Just my luck, no sooner had I posted my last blog then my tendon ruptured again!

I thought it might be useful to post my experience in the hope that it might prevent the same thing happening to someone else.

The tendon in my right leg first went while I was on the dance floor at my daughters wedding. It felt like some one had kicked me in the ankle. As I was in a crowded area   that is what I thought had happened.

I hobbled about for a few days afterwards hoping it would get better. Unfortunately it did not. In fact once the numbness started to wear off  the pain got worse. I booked an appointment with my local GP. He saw me three days later and referred me for a scan. He told me that if it had torn then it would be plaster for eight weeks, if it was broken then I would need an operation. It was a further ten days before the scan appointment. This confirmed that I had ruptured my Achilles tendon and it had pulled away about half a centimetre.

I was referred to my local fracture clinic. It was to be another week before my appointment date at the clinic. The doctor at the clinic told me that yes I had snapped my tendon and the best treatment was eight weeks in plaster with my foot pointing down. (I asked why not an operation as my GP had suggested and was told that they don’t normally operate for that type of injury). Every few weeks I had to go back and have the plaster replaced with my foot being increasingly raised to the flat position. During this time I could not put any weight on my foot.

Two weeks after the plaster was removed I was getting out of my son’s car when it snapped again. I could not believe it! The pain was awful, it made my eyes water to say the least.

This time I went straight to A&E. They put me in plaster and referred me back to the fracture clinic the next day.

The following day at the fracture clinic I saw a different doctor. He immediately said I had to have an operation. He seemed surprised that I had not had an operation in the first place. When I discussed the situation with him he told me that the plaster treatment on it’s own will only reliably work if the foot is put in plaster WITHIN 48 HOURS of the injury. In my case nearly a month had passed before my treatment was started

It is now nearly four weeks since my operation. I have another four weeks to go with plaster on my foot before I can put any weight on it.

So if you snap your Achilles tendon and you get immediate treatment then the non-invasive plaster regime should work for you.

If there is a delay before you get it treated ensure that you get it operated on. If you don’t you may well end up like me going through the whole bloody thing for a second time!

Still this time I have purchased a Mac PowerBook so I can write with it on my lap while my leg is raised.

So Guardian two is now at 29670 words.

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