Things I wish I’d known pre and post op

• First and foremost – This thing! http://iwalk-free.com/crutch-testimonials/ Only $149 and your insurance may cover it anyway?? Shut up and take my money!! If there was one thing I could choose to redo about my recovery, this is it. I would have had this, and would have saved myself scary moments on the stairs and transitioning from wet parking lots to slick floors. I did a lot of hopping because I hated the crutches so much. Had a lot of close calls when I was supposed to be completely non weight bearing, where I almost landed on my Boot Foot. The shoulder pain from the crutches. Oh God, the shoulder pain. Sometimes it would keep me up at night and was definitely worse, at times, than the post op pain. If I ever find myself non weight bearing again, I will have this.
• A frozen bottle of water will be your best friend for the first few weeks of full weight bearing. The bottom of your heel will feel painful and even crunchy your first few weeks of full weight bearing. You will think to yourself, “What the hell have I done? I had surgery to get rid of heel pain!” Thing is, it’s a totally normal response of the fascia to transitioning back to full weight bearing. Roll the painful areas on the bottom of your foot on that frozen tube of bliss for as long and as forcefully as you can stand to. Don’t stop til the painful areas are numbed. Repeat as often as necessary.
• You will need a backless shoe for around the house for awhile. Some recommend Crocs; I personally believe those holes in Crocs are where your  dignity escapes. I had a pair of Merrell clogs that were a godsend, and bonus – I’m not embarrassed to wear them out in public now, so $80 well spent.
• As for the long term outlook for your shoe collection – don’t make any hasty decisions. Seriously. Give it a year. Shoes that bother your incision area at 15 weeks out may not bother the area at 6 months out, or 11 months out. I hastily re-homed a pair of Merrell low cut hikers, and I’m regretting it, because other shoes I thought I’d never be able to wear again, feel fine now.
• Physical Therapy is at least 50% of the equation for recovery. Don’t skip it! Even if you don’t go 3x/week, a good physio will keep you progressing through range of motion and strengthening. Those were two very distinct phases in my recovery – both equally important. You won’t get to strengthening until you get more r.o.m. and you won’t get back to normal gait and activities without strengthening.
• Exactly a year ago today, I had my pre-op xrays and scheduled my surgery. I can’t believe a year went by so quickly. If you’re worried about the recovery time, read that previous sentence again. Recovery time truly is just a blip in the grand scheme, though when you’re in the middle of it, it feels like forever.