I've been living on the sofa bed up until today. I was saved when my neighbor had a spare mattress to put on it instead of that little, crappy one. It made a world of difference and I've been doing alright since. I've been icing my foot for 2 hours with 2 hour breaks. I've had my foot up all the time. I've been taking it easy. The dog loves having me on the sofa to be his pet machine whenever he wants it.

Saw the doctor today for the first time since the surgery. They cut away the bandages and looked at things. They said it looked "perfect" and "beautiful" where my wife and I only saw ugly, purple, and splotchy. They left the stitches in since the very first surgery I had issues. They gave me a hard cast. I picked blue. Won't be able to ice things through the cast, so that's done. I'm able to sleep in a bed, sit up in a chair, and do all the normal things someone with a broken leg can do. So, tonight will have me off the sleeper bed. I've been sitting at a desk since I got back. Progress forward!

Oh, my daughter says I've lost weight. That's good. The crutching is a great calorie burner. The danger is when I get my appetite back and can't move around much. That, and don't drink beer anytime soon.

I worked for a total of 5 hours yesterday with a big break in the middle. I am working about 4 hours today (after doc visit). I think I'll actually make it in to work on Monday. I take the bus, so I just need a ride to the bus stop. It's at this point that I can't drive, but want to go places. Still no game store as of yet.

Crap. I got a new prescription of pain meds. It's not cutting it. I had to call the weekend on call. I'm going to take them 1 every 4 hours instead of the 6 hours they say. I woke up due to pain and couldn't sleep. Sat up playing Xbox until it was time to take the meds again. I was a wreck for most of the day. I slept through about half the morning or so. I finally got fed up and called again to the doc hotline.

So...I should be good from now on....at least until the net prescription.

Sucks man.

I'm back in the hospital today myself. Stood up then fell down 4 times today.

@heychadwick: That's awesome that you are up and about, more or less. Sorry about the pain/meds. If you can remember, is this on par with the other surgeries? How long until the doctors feel you might be off of the pain meds?

@Forgottenlore: Sorry to hear about that. Hang in there Star brother!

Well, the pain at the hospital was the worst ever. I've never had it so bad before. I've stayed one day later as the worst, but never three.

About the changing of the pills? That happens on occasion. So, this part is normal, unfortunately.

@ForgottenLore: Hey, that sucks that you are in the hospital! Falling down four times? Let us know what's up, if you don't mind. I hope it isn't much.

@ForgottenLore: Hey, that sucks that you are in the hospital! Falling down four times? Let us know what's up, if you don't mind. I hope it isn't much.

The prevailing theory is that steroid medications I was on a few years ago while I was getting diagnosed with Crohns screwed up my adrenal gland causing balance issues.

Fortunately I'm not in any pain, I just can't get out of bed.

Well, glad you aren't in pain! I'll take that one for you. Sorry that you can't get up, though.

Heychadwick, I hope your recovery is going well. It was good to hear you back on your podcast!

My favorite starting ship (so far) in Hotac is the Y wing with auto blaster turret, an r2 astro,and engine upgrade.

Well it suck that you're in pain now but if it fixes your ankle in the long run it'll be worth it.

Thanks Rubberduck! I appreciate that. It was good to get back. I have to admit that not being able to drive to the game store has really stopped me from playing a lot of X-wing. It's hard to do a podcast if you can't get games in. I'm just glad we have some news items to talk about these days!

Well it suck that you're in pain now but if it fixes your ankle in the long run it'll be worth it.

Totally agree! I had been thinking it was just going to suck before the doc said it's not normal. During the "see what's wrong" phase, they gave me a cortisone shot and it felt GREAT! It was like having a normal ankle again for the first time in 10 years. I'd love to get to that feeling again. I've got about a year or so before I can get to that point, but it was amazing. I'd love to be there again.

So....I got my cast cut off and put into a boot. That's a cloth shoe/cast thing with a lot of velcro straps. It's got a little air pump, so I call it my Air Frankenstein, especially since it goes up just under my knee. So, it's great to walk around without crutches. It hurts a little more, but it's OK.

I also got off the narcotic pain meds. I'm on other stuff that is supposed to work as well. That means I can drive. I'm not going out tonight as it's all too new and I don't want to over do it, but next week I can go to game night. I'm really excited as I want to get some games in for the podcast. We are wanting to do more Epic games, but some of the other guys haven't really done them and need to play some Epic games to get that experience. Jbot is the only one close enough to me and he needs me to bring the Epic stuff.

Things are getting better! I hope the new pain meds work well enough.

Oh, side note: Today was going to be my first day back in the office instead of working from home. I was all excited. I got up early, showered, dressed in my best, and trimmed my neckbeard off. I was all eager to go....and got a robo call to say that the office downtown was closing due to the "unrest" of protesters here in Charlotte, NC. I'll admit I was a little disappointed. With that said, I don't want to get into the protests or politics. I'm pro Black Lives Matter and I'm Pro Police. I've got friends that are black and friends that are police. Please don't discuss the politics here. I just wanted to express my disappointment with not going into the office today.

Well, it's been a few days since your last post. How are your meds working out for you? Ankle healing well? Did you finally get to go back to the office or out to your LGS?

I haven't listened to this week's podcast yet, but it was nice to hear you last week.

Hey! Thanks for asking! It's nice to know that someone is wondering and that these posts don't just go and get ignored.

I didn't make it to the game store last Thursday night as my wife thought it was too soon. I had just gotten off narcotic pain meds that day and into a boot instead of the cast, so she didn't think I should push it. The narcotics prevented me from driving. I've got some for night to help stay asleep, but got other pain meds for the day. They don't work quite as good as the narcotics, but it's really not too bad. The worst part of it is that I had some of the stronger narcotics left over and used them at night. 10 mg of whatever. I ran out and am now at 5 mg of whatever and last night was my first time using them. I woke up and they had worn off a lot. I took the non-narcotics, but it hurt this morning. Not fully worn off, but it hurt a lot more than it has for a long time. Once I got to work, I took one of the narcotics as the nurse did say she expected I would probably take one here or there when it was too much. So....I'm a little aggravated about that. I guess I need to set the alarm to take some in the middle of the night again, which is just kind of annoying (and the Mrs hates it too!).

I am in the boot instead of a hard cast, which is very nice. I don't need crutches anymore! It's a big, black cloth shoe type thing with metal bars on the sides and many velcro straps. It's also got one of those Air Jordan type air pumps. I call it my Air Frankenstein. So, I like being able to just walk around. I can't sneak up on anyone. CLUMP, step, CLUMP, step... Also, I can stand in the shower now on my own, which is cool. I don't have to sleep in it. Once or twice, I did get up in the middle of the night and walk to the bathroom without crutches, but I try not to do that too often. I'll probably do it more the stronger I get, though.

FORGOT THE BOOT PIC:

I do like driving, though. It's nice to be mobile again and in control of what and where I can go. Sure, I don't really go too many places, but I have the option! I can go to the game store, which is good.

I did go to the game store on Saturday, though. We are trying to do episodes on Epic, but J-bot hasn't really played enough. So, our next episode is going to be about Epic in general. There are a lot of things to talk about just with general game play. So, J-bot, Jason (the Punisher guy), and I played a good game on Saturday. We invited others and I thought they would show up, but they didn't. We will talk about it on the next episode, but thread with pictures is here:

https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/topic/230785-list-building-for-400-pt-epic-game-help-by-saturday-tomorrow/

I was going to go into work last week, but all the offices were closed down. I saw we made international news as Charlotte, NC had some rioting going on over a guy that was shot by police. Well, the day I was to go back into the office, I was all excited. I got dressed and shaved my neckbeard and was all ready. I got a robo call to say that due to the "unrest" that all offices were closed. It happened all week, even though there weren't any more violent protests. Oh, well. I did go in on Monday, but it was pouring rain! We needed the rain, but it was POURING that morning. I went in and was so wet all day. Still, nice to go in. I stayed home on Tuesday due to AC repair guy fixing that, which was nice to have. I am in the office again today. It was good to see people on the bus and everyone asking how I'm doing.

Lastly, I know it's stupid, but I am happy to play Pokemon Go again! When I was stuck at my house, I really couldn't play much. I started to play with my kids, but I found I have fun with it, too. You can't catch or do anything at my house and was sad about that. Now that I am going into the office and such, I'm able to play again and that's fun. Silly, but I enjoy it.

So, I'm finding that long car rides makes it hurt. It's the vibrations that do it. I think it vibrates all the metal bits that aren't really part of me. They vibrate and it makes my foot/ankle swell and it hurts. The longer the car ride the more it hurts.

I drove 4 hours from Charlotte to Hilton Head, SC to take care of my parents. It hurt bad. The hurricane caused a massive evacuation today. I had to take my mother, who is in a wheel chair, and drive back to Charlotte. It took a little over 5 hours due to all the traffic. My foot hurts tonight. Also, it's not fun or easy to travel with your mother who can't take herself to the bathroom. She took care of me for years and now it's my turn. I love her, but it can be frustrating.

Stay safe heychadwick.

I think the most dangerous thing so far has been the other cars. Traffic was a little crazy. Used Waze app to avoid the worst portions. I was able to use side roads to avoid accidents and the worst of the traffic.

In Charlotte, we are going to get some rain, but nothing much worse. The distance from the coast to Charlotte is larger than some European countries. We are good.

The worst thing now is trying to take care of my mother without a nurse. We are in a hotel with handicap access to bathroom and all, but it's still a bit rough. No hospital bed and I forgot half a dozen little things for my Mom when packing. Also, hard to move my Mom at times with my foot. I'm OK most of the time, but sometimes it's just bad placement to put too much on my bad foot.

My father was in the hospital for heart surgery which is why I came down. He's finally been moved out of regular hospital into a rehab hospital. It's brand new and built like a bunker to Florida standards of hurricane proof stuff. They have generators and it's not a flood plain. He's safe where he is and he'll get all the Physical Therapy.

Dude, I wish you a speedy recovery and keep the fingers crossed you don't need ankle -surgery ever again!

Well, despite the pain and inconveniences of life, mother nature and getting older, at least you're all safe.

Hopefully things calm down and everyone can return to a somewhat normal life sooner rather than later.

Just keep thinking happy thoughts: Heroes of the Resistance, Rogue One, etc., etc.

MTFBWY

So.....the evacuation order was finally lifted yesterday. My wife was a gem and volunteered to drive my Mother home as the car ride really hurts my ankle. Something about the vibrations and all the metal in my foot. Well, it took her 8 hours when it normally takes 4, so it was a long drive in traffic. The house is fine, but they lost power for enough time to ruin all the food. A fridge and a tall freezer full of food has to be chucked.

My Dad is doing fine in the rehab hospital. He's getting stronger and doing better. The storm was fine for him. They lost internet on and off for a day, but otherwise were fine.

I spent Friday, my birthday, in a hotel room with my mother and working remotely on my work laptop. Went out to dinner with all the kids, wife, and mother, which was a treat. Today is my anniversary and my wife is driving home. It will be the first time we are both in the house in almost 2 weeks. Tonight should be a "normal" night in the Chadwick household.

Oh, and I start Physical Torture tomorrow.

Good luck, sir. Be patient and there will be good days and not so good days. When I suffered badly back in 1999 due to spinal damage due to a car crash it took me 13 months to fully recover. A "War Journal" helped me a lot. "Walk, moderate pain...10 minutes...15, 20, less pain, 40 minutes..."

Very simple but quite practical. We need you back ASAP.

Well, I got the Boot off! So, I'm just doing regular shoes now. Got it taken off yesterday. Man, it hurts some! I'm going to have to rebuild my strength and endurance with it.

Started PT, as well. Didn't matter too much when I was in the boot. Just trying to get the swelling down. I think they will now be able to make me hurt and do all the horrible things that need to happen.

All this makes me wish I still had the narcotics! I'm not one for pain.

No guts, no glory. Work hard and you will see the results soon. One step at a time.

Compared to defeating pre nerf U bootes this is one easy fight..

Well, I got the Boot off! So, I'm just doing regular shoes now. Got it taken off yesterday. Man, it hurts some! I'm going to have to rebuild my strength and endurance with it.

Started PT, as well. Didn't matter too much when I was in the boot. Just trying to get the swelling down. I think they will now be able to make me hurt and do all the horrible things that need to happen.

All this makes me wish I still had the narcotics! I'm not one for pain.

Go Herbal then, or find a bundle of kittens or puppies to pile on you and crush you with love.

Started PT, as well.

You started the prequel trilogy? ;P

Go Herbal then, or find a bundle of kittens or puppies to pile on you and crush you with love.

I have been told to "go herbal" by at least one other person. If medical marijuana was legal in my state, I would be signed up for it. Still, don't want to risk jail time, fines, and failing a drug test to deal with it.

Had Physical Torture again today. They really are just icing and massaging to get rid of the swelling. I've actually improved a slight bit in how far I can move my ankle, which is pretty good considering I just got the boot off. I didn't stop or go backwards!

Heychadwick... What about your progress?