![]() 09/17/2020 at 11:53 • Filed to: None | ![]() | ![]() |
Ummm...ya know how I was supposed to go pick up !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! today? Well, I’m still getting the car, but not today, and I won’t be able to drive it for a while, because last night I ruptured my achilles pla ying tennis. Whoopsie!
The whole thing was just a freak occurrence. I planted my foot to hit a forehand, and felt some kind of pop in the back of my leg. At first I thought someone had accidentally hit a really hard ball from another court that whacked me in the leg and was like, “what the hell—did something just hit me?” The guys I was playing with looked puzzled and that’s when I realized nothing hit me. Then I said, “uhhh, guys, I think I tore my achilles.”
Even though the recovery is going to suck, I’m pretty lucky. We were playing doubles, so one of my friends took me to the ER while the other guys drove my 335xi back to my house. My wife was at home because she had taken a sleeping pill about 15 minutes before I blew out my leg. She was in no shape to pick me up but at least rallied to stay up and keep updated with my progress.
The ER was thankfully empty and I managed to get out of there in less than 2 hours. No MRI needed to diagnose, just good old feeling the back of the leg and “yup, it’s ruptured.” They put me in a splint and I took a Lyft home. The driver was extremely helpful and I left him a nice tip. I have an orthopedist appointment tomorrow morning.
I have a good WFH job with good health insurance and a good support system. This won’t bankrupt me and I’ll be taken care of.
I briefly considered the prospect of backing out of the deal to buy the Si, because it’s going to be close to the end of this year before I can drive again, and why buy a new car I can’t drive? I thought about rolling the dice with keeping the 335xi a little longer then replacing it in the spring once I’m back driving again.
But, once I talked about it with my wife and friends, I decided to go through with it. Trading my 335xi in to a dealer is pretty much my only exit plan from it, and the Si was by far the cheapest, most practical and sensible car that’s excited me. The 2020 Si is going away soon, the new generation Civic comes out roughly May 2021, and who knows if the Si will debut at the same time. The current Civic came out for the 2016 model year but the Si didn’t show up until 2017. In reading articles about the Si being discontinued (for now), they’ve quoted Honda people as saying it will definitely be back, but without any specifics as to when.
So, even if I won’t be able to drive the Si for a while, it still makes sense to go through with it. Before last night happened, I was planning to take the wheel spacers off the front of the 335xi today before trading it in. A friend is going to help me with that tomorrow or Saturday, and the dealer is only about 5 miles from me so they’re willing to drive the Si to me with the papers to sign and bring the 335xi back themselves. Then my friend(s) and dad will pop by occasionally to take it for a drive so it’s not completely sitting. A plan’s a plan.
Time to get really really good at using crutches!
![]() 09/17/2020 at 12:01 |
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Just take it easy and do everything your told to do , and don't do anything your told not to do (basically, like marriage), get well soon fella.
![]() 09/17/2020 at 12:05 |
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Oh damn! Sorry to hear it.
![]() 09/17/2020 at 12:07 |
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I’ll drive it for you while you recover so it doesn’t get lonely.
![]() 09/17/2020 at 12:10 |
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Sorry to hear! I’ve known 2 other people who ruptured their achillies and they both described it the same as you...along the lines of “I don’t know what happened...it just popped.” kinda scary.
![]() 09/17/2020 at 12:11 |
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Ugh!
![]() 09/17/2020 at 12:11 |
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Ever read something thing that just makes you want to scream? The idea of feeling that happen sounds like nightmare fuel.
Hope recovery goes well! Could always try some ill-advised shenanigans like trying to drive manual with one foot. Totally not impractical.
![]() 09/17/2020 at 12:19 |
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Kidding aside, that sucks. My step mother bought a 1963 Corvette new off the lot after she got her first teaching gig, but her father had to drive it off the lot for her because she wasn’t strong enough to work the clutch. She beefed up.
![]() 09/17/2020 at 12:24 |
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That really sucks, the Achilles is just like the cringiest thing to me, sympathy for Mr. Vengeance really fucked me up. I've never been queasy or anything around gore but Achilles stuff just gets to me, tendons are gross. Hope it heals up quick!
![]() 09/17/2020 at 12:26 |
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One time, when I was younger and much dumber, or perhaps just more bored, I decided to drive with only my left foot in the family automatic Elantra. After about a week, it wasn’t too hard. Don’t do that, though.
![]() 09/17/2020 at 12:26 |
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So unds lie something I’ve done, twice. Had to have someone pick up my Miata for me after tearing both rotator cuffs and numerous other injuries when I got rear ended in my Mustang. The car sat for 6 weeks before I was able to drive it.
The other ti me happened shortly after I got my Fiero Formula with the manual transmission. I suffered an injury to my left leg that got infected and nearly had to have the leg amputated. I was unable to drive the car for 6 months.
Get well soon.
![]() 09/17/2020 at 12:27 |
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Oh dang! You really never know! A guy on my frisbee team ruptured his last Nov and just like last week said we had his first jog! Luckily it looks like it’s not your clutch foot? Maybe you can get temporary gas/brake hand controls?
![]() 09/17/2020 at 12:27 |
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get better soon
![]() 09/17/2020 at 12:32 |
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Damn, that sucks. Hopefully you can recover quickly.
![]() 09/17/2020 at 12:35 |
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It’s actually not all that painful. Last night it went numb, and today it really doesn’t hurt too bad. I took some Aleve last night before I went to bed but otherwise no big deal. The ER doc told me this is actually somewhat common for blown achilles tendons.
![]() 09/17/2020 at 12:39 |
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Sorry to hear! Seems like you’re coping with it the right way—there’s always the shitposts to fall back on.
Congrats on the Si! They’re great cars.
![]() 09/17/2020 at 12:45 |
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Maybe the lesson is stop buying cars? Holy shit, glad you were able to keep your leg!
![]() 09/17/2020 at 12:57 |
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It’s my right foot. Generally for driving if you have an auto it’s better to fuck up your left foot, but with a stick of course it don’t matter. The guidance I’ve gotten so far on driving is that after surgery you’re not supposed to do it until you can control your foot without a brace on it, and that could take 4-8 weeks after surgery before you reach that point.
I work from home and we’re not exactly going all over the place anyway. I am the primary errand-runner in my house while my wife is more of the keep the house nice person where I still of course help out. Since she’s going to have an increased workload taking care of me and the tasks I can’t do we’re probably going to lean on delivery services of groceries etc a lot more now.
When I do go back to driving, I’ll probably start out on her CX-5 since it’s an auto. Even though the right foot doesn’t control the clutch, I feel like matching revs etc is more work for the right foot than just chillin with an auto.
![]() 09/17/2020 at 13:00 |
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S o let me get this straight - you get an awesome new manual car then immediately blow you a chilles?
![]() 09/17/2020 at 13:05 |
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I completed the deal on the new car and blew my achilles before I could sign the paperwork and pick it up. At this moment the dealer is installing the accessory auto-dimming mirror .
![]() 09/17/2020 at 13:10 |
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Hey if you want to go from BC to DC to do that have at it.
![]() 09/17/2020 at 13:11 |
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Most people end up getting a surgery, but it's not always necessary. The re-rupture rate in the future is similar for surgery vs a cast for 2-3 months without a surgery. Good luck.
![]() 09/17/2020 at 13:13 |
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From what the ER doc told me it’s pretty well disconnected from the ankle so he said surgery is very likely. But that was without any imaging. I’ll see what the orthopedist says tomorrow .
![]() 09/17/2020 at 13:24 |
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i did something similar while playing volleyball. I never went to get it checked out. I thought someone had kicked me but there was no one ar ound me. The pain i had was up abut mid calf so i’m hoping it was a muscle pull.
![]() 09/17/2020 at 13:30 |
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My foot went numb and I couldn’t put weight on it. The back of my leg above the ankle swelled up a noticeable, but not huge amount. If didn’t experience something similar you might be in the clear. But...I am most definitely not a doctor.
![]() 09/17/2020 at 13:33 |
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Damn, that sucks man! Hopefully you heal quickly! Just be careful once it heals because they have a tendency to pop again if they've been popped once, not fun!
![]() 09/17/2020 at 13:48 |
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Oof, that sucks dude. As a guy who works out a lot, you’re going to hate how much and how quickly your leg will wither and lose muscle mass. Luckily, for the same reason, you’re well set up to build it back in good time once you start using the leg again. Consider getting a knee crutch to keep the leg as active as possible, if the doctor is willing to allow that.
When I broke my left ankle I lost most of my calf muscle and a good bit of my quad/hamstring in just 6 weeks. The latter muscle groups were helped by being in a walking boot for the last 2 of those 6 weeks. I should’ve gotten myself a knee crutch but I built the leg back up pretty quickly once I started using a clutch again and got back to work on the farm.
I think you’re making the right choice to stick with the Si. Good luck and have a speedy recovery.
![]() 09/17/2020 at 14:02 |
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Mid-calf? Gastrocnemiu s tear. I did it on the right side sliding on ice. It happened again on the left side while I was showing kids how to use starting blocks.
![]() 09/17/2020 at 14:03 |
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Ouch. Good luck with that one!
![]() 09/17/2020 at 14:09 |
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I’m definitely bummed that my fitness is going to drop off for a while. I at least know to expect that but I’ll put in the PT work and make sure to consult with them on ramping the exercise back up when appropriate. Interesting about the knee crutch, I’ll ask about that.
I’m not sure but I think what may have led to this is I always did cardio on an elliptical at the gym, but since quarantine started I’ve been working out exclusively at home. I have some weights, bands and a treadmill. I kinda hate actual running but liked how it’s so much more of a core workout than an elliptical. Now I’m thinking maybe I put too much impact on my legs on the treadmill. But, this ankle has been very cli cky for a long time before I switched to the treadmill so it may well have been inevitable.
I just turned 38 a couple weeks ago, which I feel is still young enough to bounce back from this especially since my baseline fitness level was already high, but still, ugh.
![]() 09/17/2020 at 14:35 |
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The owner of my local bike shop messed up his Achilles earlier this year, had surgery and is close to your age, if not a bit older. He was in a walking boot what seemed like relatively early and while the recovery period was still long, he could at least be up and around, working it in the shop and at least maintaining the leg somewhat. I hope your prognosis ends up similarly positive.
![]() 09/17/2020 at 14:48 |
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at first it hurt and then IT REALLY HURT. i think there was a little swelling but I could limp around easy enough. I had to do an existing conditions walk-thru at a school the next day which required me to climb up ladders to the roof. I was in some serious pain that day but after that each day got slightly better.
![]() 09/17/2020 at 14:49 |
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i’d say i’m ok then. it was way back in pre-covid times. I rested for a few weeks and w as actually going to make my first appearance back to the gym and it shut down that day.
![]() 09/17/2020 at 18:13 |
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Tha nks, I am glad I got to keep it too....... The knee was dissolved due to the infection, but they can replace it, which is better than a prosthetic leg.
![]() 09/17/2020 at 19:05 |
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For mine, the treatment was rest, ice, then massage and physical therapy.
![]() 09/18/2020 at 08:31 |
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ouch
get well soon!