I slept fitfully last night because of my throbbing, swelling ankle. The color of my toes are fine, and they are not swollen so I am hoping that this is to be expected. I am waiting to get a confirmation of this from the physician’s assistant.

The foot is slowly starting to swell up. I spent a good part of yesterday at the desk with my leg raised, but not raised above the level of my heart. I later found out that this was a big no no. I have been good about elevating my ankle from then on.

I also accidentally put weight on my injured ankle while moving around in the kitchen, as well as the accidental twitches of the foot which results in a slight strain on my achilles tendon. I’ve been reading that the first 2-3 weeks is a crucial time for proper healing of the incision as well as the repaired tendon. I’ve decided to stay in bed as much as possible.

I regret that the surgeon didn’t put me in a CAM Walker (boot) instead of the cast. The cast is lighter, but the toes are more exposed so there is a more of a chance for me to strain the achilles tendon. Also, I can’t exactly adjust the cast to take account for the swelling. I am starting to feel more pressure in the cast and it makes me wonder at what point I need to go see the physician.

For the pain, I am taking a generic for Lortab 7.5 500mg one in the morning and one at night. Right after the surgery, I was taking two at a time, but the pain has subsided and I prefer to not be over-medicated. I was also told that pain-killers can cause constipation, and I don’t need that either.

Looks like there is a chance that I’ll have the surgery tomorrow morning. Doctor’s assistant called and said that they might be able to squeeze me in tomorrow for the surgery. He’s a foot and ankle surgical specialist so I am hoping that I am in good hands. No food/drink past midnight, and I’ll get a call early tomorrow morning.

Talked to a friend in the medical profession. He told me to make sure that the surgeon is board certified. I looked up the surgeon’s credentials through Google. Yep, looks like he is board certified, and he is a clinical assistant professor.

It all seems like such a crap shoot. I wonder if there is a better way to select a surgeon. I am able to do more extensive research on buying a television set than selecting a surgeon who will operate on me. I’ve visited a few physician review sites, and either they are pay sites or they are free sites with nothing more than the doctors’ office addresses.

Reading other’s reviews about physician review sites, it looks like http://www.mdnationwide.org might be worth trying. It costs $19.95, and they’ll compile a report for you within the hour. The website is rather cluttered, but it had some basic useful tips on finding a quality surgeon.

Disturbingly, this error popped up after I submitted my credit card information:

Luckily, I still received via e-mail the username/password to login to view the report. Nope, no report yet. I’ll check back in an hour and see if there is a report available. Otherwise, I am going to have to call my credit card company and make sure that my CC wasn’t charged. If it turns out to be a bust, I’ll try http://www.healthgrades.com. They charge $30, but has a better looking website. However, someone’s review from last year claims that MDNationwide compiles a better report. Yep, more research required to find the best Doctor review site, pay or no pay.

Getting around in the crutch is quite uncomfortable. I am thinking of buying the Hope Crutch. It costs $118 for my height.

I also found this:

Maybe I am nuts for considering the iWALKFree, but I think this might be a better alternative than the traditional crutches.. I’ve read some customer reviews, and overall, it looks like a good alternative to crutches. I’ve watched the company’s videos, and people can move around pretty well with it. It does look a bit goofy with the foot sticking straight out back, but it might be better than not being able to use your hands with traditional crutches.

I am not sure about going out in public with it, but it looks like it’ll work well for moving about around the house. For about $330, it might be worth it. I like the idea of the hands-free crutch, but I don’t like their implementation. I think it can be improved, even if it might cost a little more.

If there are any other alternatives, please let me know.