The Orthopedic Surgeon gave me a call yesterday (Saturday) around noon, after reviewing my MRI. Monty, what's behind curtain number 2?
A torn deltoid ligament, a cracked / broken syndesmotic joint, and most likely damage to another ligament (I have which one written down somewhere, but I just can't remember everything he rattled off to me at the moment.) Bottom line he said that it's very unstable, and he'd be very reluctant to start any physical therapy on that ankle for at least 6 weeks. His words as I remember them: "I wouldn't want anyone cranking on that joint for a while". So, his suggestion was to stabilize the ankle with a plate and some screws to stabilize the joint and speed healing.
The good news with this is that after a week of a hard cast, he'll remove that and I go back to a boot. Then, a week or so after that, we start talking physical therapy. If all goes well, 3 weeks after surgery I could start swimming (as soon as the wounds from surgery heal) so long as there's no discomfort in doing so. Cycling on the bike trainer could happen shortly after that. Running? Not sure I remember exactly what he said, but it's certainly sooner than without going under the knife.
Will I be ready for my Half Iron triathlon in September? Most likely not. That could be pushing it. But there's a lot of individual variance in recovery here. I'm not setting my hopes on anything, but am hoping to be at least swimming and easy spinning on my bike trainer in a reasonable amount of time. Hell, if I can walk comfortably (somewhat) in 6 weeks I'll be stoked.
Monday at noon I'm scheduled for the fun and games. Should be home by dinner - which I'll sleep through I'm sure. Tuesday, if all goes well, I'll be on conference calls for work from the comfort of my living room. I'm sure that if I'm not liking this walking boot thing, that I'll most likely despise the hard cast. But it's only a week of the hard cast, so that's not bad.
A torn deltoid ligament, a cracked / broken syndesmotic joint, and most likely damage to another ligament (I have which one written down somewhere, but I just can't remember everything he rattled off to me at the moment.) Bottom line he said that it's very unstable, and he'd be very reluctant to start any physical therapy on that ankle for at least 6 weeks. His words as I remember them: "I wouldn't want anyone cranking on that joint for a while". So, his suggestion was to stabilize the ankle with a plate and some screws to stabilize the joint and speed healing.
The good news with this is that after a week of a hard cast, he'll remove that and I go back to a boot. Then, a week or so after that, we start talking physical therapy. If all goes well, 3 weeks after surgery I could start swimming (as soon as the wounds from surgery heal) so long as there's no discomfort in doing so. Cycling on the bike trainer could happen shortly after that. Running? Not sure I remember exactly what he said, but it's certainly sooner than without going under the knife.
Will I be ready for my Half Iron triathlon in September? Most likely not. That could be pushing it. But there's a lot of individual variance in recovery here. I'm not setting my hopes on anything, but am hoping to be at least swimming and easy spinning on my bike trainer in a reasonable amount of time. Hell, if I can walk comfortably (somewhat) in 6 weeks I'll be stoked.
Monday at noon I'm scheduled for the fun and games. Should be home by dinner - which I'll sleep through I'm sure. Tuesday, if all goes well, I'll be on conference calls for work from the comfort of my living room. I'm sure that if I'm not liking this walking boot thing, that I'll most likely despise the hard cast. But it's only a week of the hard cast, so that's not bad.