Recovering from surgery and a blackpowder shoot

Long time readers of this column know I’ve been dealing with a bum left ankle ever since an auto accident about eighteen years ago. Over the years, I went from just walking on it as is, to cortisone shots and a special brace to help make walking less painful. Finally, in the last year or so, nothing really helped, and I just quit doing a lot of things I really enjoyed because of the pain of walking involved to participate (attending gun shows, small game hunting, ice fishing, and even shooting to a lesser extent).

After consulting with an orthopedic surgeon specializing in ankles about the best option to address this problem, I decided to go with a full ankle joint replacement procedure rather than a joint fusion. I had the surgery a little over four weeks ago as this is written.

I’ve had several friends call over the last week or so asking how I was doing. I appreciate that folks were concerned about how I was progressing. The prescribed convalescence called for no weight on the ankle for the first four weeks post-surgery. After that and using a “walking boot,” I can begin to put weight on the ankle, increasing the amount every week until I reach full weight after another four weeks of limited walking.

At my last post-operative visit, I was issued the walking boot. They had removed the stitches and x-rayed the joint to see how well the joint replacement hardware was fusing with the bone. Everything looked good and the surgeon was pleased with how things were progressing.

I’m trying to be “good” about following doctor’s orders with this. If you screw up a shoulder, hip, or knee joint replacement, the damage can be repaired to a point. I was told not so with the ankle situation. Needless to say, I’m being careful. Even though I have permission to begin limited walking with crutches, I’m going to limit any walking to no more than necessary for the next couple of weeks. Better safe than sorry!

I’ll be beginning physical therapy in a couple of weeks, and I figure that’s the time to begin doing more walking than just the necessary stuff. I was prescribed a “knee scooter,” post-surgery, to get around until I can start walking. I’ve seen a few folks using them in the grocery store over time and I thought they might be “fun” to use.

The particular scooter I got works fine on flat, hard surfaces going in a straight line, but leaves something to be desired for maneuvering in tight spaces and making 90-degree turns. It is also somewhat of a pain when used over open ground, like going to the truck from the house for a doctor’s visit, because it wants to hang up on any non-flat structures like roots or small pebbles. We’ll be turning it back in in a week or so, depending on how well I get along with the crutches.

One event I will not be participating in but hope to attend, at least in part, is the 2022 Alaska Blackpowder Territorial Shooting Match coming up on June 22 and running through June 25. This event will be held at Ft. Wick, near Talkeetna. The various shooting match aggregates encompass all types of muzzleloading rifles (flintlock and percussion sidelocks, and modern in-line), smoothbores, and blackpowder cartridge rifles. Blackpowder handguns and revolvers have their own aggregate matches as well.

If I was going to participate, I would shoot the sighted smoothbore aggregate, the blackpowder cartridge aggregate (where I set a state record in one of the aggregate matches last year), the two inline aggregates, and possibly the smoothbore and the musket aggregates. The sighted smoothbore matches require a smoothbore with both front and rear fixed sights. The smoothbore matches require a flintlock firing mechanism and can’t have any type of rear sight. The musket aggregates require a rifled musket comparable to what was used in the American Civil War.

There are dozens of other aggregates for shooters of all skill levels and interests. I’ve thought about shooting the light benchrest aggregate, but my rifle only has correct sights for two of the four matches in the aggregate. I’m not a good pistol shot, so I don’t actively shoot in those aggregates, but I have helped other shooters in the timed fire portion of the pistol and revolver matches.

I look forward to this nationally sanctioned match (by the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association) every year, and the comradery with fellow shooters.