This is a long post and really is only intended for Fez so you all don't really need to read it,
Fez,
This is my experience, I snapped my achilles in September 2003, and was able to get back to the end of the ABL season in 2004, so all up it was 8 months. I'm currently still recovering from surgery to my other Achilles where the doc had to detach half my tendon to remove a bone spur, so it's fair to say I've been studying and recovering from Achilles injuries for 2 years now.
Based on what you have written, I would be advising you the following:
Pre surgery:
1. Get to surgery ASAP. The longer you leave it, the more scar tissue will accumulate in the area. I saw Dr. Peter Dobson at Wakefield on the Thursday (1 day after doing it) and he was going to try to get me into surgery that night! Couldn't get a bed so had it done on the Saturday morning. Dunno if you have private health (I didn't so ended up paying $3k but was definitely worth it) but you are waaaayyyyy better off paying the money and getting it done sooner rather than later.
2.Whilst you are waiting for surgery, do NOTHING but lie on the couch with your foot in the air, it will help with the pain and also with scar tissue.
3. Definitely go for the surgery option, I would recommend Dr. Dobson or Dr. Linda Ferris (Foot and Ankle centre), they each did one foot and were very good. They will both tell you there are some risks involved, but by not having surgery they will tell you the chances of re-rupture are increased. Based on what I have read not having surgery is for nannas and pappas who can't afford it or don't want the increased risk of having surgery at their age.
4. If you can, search the internet. Type in "Ruptured Achilles tendon" and find as much information as you can about the surgery, post op care, rehab etc. It is the largest tendon in the body and can exert forces of up to 12 times your body weight, so get as much info as you can.
Post surgery:
1. You will be advised to keep your foot in the air for 2 weeks to reduce the risk of infection, DO IT!!! The only time you should be leaving the couch or bed is to go to the toilet, and even then you will want to get back to the couch because the pain in the first 2 weeks for me was crazy.
2. YOU WILL NEED SOMEONE TO LOOK AFTER YOU FOR THE FIRST 2 WEEKS. Mother, father, brother, sister, wife, girlfriend, friend. Someone will need to put part of their life on hold for you for 2 weeks because you will not be able to move from the couch or bed for too long. Try to stay away from poor food (take away etc) otherwise you will end up looking like a BoomBah after 6 weeks, and the increase in weight will put more strain on the tendon.
3. Whenever you yawn or stretch, your tendon will hurt&. A lot&. If you can, try to stretch without stretching your lower body as it won't hurt as much.
4. After 2 weeks you can start to move around, and you will find you will try to use the foot to help you balance whilst on crutches. Do your best not to do this as it will put pressure on the tendon. It will take about 2 months for the tendon to "heal" internally (i.e. for both ends to join together without having to rely on the stitches).
5. After 2-3 weeks, if you can afford it, get a wheel chair, cos you will be going crazy not being able to go anywhere for that long a time. I was happy just to be able to move around a little bit and not rely on crutches, cos your arms will be killing you by then.
6. At 3 weeks I had my plaster removed and a new one put on with my foot closer to 90 degrees. This will be your first time at seeing your calf muscle about the size of your forearm.
7. Weeks 4 to 6 seem to take forever, because you can get around a little better and kind of balance on the heel of your plaster, but you still can't go anywhere fast. When the cast comes off it is a great relief, and your leg will stink like off sweat.
8. When you don't have a cast on you will still need your crutches as your leg will be very weak. I started going to the aquatic centre and did light walking on my foot in water up to my neck (you only have 10% of your body weight on it when the water is that high). Slowly start to stretch the tendon by standing up against the wall and put your toes at the bottom of it. You will not be able to get your knee very bent at all, but after a couple of weeks I was able to put my knee to the wall quite easily. The doctor will tell you flexibility is more important than strength at this time, because the strength won't come for a long time, but flexibility is crucial to you running again. It's also a good thing to start lightly massaging the surrounding area, not too hard, just try to stimulate some blood down there. There isn't much blood flow at the bottom of the tendon so taking scar tissue away is harder to do.
9. After about 3 months I started physio, just simply massage and ultrasound on it to get rid of the scar tissue and adhesions surrounding the tendon. If you can, make yourself a wobble board, and get a inner tube from a bike tyre and use them every night to help with strength.
10. After 6 months I still had pain and scans showed it was an internal stitch that hadn't dissolved at the time. Doc advised me it was ok and if I continued to lightly jog it would disappear in time, sure enough, I was able to return to the court 8 months after doing it. At first I felt really slow, but once the whole leg gets used to running again, you should be fine.
I wouldn't be thinking of returning to the court until AT LEAST 6 months after surgery, just to be on the safe side. You probably won't run until 5 months after surgery, anything before that is a waste of time as the tendon probably won't be ready. You don't want to do it again, otherwise your days of running will be over. Don't rush it, join a library, hire some videos, play playstation or xbox, but don't rush it. The big thing will be for you to mentally prepare and understand that your leg will no longer be the same and there is a chance you won't be able to play the same as what you did pre-injury.
Oh, and you will need to manage the person who is helping you out in the first 2 weeks, cos after about 3 days of cooking for you and tidying up after you, they will probably have had enough (well my missus did anyway).
Good luck mate, Isaac has my email address if you've got any more questions.
