activities but it amazed me that I really had to wait about a full year for that to happen, like the doctor told me from the onset. You always think it's going to faster for you: the young, active person. I also needed to keep up my physical therapy with a regular schedule of work, a house  to care for and other activities of everday life. Finding time for everything wasn't always easy.

It took me longer to get my tendon in order than my friends to give birth to babies, which they are in the process of doing now but got pregnant months after my surgery. It's ironic because most of us consider the waiting period during pregnancy to be long. My achilles tendon recovery was longer.

This is not the first time I have had surgery and had to go through therapy. It's actually the third over the last 15 years. I am probably a bit frustrated that I have had so much of surgery and injuries and recovery. Yet I know there are other people who have been through more. But that's in my head. My gut doesn't always care about those cases. Maybe  that's why getting over this operation is such a big deal for me.

I have to admit that my tendon still isn't perfect. It still feels raw when I push it. I am still doing physical therapy to help it along. I think I'll need to do that until I can truly lift up my body onto the tips of my left toes, a movement that I only do partially at the moment. August 4th was a year after surgery but I think I need another 3 months to get everything back in shape.

And then one day, I won't have to think about it anymore. The tendon will just perform exactly as it should.

1 Year Later

Sorapìs, Dolomites

The joy rises along with the hiking distance as I celebrate 1 year after surgery on my achilles tendon. I know I am repeating myself slightly after my last post, but bear with me.

 It was August 4, 2011 that I rolled into surgery on a hospital bed. Yesterday I trekked up the Sorapìs in Cadore, Dolomites, as a reminder of how far I have come. I walked up about 1400 meters and my tendon rallied with me. This was my longest single rise this year, even longer than the day-journey in the high Alps recently.

Just fantastic.

Ottimo!

Satisfaction

Western Lyskamm 4482 m/14705 ft    July 9, 2012

I have come down from 5 days of heavy and exhilarating mountain climbing in the Alps: Monte Rosa and Gran Paradiso. I am thrilled about my accomplishment. Eleven months after surgery on a broken achilles tendon (August 4, 2011), I was able to successfully scale three peaks at over 4000 meters high in just a few days over the course of last week.

July 9th

Western Lyskamm 4482 m /14705 ft 

July 10th

Castore 4421 m /13848 ft

July 13th

Gran Paradiso 4061 m/ 13323 ft

It's such sweet success because I have been diligently recovering and rebuilding my leg since surgery. It's absolutely devastating what happens after not being able to weight-bear on a leg for three months, which was doctor's orders in my case. All the muscle tissue disappears and doesn't want to grow back once you are supposedly "healthy". The muscles are actually stubborn once you try to restimulate the area again. Then there are issues of balance. Therapists explained to me that the brain-nerve message system was damaged from lack of use. I had to work on that too. Then the other secondary tendons and various fibers and ligaments in my foot, ankle and leg needed help. The problems were many. But after faithfully doing my exercises and slowly going back to the gym for "baby" workouts, such as just 2 minutes of running at a time 9 months after surgery that eventually became 3 minutes and so on, I began to get results.

My calf is still only about three-quarters of what it should be but it was enough to get me on top of Monte Rosa!

On top of a mountain on a spectacular day is like nothing else.

For link to post about frustrations after surgery and physical therapy, click here.

The Wonders of Socialized Medicine

While some people are complaining back home in the US about the planned "Obamacare", I am relishing the benefits of European socialized medicine.

It turns out that my achilles tendon was completely ruptured from jumping to the beats of Cindy Lauper, as explained in my recent post. An ultrasound on Tuesday sealed my fate. I needed surgery and fast. Within 36 hours of seeing the ultrasound results, I was on a hospital bed undergoing surgery.

Yesterday I came home from the hospital after orthopedic surgery lasting 1.5 hrs and just over 24 hours in the hospital in post-op recovery. I now have 5 stitches behind my ankle, nylon thread and special mesh holding my tendon together and a cast up to my knee. I may not be happy about being immobile for the rest of the summer and into the fall, but the service has been great and free.

This is not my first bit of surgery. I have already had 2 major operations on my arm in the US. I know what surgery and recovery involves. I also know that as a US patient, not only do you have to deal with the physical ramifications of surgery but also financial woes. Even as an insured US citizen, you risk paying for surgery out-of-pocket. That's exactly what I had to do years ago when I reinjured my arm. The insurance company did not provide coverage on that area of my body because it had already sustained an injury. I was faced with a $16,000 hospital bill for something that was not unlike what I underwent in the last couple of days in Italy. Needless to say, when the bills started pouring in within a month of surgery, I got progressively more depressed. Here I was, trying to get my arm back to health, and I had to deal with how to foot that kind of bill, which felt enormous for a 26-year old woman who was out of work at the time. That financial legacy lingered on long after the wounds were healed.

Fast forward to now. I can concentrate on my leg without worrying so much about my bank account. This is a real relief.

When the Italian hospital staff was asking me about life as an American, they were implying that everything seems better across the ocean. But I pointed out that the very action of their care, which was free for me, is one of the great differences between there and here. Then they smiled. "E' vero" (That's true).