Not A Happy Camper

No, I'm not.  Happy, that is.  I went to the hospital this morning to have a procedure, Platelet Rich Plasma Therapy, on my left heel.  I've been wearing this immobilization boot for the last five weeks, hoping it will allow my tearing and fraying Achilles tendon to heal, and subsequently, avoid major surgery.  You can read about my initial reaction to my diagnosis and my acquisition of this Frankenstein-like boot in this post if you missed it.

This relatively new treatment option is said to be orthopedists' dream (possibly) come true, and already many major athletes have had this therapy for sports related injuries of shoulders, knees, and ankles.

The procedure involves drawing blood from the patient, cycling it through a centrifuge, collecting the healing blood elements and reinjecting them back into the patient's injured area, essentially bathing that area with a healing blood bath.

Preliminary ultrasounds of both ankles showed that the left (booted) ankle had experienced a small bit of healing, but the right heel had deteriorated terribly and the achilles tendon there had lots of tearing along with other issues.  The plan was changed.  Instead of doing the left heel, the right heel would be treated.

The doctor warned me that this procedure would be "rough."  I wondered if I should ask for a stick to bite on.  I didn't ask him.  I should have.  Nuff said.  Won't want to be doing this gig again any time soon, and maybe never.

The success rate is 50 - 75%.  Insurance does not cover this.  Not enough studies and use of this therapy have been conducted to convince the insurance people that they should pay for this.  Some people have had amazing results, others not so much.  We will see.

The result is that now both of my ankles are immobilized.  The left one as before in the ugly boot, and the right one in a 90 degree splint for the next 48 hours.  No walking on it.  Add pain.  Lots of pain.

Did I say I'm not a happy camper?  I will be hiring a fork lift (aka the husband/lover/nurse) to take me to the bathroom, and a chef (aka the husband/lover/cook) to make food and bring it to me.

I'm trying to convince myself that I do NOT indeed have the ugliest "shoes" on the face of the earth, and I came across several images that almost have me convinced that that may be true.

Here are some of the very truly ugliest shoes I have ever seen:

I actually saw these for sale a year ago in Las Vegas, in a very upscale boutique.  You couldn't pay me to wear these:

These next shoes give a whole new meaning to "just kick him in the groin."

And the person wearing these is a ballerina wanna-be:

Just a few more odd/ugly/hideous ones for you:

Beach wear?

Shoe and/or weapon

I guess my current foot attire isn't so bad, compared to these.  But certainly not as cute as these little shoes my grandtwins were wearing the other day, don't you think?

Only 44 more hours until mobility.    I can do it.......