Surgery On April 30, Recovery (Updated May 20)

As many regular visitors know, I was injured and had surgery on my leg in December and last posted an update about it last month. I'm heading in for my followup surgery today and wanted to post a quick update.

As a quick recap, I slipped on some ice on a sidewalk in December and broke my ankle/leg. It was bad enough that it needed a 6 day hospital stay and surgery. The recovery period was a bit slow at first but has been progressing. I've been doing physical therapy for a few months and am currently allowed to put up to 50lbs on my leg. I get around on crutches.

At first, it affected some updates of software on the site, but I've since progressed back to working full time. As a result, apps are up to date, new apps are flowing, and the platform has even gotten a quick 12.0 Beta 3 release.

As mentioned in my last update, financially, I was fortunate to have insurance, as I always have due to my pre-existing condition. If I hadn't had insurance, my health bills would be over $40,000 ($35k for the hospital alone, excluding anesthesia, pain management, ambulance, physical therapy, and followups). With insurance, I'm at about $4,000 so far. A couple people have inquired about assisting with this, so I have setup a donation page on my personal site for those who are interested.

Today's surgery will remove the immobilization screws that are allowing the tissues to heal. The metal plate and other screws will remain to help strengthen the bone. I was scheduled for surgery a couple weeks back but wound up with either the flu or bronchitis, so it was delayed until today.

Unlike the surgery in December, today's is much less involved and I'll be going home the same day. The recovery and pain should be less involved as well, so it should not affect app releases or site updates. As always, I've made arrangements should anything go awry.

I'll post an update when I'm able to post surgery. Thank you again everyone for your support.

Post Surgery Update (April 30)

The surgery went well. It only took about an hour (plus the usual hours of hospital waiting). I got home this evening and got my leg up and relaxed. The pain is much better than after surgery in December, as expected. I'll have some time of keeping it up to heal, so I won't be working full time the rest of the week. But I'll still have time handle app updates, maintenance, and some forum responses.

Thanks again everyone for your support and kind words!

First Steps (May 5)

The big news is that I took my first tentative, unassisted steps this weekend. My first crutch-free steps in nearly 5 months. I have a lot of work to do in physical therapy round 2 now that my second surgery is done, but progress is a good thing!

Followup, Physical Therapy, More Steps (May 20)

My followup appointment following my 2nd surgery went well and the doctor told me that things are healing as they should. I've been given permission for full weight with a cane for balance while outside. No running or jumping until my second followup in July. I also started my new set of physical therapy on Monday which will focus on balance, strengthening and range of motion. So far my insurance is denying paying for it, but I'm working on an appeal. I'll now be getting out for a walk each day and am able to manage the stairs in my 4th floor walkup with minimal assistance. It'll be painful for a while, but worth it to keep getting better. Thanks again everyone for your kind words and support!