After the MRI

I'm afraid that I haven't been very good when it comes to keeping this thing updated. I did have a chance to look at the MRI after I returned from my recent trip to CO/UT/ID (some great hiking and backpacking!) and I learned that my ankle is pretty well toast.

I hardly have any cartilage left in the main ankle joint, and the bone surfaces are showing significant signs of deterioration and bone loss (both tibia and talus) - which I gather is typical of serious arthritis. Even my uneducated eye could see that thing do not look good. The subtalar joint is showing signs of wear, but looks pristine compared to the main ankle joint.

My doc was very surprised at just how well I'm getting around, given what he could see in the MRI. He's advised me to just keep on keepin' on for as long as I can. While surgery is in the future, I'm hoping that I'll be able to put it off for another year or more.

Two weeks ago (actually, the very day I got to see my MRI), I got out rock climbing for the first time since the accident. Since then, I've been out three more times. I've definitely developed a bit of a fear of heights (something I never had before) which has been interesting to work through. But it's been fantastic to be back on the rock.

Back to the Doc.

So, things had been progressing just fine. I was out of PT and had even gotten backpacking a couple times. I was in the gym late-winter/early-spring, getting in shape for climbing and hiking season... and then my ankle starting giving me more and more problems. Mostly nothing big, just soreness, but occasionally there were days when it was painful enough that it was hard to walk.

So I got myself back into PT, and kept at it. A couple winter backpacking trips on snowshoes (very tame, nothing extreme) aggravated my ankle, so I laid off a bit, but kept stretching and strength training. Still no progress.

Eventually, I got myself back to the Doc, only to learn that I basically have no cartilage left in my main ankle joint, between the talus and heads of the tib/fib. Fusing my ankle is somewhere in my future, and I'm not real pleased about it.

For now, I'm gritting my teeth, taking some ibu, and carrying on. Once the pain gets bad enough, though, I'll be in for more surgery. And then recovery all over again. Have I mentioned that I'm not real pleased about it?

Just had an MRI on Friday, to determine just how much cartilage is left and whether or not I'm doing any damage to the peroneal tendons which (as I understand it) run through a small notch between the talus and the head of the fibula.

More soon.