April 27, 2022. Madison, Mississippi. My Boot.

My boot is now in the closet where it will forever remain. I weaned myself off, one hour a day. And finally on Tuesday, I was out of hours so I wore a shoe all day. I kind of got to like my boot, even though the first day I wore it I felt sure that I could not tolerate it for long. But I realized that I could wear my boot and walk without my Achilles hurting so I got to like it. I am not totally stupid and stuborn. Now I walk without a heel lift in my shoe. I am close to normal. I return to the doctor at the Mississippi Sports Clinic the Monday before I leave for the cruise. But as soon as I feel no pain at all, in other words, when my tendon is totally normal, I am supposed to perform stretching exercises for my calf muscles. I am supposed to stand on a ramp for two minutes at a time, for 6 times a day. They sell the ramp at the clinic but of course I will not be here to use it. The doctor gave a diagram of the little ramp so perhaps I can get someone to make it for me in Nova Scotia. In addition, my physical therapist told me another easy way to get the same stretch, which is to tip your toes up to the wall at the same angle. Of course, with the ramp, I am supposed to put both feet on the ramp at the same time. With the toes against the wall I could only do one foot at a time. My tendon is still not totally normal. I can feel it when I walk a lot. But it is better. My boot has done the job. Now it will rest in peace.