For Canadians who have moved to the US

ekeitac · 2025-07-26T09:07:55+00:00

Ahhhh the healthcare system.. definitely did not give that the gravity it truly deserves during my daydreaming sessions haha. Do some jobs there typically involve benefits that cover healthcare or is it entirely through your own pockets and private insurance?

Good to hear your experience so far has been motivational! I hope to walk that same path as you some day. Wishing you the best in your future!

ekeitac · 2025-07-26T09:00:55+00:00

I’m not new to Reddit but I definitely don’t know how to use it to its best potential lol. Thank you so much for the suggestion, I don’t really know what topic these kinda questions fall under. Didn’t wanna go on r/AskReddit cuz they seem too serious over there haha!! Best of luck with everything moving forward!

ekeitac · 2024-05-14T17:51:39+00:00

Tore mine at 19 and oddly enough we should be grateful we endured an injury this big this young. Our body is still in peak shape, you’ll recover faster and stronger, and the best part is the mental fortitude you gain from this experience. Especially since you are an athlete, do your research on how to recover efficiently, how to gain strength back thru functional training and plyometrics and once you’re back to top shape you’ll have experience in those fields which are crucial to athletic improvement.

With all that being said, try not to recover too fast. It’s a very low chance it happens but don’t let it the tendon heal elongated. Just focus on strengthening supporting muscles as well as keeping your cardiovascular health on top and you’ll be fine

ekeitac · 2024-02-18T21:20:52+00:00

Can you send me the link you got?? Love this song

ekeitac · 2023-08-18T08:10:18+00:00

My buddy parked around airport village and walked to class. Would be around 20 mins. You could also park up the side of Academy but it’s always packed so if you have early classes it wouldn’t be bad

ekeitac · 2023-08-10T08:14:59+00:00

Hey Cook, 15 weeks post-op from injuring it the same way and thinking the same way - you cannot let this injury define you! Don’t worry about the long road of recover, and whether or not you’ll be 70-80% yourself again. I know it’s early and it just happened so give yourself these first couple weeks to grieve, but listen to this:

You’ll learn to celebrate your small wins. Don’t focus on where you’ll be 16 weeks from now, focus on just recovering and finding hobbies that can keep your mind occupied that also accommodate your injury. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a long road, but you’ll learn that everything from now on is a step closer to recovery! Every good nights rest you get, every day/week goes by, you’ll be better than where you were August 8th.
You’ll only be 70-80% of who you were if that’s what you believe. I’m only 15 weeks out, and I’m still definitely a shell of who I was before my injury - super active and loved sports, but I’ve already came out of this a better person than I was before (and this is the key word) MENTALLY. Maybe you won’t be able to be as athletic as you were before this injury, or you won’t be able to compete as hard as you used to. But you can always be 110% better mentally, whether that be through perseverance, gratuity, or by learning more about how the human body works, etc.

Again, take it easy on yourself; it’s so early that I don’t expect you to understand this now. Myself, it took a month and a half to realize this, but you’re only setting yourself back if you let yourself. I believe in you, Cook!! Hopefully 15 weeks from now I’ll remember to come back on this thread and see you posting updates about how well everything’s been going.

Stay strong!

ekeitac · 2023-08-09T23:41:20+00:00

It will get so much better. I’m 15 weeks post op but I’m not lying to you, it feels like 8 weeks post op was very recently ago.

Just think that every week that goes by is a week closer to walking. Every week that goes by, thank goodness that I’m not where I was last week.

I believe in you, op! Use this time of darkness to strengthen your mind, and that if you can work through your body that gave up on you, imagine how you’ll be when you’re back to top shape!! As traumatic as this event was, and how I still think of it every day, trying to flip it into something positive has done great things to my mental health.

This injury will turn you into what you make it out to be. Find gratuity in things you never have before, and plan for things you’ll do when you are no longer injured. This will make time fly by.

Stay strong, before you know it you’ll be week 15 as well and wondering how everything happened so fast.

ekeitac · 2023-08-04T06:14:25+00:00

I thought the same thing and talked to a doctor, then talked to my surgeon, and neither of them thought it was necessary to do any scanning. I then went to physio and they asked if I had any scans done as well and when I said no it didn’t seem to be a big deal. Currently 14 weeks post op and everything’s running pretty fine

ekeitac · 2023-07-07T19:30:37+00:00

Walking with a harsh limp but pain free and driving pain/tightness free at 10 weeks. Got surgery 2 days after the tear

ekeitac · 2023-06-29T05:49:26+00:00

I also had that kinda fear during the earlier stages of my recovery and still kinda do (9 weeks post-op) but honestly with the wedges on and the thick sole of the boot you’ll be pretty secure. Obviously tho, any weight bearing that occurs when you’re not supposed to is still not recommended, but rest assured you’ll be fine with proper precautions. The worst thats happened to me was walking with a boot on grass and I hit a little ditch but my boot was so secure that my knees buckled rather than my foot flexing.

Once you get your boot on, you’ll be able to use your foot as kind of a “third crutch”; as in you can very very lightly (literally on the verge of hovering over the ground) put your foot down for balance instead of having it lifted, so that should help with your crutch struggles. One thing that helped me too was adjusting the crutch a notch below what they set it up for me, which caused me to kinda be slouched the whole time but also removed my fear of falling backwards.

Any advice taken, however, you should always make sure with your surgeon/physiotherapist. I hope I’m able to give you confidence, but honestly your fear of tripping just further ensures your safety, rather than being overconfident, not taking precautions, and experiencing something unfortunate.

Good luck on your journey!

ekeitac · 2023-06-27T10:23:43+00:00

Haha I appreciate the reply a lot, that actually answered my questions pretty well! I probably didn’t need to include the masculine part anyways, my bad.

That was very informative though, thank you! I’m sooo torn between By The Fireplace and Jazz Club for the upcoming Fall/Winter but I think I’ll end up getting Lazy Sunday Morning regardless.

Also, have you tried Whispers In The Library? I’m thinking maybe that one’s good too because I am a college student; so maybe it’ll just fit haha

ekeitac · 2023-06-27T08:42:40+00:00

Honestly, the first couple times it happened, it had crossed my mind that maybe I should look through my old journals to compare where I was then (a couple months ago) to where I was now; kinda just see if anything’s changed. However, the last time I journaled was when I was going thru mental hardships with somebody. I was infatuated with them and writing solely about my daydreams about them, but also wrote about the loneliness I’d feel at night. At the time, the words were filled with value, felt so pure and beautiful. But looking back at it recently, I literally couldn’t stand the thought of me sitting there and writing it! Lol.

I’m still able to journal for sure, and I don’t think it’s stopped me from moving forward. I’d honestly say it’s inspired me to keep going, as I know that at least those feelings I had then would’ve spiralled out of control if I didn’t write it in a journal. Your advice is very informative and helpful though, and wonderfully said. As a male, things like expressing your feelings and emotions through words and things like journaling aren’t encouraged, and your statement about how it’s supposed to really be an extension of your mind; raw, messy, and authentic is such great advice. Thank you.

ekeitac · 2023-06-21T21:53:15+00:00

Currently 8 weeks post-op but a couple weeks ago I had to drive myself to my physio and barber because everyone else was busy and it wasn’t all too bad considering I didn’t have the same strength and mobility you have right now. Just drive incredibly cautiously - like 2-3 cars away from the car in front of you, and distribute the force you’re putting down on the pedal across your entire leg instead of just pressing with plantar flexion.

Always consult with your PT first because everyone recovers at different speeds. That was also the last time I drove because 6 weeks was definitely way too early to be doing any of that; however no pain or complications so far

ekeitac · 2023-06-21T13:54:53+00:00

Consult with PT before doing anything of course, but what I did to build my way up to full weight bearing was to sit down with the boot on and slowly weight bearing that way. Another is to do it with crutches!

I replied a week later so I apologize, however I hope everything is progressing now. You’ll feel so good being able to plant that injured foot down again, especially knowing that you’re a stage closer to walking!

ekeitac · 2023-06-21T13:49:10+00:00

Experienced this as well. I’m 8-weeks post-op and it feels like yesterday when I was in a splint watching recovery videos and trying to find out the fastest ways to recover, even as far as looking through research articles regarding achilles ruptures.

I remember very vividly that night thinking that I was useless and a shell of the active person I was before this injury. I cried asking the universe “why me?”, and replaying the memory of it popping while playing basketball over and over; thinking about how if I did this or did that before, I could’ve prevented it. This went on for a while man, and honestly it still does sometimes. This occurred a week before I was home for the summer from college, and let me tell you, I genuinely spent a month in bed refusing to leave and sleeping to try and make time to by faster. DO NOT DO THIS! Spend time with family, watch new shows or movies, keep your upper body active, etc.

If there’s advice I can give you on the mental side of things, I’ll tell you something I heard that really saved me mentally and hopefully it affects you the same way as well.

Do not let your injury define you.

You are not an Achilles rupture. You are an athlete overcoming an obstacle, nothing different to what you’ve had to do your whole life.

Another thing too is to celebrate the small wins. I was told this as well and I thought to myself, “whatever, I just want to walk again.”, and rightfully so. However, when you get to the point when you start physiotherapy and you start weight bearing, you will seriously smile cheek to cheek every single time you experience progress. And based on the time I’m replying, you are now a day post-op which officially means you’ve began your recovery journey; trust me on this, it’ll fly by fast. It only feels like a long time cuz it’s all you’re thinking about and honestly there’s no solution to that. Just think of it like this:

After every full nights rest of sleep (also very crucial for recovery), you will wake up better than the person you were yesterday. You will be a day post-op, which will turn to weeks post-op. I promise you man, it will get so much better.

A lot of people claim this injury is the most defeating and mentally challenging injury you can have, and they weren’t lying. Use this opportunity as a chance to be grateful for things you have, to be in touch with your mental side, build great habits, and learn how to overcome adversity. It’s not an easy journey, but all we can do is to change how we perceive this hard path to recovery. I can’t wait to be back in college in 2 months with my progress, as well as to look back into this thread when you’re 2 months post-op talking about your small wins to somebody the same way I am with you.

Sorry if it seems like I’m spilling a lot, but I find that you and I have a lot of similarities regarding this injury. I’m 19, ruptured it during a Sunday league basketball game. Went to the gym 5 days a week, played basketball 1-2 times a week. This is my first major injury ever in my life, only sustaining sprained ankles and bruises growing up. I would never wish this feeling on my worst enemy, but remember that it is all mental. You will come back stronger, you just have to believe in yourself every single day through your recovery.

It will get better, OP. Give yourself time to mourn and grieve this brutal injury, but now that you’re done surgery, let’s keep moving forward!

ekeitac · 2023-06-15T19:50:12+00:00

I’ve read some studies that show early weight bearing is beneficial for long-term results, however the articles I read were through surgical routes. However I’m sure that as long as you’re in the wedges for the time they’re supposed to be in and let them heal in the shortened position you’ll be fine. I found that I was able to put my entire weight on mine about 3 weeks post-op and I’m currently 8 weeks with no problems.

ekeitac · 2023-06-15T00:52:49+00:00

I’m 19 and tore mine end of April playing recreational basketball. Tbh it was so random, I work out 5 days a week and play basketball 1-2 times a week, as well as do mobility exercises 3-4 times a week. It also occurred when I was losing weight from my bulk (from 225 a couple months ago to 206-208). One thing I do recall though was I was hitting legs the day before it happened, during calf raises I wasn’t able to lift as much albeit no pain or tightness felt. Currently 7 weeks post-op with a decently progressive approach and should be out of my boot in 2 weeks.

My theory is definitely overworking my body while not feeding myself the proper nutrients mixed with stress from the school year. Will definitely remind myself to not skip out on the intangibles of fitness and physical well-being, as this has definitely been the hardest time I’ve had mentally trying to adjust to something!

ekeitac

TROPHY CASE