DAY 18

I wore the Aircast for 1 week, and my ankle hurt less every day.  The Aircast reduces weight & pressure on the ankle, but it also inhibits normal walking motion, so it causes a lot of fatigue. It also caused some pain and soreness in my legs, thigs, and gluteus maximus (yes, my butt).  I took the Aircast off when I was at home.  I wasn't allowed to put full weight on my foot without the Aircast yet, but I began to put a bit of weight on my bear foot to tested it out.  To my surprise, it didn't hurt much.  My doctor transitioned me from the Aircast to the Air-Stirrup ankle brace (seen below) 3 days ago.  With the ankle brace, I finally get to wear my own sneakers!  My first few steps didn't hurt at all.  After walking for about 1 block, it started hurting a bit and aching.  Everyday I can walk longer without pain.  I push myself to walk until I can't bear it anymore.  This is good as it builds up scar tissue and gets your foot used to it's new corrected position.  Once it begins hurting a lot... I rest about 5 minutes and can walk again without pain. It's important to step normally and not favor the operated foot. Walking down stairs (not up) and on uneven not-level surfaces hurt the most. I'm in NYC, so there's plenty of uneven sidewalks and stairs :(  I'm walking normally on the outside of my foot for the first time in my life, so my foot is a little swollen at the end of the day.  I don't get many shooting sharp pains anymore.  My foot just feels very achey.  I take anti-inflamatories and ice it, and by the next morning it's back to normal. When I think about it... Just 2 weeks after my surgery, and I'm walking around in my own sneakers... amazing I think :)