Summer 2008
August 2007 – Sharp pains when weighting my heel, after jumping down off a counter. Pain lasted a couple days.
January 2008 – Pain returned became worse through February. A podiatrist diagnosed plantar fasciitis.
May 2008 – No longer could stand walking on ankle/foot. Ankle and foot swollen and discolored, I was forced to use crutches due to pain. After seeing a new doctor I was diagnosed with having a piece of bone and cartilage broken out of the dome of talus. A non-healable fracture in the ankle joint. Prescribed immobilization of ankle and remain non-weight bearing, on crutches, until I saw an orthopedic surgeon.
June 2008 – Osteochondral drilling surgery, surgeon drilled
- Christmas 2008
seven holes into the damaged area of the bone. The plan was this would cause cells to generate new bone. During surgery it was discovered that the damage was much worse than expected (stage IV – large fracture). Recovery: eight weeks non-weight bearing followed by three weeks partial weight bearing. Surgery failed leaving me in worse pain and on crutches for many weeks longer than planed recovery time.
December 2008 – Ankle joint was fused. Recovery: ten to twelve weeks of non-weight bearing. Ended up using crutches for four months.
August 2009 – Continued to have ankle pain. Surgery was done to distract a piece of fibula so that the two pieces of fibula were not touching. A large os trigonum (accessory bone
I was born with, only causes problems after ankle injury) was also distracted from the back of the subtalar joint. A lot of tendon work was done as well. Recovery: five weeks in non-weight bearing cast, followed by walking boot.
On and off crutches throughout the following year due to pain.
August 2010 – Due to continued pain all hardware was removed from ankle. Recovery:
My daugther’s Bat Mitzvah March 2009
non-weight bearing cast for three weeks. Ended up on crutches for about six weeks due to pain. Continued to use crutches on and off for pain relief.
January 2011 – Subtalar joint fused due to continued pain caused by degeneration of the joint. Recovery: non-weight bearing cast for six weeks followed by walking boot and partial weight bear for six weeks. Due to severe pain while bearing weight, I ended up using crutches for months past normal recovery time.
My son’s Bar Mitzvah
March 2011
June 2011 –Walking was more painful than ever. CT scan was done. It showed 50% fused. I was using crutches for some part of every day for pain relief. Used cane or crutches for any activities that require walking or standing.
Christmas 2011
November 2011 – Subtalar Joint fusion revised due to nonunion. Recovery: eight weeks non-weight bearing cast, followed by walking boot.
Walked with the aid of crutches for two additional years. Lived with severe chronic pain and lost function of my foot.
September 24, 2014 – Amputated lower left leg.
