Calcaneus Surgery ORIF Success Stories?

Thank you both.  I’ve been watching it to make sure no additional swelling and I’m praying it’s fine- definitely will be super careful now that reality is setting in on the fact that I am not invincible as I once thought

Did litle more walking outside with the ankle brace and gym shoes ,  now resting little inside.

God bless you all,

Hey did any of you guys do your physical therapy with the swimming pool option? Thoughts and opinions?

Hey Jeff wb man,how is u rehab ?
myself i  just do the pt , however i do see the pool in the facility ,i pass by it when i go there ,maybe ill ask tomorrow about it

God bless you all,        

Jeff, I used the pool by myself, not as part of PT. My surgeon mentioned it's a good idea. I would get in and walk in 4 ft deep part right around the time I could just barely start putting 25% weight on my foot. It would get sore the next day, but felt much better after that. Then when I was allowed to walk, I would still go and try to stand up on my toes. I'm just now getting a hang of standing on my toes and I've been walking for 2 month already. In addition, I would do some laps just to get some exercise. PT mentioned that being in the deep end is good for reducing swelling because of all the water pressure and cold temp.

I've just been going through stuff. I haven't been in physical therapy for months but now that my plates are out I'm going to go back in I just don't want to go to the same physical therapy I was at. It was terrible and they didn't have a pool. Vlad it's good to hear about your toes cuz I'm really scared about not being able to get back up on my toes on that foot, the doctor just ordered More Physical Therapy I'm going to utilize water for sure

Jeff, my surgeon suggested swimming as past of my PT. Fortunately I have a warm pool at the gym. I did use it. Whether it helped or not is difficult to say, but im sure it did. The surgeon also suggested stationery cycle which I do about 10 mins most mornings. I'm sure all of this mobility helps.
The pool did help once I was allowed to walk as the buoyancy assists, so I would walk many laps. After 3 months of not walking, it was total bliss. I recall getting quite emotional when I first started walking in the pool. 

did you injure your knee too?

likely you have a torn posterior tibialis tendon that is no longer supporting your arch or your heel bone, subtalar joint, or both are out of alignment.  would need weightbearing xrays to better determine. go see a foot and ankle specialist.

Candee Goff wrote: Thank you both.  I’ve been watching it to make sure no additional swelling and I’m praying it’s fine- definitely will be super careful now that reality is setting in on the fact that I am not invincible as I once thought

Candee, prayers and thoughts for your dad and all.  Even though the word is "that is what family/friends are for" it is still stressful and hard on ya'll.  

My words are each night: Strength, Grace & Mercy and personal of course.

Sounds good all....................best part and not to sound bad but once it is over you become less around but most important.  IS YOU CAN STILL RELATE..

So my thoughts are still around for everyone, love reading both the good and struggles.

Removing the hardware on my end was the best move so far so remember take those small wins each time, turn the loses into wins and keep it going.  It will get better.  Just once you beat your ordeal..............please be around.  The 1st few days of this type injury the world is ending so keep the positive flowing.  Look at say Pete for example now vs 2 months ago.

Small wins, listen to Doc and no Superman stunts.  You will get there just like myself and others since I am sure that Bryan is not the 1st nor last to win.

Thank you, Bryan. My dad finally had his surgery and is being released today from the hospital.  So thankful my boys could be there for him.  Family and friends are everything!  Starting with arm weights today and very excited about it!!  Feeling more positive today for sure and praying for all of you.  Thanks for all encouraging words.  ❤️

Just found this thread, working my way thru the whole thing.

I’m pretty sure me and Pete got hurt around the same time. I broke my right calcaneous on May 3 along with some other injuries to both wrists, ribs and face. I had surgery on my wrist a few days later. I had to wait a week for the swelling in my foot to go down for the required surgery.

Don’t really have much to add right now but I’d like to thank everyone for their insights. I fully intend to get back to doing the things I love. I’ve have a few friends who have suffered the same injuries, some who did both heels at the same time and they made a full recovery. But I know that it’s going to be about a year before I’m 100%. Hopefully I can add some perspective to this thread.

Welcome Joe, yeah you can add to this if u like, myself im still in rehab mode ( 33 days since rehab) and going at it  some days are better than others...

God bless you all,

Candee it's great to hear about your dad. How did the arm weights go?
Joe, have you already had your calcaneus op? Plate and pins?

Yes Steve I have a plate and 13 pins. Surgery occurred second week in May so I’m at about 8 weeks now. I’m interested to read that people have had their hardware removed. I was under the impression that it stayed in. I’ll discuss this with my ortho on my next appointment.

Went to the pool yesterday and walked around for about ten minutes. Felt so good but my heel is sore so I might hold off on the pool therapy for now.

Some nfo my pt suggested to use this during the day and works and feels great :FuelMeFoot - Copper Compression Socks For Men & Women(3 Pairs),15-20mmHg

Also when u get the boot get this:
Original EVENup Shoe Balancer/Leveler 

Will scan and upload the programs for home i got from pt so far.

To be honest i think most important thing is time what this injury needs ,course with some pt and luck on the side.
Now remember i had surgery done with 4 long screws no plates..ROM still slow in gains specially left to right up and down,also need up and down more,
and to curl my toes down all the way its another challenge the big toe only curls little for now..
Also doc said  screws will stay in forever if they don't bother me, and even if they need to be removed ill be after 12 months or around 14 months if needed.Honestly i dont feel none of the screws so i guess they will be there with me...
Also there is no shortcuts in this ,believe me i look for them , there are none, you need to grind it out like most of us ,Bryan,Steve,Jeff and many others.
So im 3 months and 5  days in this injury 2 weeks waiting for leg to get smaller to get surgery, then surgery ,then 2 weeks in splint,then 4 weeks in hard cast, then hard cast removed and got the boot and started rehab, 2 weeks in boot and then no boot and here im today..
My leg starting to get little smaller not so much swollen like before ,i also use crocks they work great to , i can walk without crutches and can do il all day.

Staying on injured leg only.

God bless you all,

Joe Auer wrote: Yes Steve I have a plate and 13 pins. Surgery occurred second week in May so I’m at about 8 weeks now. I’m interested to read that people have had their hardware removed. I was under the impression that it stayed in. I’ll discuss this with my ortho on my next appointment.

Went to the pool yesterday and walked around for about ten minutes. Felt so good but my heel is sore so I might hold off on the pool therapy for now.

When I fell and shattered my heal in 3 places it took 4 long screws and 3 smaller ones plus a plate.  Doc also removed an extra tendon on outer right knee and used that to attach the heal to the foot. Doc said the hardware once healed can stay in forever.  The only real times he likes to remove it is in younger children since they grow and active adults..As far as older patients he shys away from because it is still major surgery plus older people are less active and have possible other issues.  Doc said 18 months once heald and back in business the hardware can be removed.  He had a couple patients that simply wanted it out period.  I was fine went thru airport security, mowed the back yard, worked fund raising events standing for the church and sure a bit sore but in 24 hours to 48 it was back to normal.  However after a a few years it began to swell more easily and waking up or sitting still a spell (glad I drink beer fast) it would stiffen up or swell.  It reached a point that after a few more years by Thursday noon at work my foot was aching and Friday it was shot.  We tried a shot earlier on and the x-ray showed how 1 screw the thread had backed out.  Normal thing when you have high boon density is all.  The shot worked and I could go back every 6 months or so and get another plus it helped with the arthritis as well.  But running back on a schedule was not me so I gutted out a few years until it got ridiculous on how it would swell from simply sitting 3o minutes when i got up walking it off.  We went back to the Doc and X-ray showed where that same screw had backed out an additional thread, another 1 thread plus he could see where in about a year one might begin to backout as well.  Plus since they stuck out a hair they did a number on my outer tendons of my entire foot.  So we removed the whole thing but once in he decided to leave one in place since it was buried deep in my bone and more damage would be do getting to than worth it. Like a titanium nail buried in a 2x4, covered by sheet rock and painted.  Recovery from the hardware removal would of been a walk in the park of maybe 2 weeks max and walking in just a few days to let the wound heal over.  What got me was the tendons were jacked up big and the clean up of them, additional recovery time of course made it a 2-3 month thing working from home.  So if no pain or issues after say 18 months nothing wrong with leaving the hardware in.  doc can always X-ray and can tell if future issues may develop.  

If however the pain gets worse outside of normal expected arthritis I would for sure get with Doc to examine because if any of the screws did backout it is better to catch it sooner vs later as in my case.  Now with the hardware gone I simply have basic arthritis and yep can tell when rain is coming or get a tad sore if to much walking type thing.  Other than that I don't even think about it anymore which is a nice feeling. so stay on top of it after 18 months more or less and it's fine if it stays if no problems and if so..........take care it it in removing.  hope this helps.

Welcome, Joe, although I realize this is not a club any of us wanted to be in, it sure helps to know others have made so much progress and others full recoveries!!
Steve, the arm weights were/ are awesome!  Made me sweat and feel a little normal!!  The day after I told my husband that I was going to lose my mind if I didn’t get outside and thanks to the TS in the Gulf, we had cooler temps between all the rain so we went on a “walk” (on my knee scooter) and it was awesome! But I paid for it that night, lots of sharp pains which is strange bc I didn’t put weight on it at all.. but I think it’s that air cast or boot that hurts so much, I can only wear it for a little while and then it just hurts so I spend most of my day on the couch with my foot propped up.  I was glad to see the sun come out though, my mood was starting to get a little funky!  Much better now though.  
Bryan, it really does help to know that it won’t always be the only thing you can think about!
Thank you all for sharing your stories!  Still praying for quick healing with no issues for any of us.

Candee Goff wrote: Welcome, Joe, although I realize this is not a club any of us wanted to be in, it sure helps to know others have made so much progress and others full recoveries!!
Steve, the arm weights were/ are awesome!  Made me sweat and feel a little normal!!  The day after I told my husband that I was going to lose my mind if I didn’t get outside and thanks to the TS in the Gulf, we had cooler temps between all the rain so we went on a “walk” (on my knee scooter) and it was awesome! But I paid for it that night, lots of sharp pains which is strange bc I didn’t put weight on it at all.. but I think it’s that air cast or boot that hurts so much, I can only wear it for a little while and then it just hurts so I spend most of my day on the couch with my foot propped up.  I was glad to see the sun come out though, my mood was starting to get a little funky!  Much better now though.  
Bryan, it really does help to know that it won’t always be the only thing you can think about!
Thank you all for sharing your stories!  Still praying for quick healing with no issues for any of us.

Sounds great Candee and small victories.  Great job getting out and true all that I wanna-wanna-wanna does get to you and it is actually a step in recovery and doing it another step.  Small victories.  Just don't over do it of course.  You should know when it is time to head outside again.  And now you know there will be a small price to pay as well but assuming no issues or falling of course; it will hurt or swell a bit less.  Each time. Then you will get to the point it will hurt like the 1st time just because that is the way it goes at least it did for me.  Best part is after that defeat and I did it again (grilling, sitting on back porch and being normal is what I did) it hurt but nothing like the 1st time or the prior.  It actually swelled less than ever and the pain was minimal.  I was ready to cook again the next day.  Yet my wife reminded me how Doc said don't be a superhero so I did my normal thing.  The rest is history..............similar pain like each time and swelling that hung around for sure but very minimal.  So go knock it out again when your gut says do it as long as you don't  go overboard.  Healing is like a roller coaster of up and down but eventually that ride ends.  Some chose to get back in line and ride it again, some chose to go grab a bite to eat and some chose a different ride.  So sounds like you are making progress on this.  Remember...small victories.  

Good going Candee and pleased to hear the arm weights worked out OK. I worked out my upper body nearly every day and it did wonders for my mood and sanity. How's your dad doing? It's been a year since my operation where a plate and 10 screws were inserted. Today I walk OK and get stronger every day. It's stiff and weird most days, but I guess that's the way it'll be. My calf is still less bulky than the other, but I'm working on that. I'm trying to walk barefoot around the house which is a little uncomfortable but workable.
Bryan, when you experience arthritis, is it painful or stiff? In other words, what does arthritis feel like?
Pete, I hope the PT is still going well and you're all good.
Joe, same goes for you and hope everything OK.
Keep smiling guys!