two days after hard cast removal

I didn't sleep very well last night. I just can't get comfortable since I'm used to having my foot completely supported by a hard cast. My incisions are still pretty tender so any bumping or touching them is very uncomfortable. I ended up taking my air cast off early in the morning and trying to get comfortable without it. I'm still sleeping with my little caterpillar pillow between my legs to try to keep from bumping my left foot with my right foot. It puts a little cushion there and helps support my foot.

I've been trying to move my toes as much as I can. I can flex my foot up and down a little but not side to side. I still have a lot of numbness in my whole foot and leg. It feels really strange when I try to move it. Flexing my foot up makes a pulling and tingling feeling up the back of my leg. I figure that is my Achilles tendon stretching.

I tried to put my foot down on the floor yesterday just to see how it would feel. I had my air cast on and was supporting myself with my crutches and didn't put weight on it but it made my heel hurt. My doctor told me not to start putting weight on my foot until I started PT so they could help me determine how much weight I should put on it as I strengthen it, but I just wanted to know what it would feel like to place it on the floor. I didn't like how it felt so I won't be doing that again until it is really time to do it.

I've got my air cast off today while I'm sitting so that I can just try to move it some and get it a little more flexible. I don't like the way it feels so stiff from not moving for so long. Tomorrow will be seven weeks since my surgery and that's a long time to keep it stable. Some days it doesn't seem like it's been seven weeks and sometimes it feels longer. Every day is getting better, but I told my doctor I didn't think I could do this again this year. My goal is to have my right foot done the week before spring break next year (2011) Easter is toward the end of April next year so I wouldn't have to be out of work as long as I was this year since Easter was in March this year. I'm going to talk to my boss soon to make sure she will give me the time off. I had told her I would let her know something by June so I still have a couple more weeks so see how things are going. I just want to make sure both of my feet will be good enough for me to walk all over Europe for 12 days next August (2011) with my girl scouts. My doctor told me I will still have a lot of swelling for my trip so I'll probably have to wear my braces, but I can handle swelling as long as I can keep up with them. We'll see how my healing goes with my left foot over this summer.