I had to get Achilles surgery. He had Haglunds deformity like all these other pros (and me). It's such a debilitating injury with such a lengthy recovery. The problem is the surgery only corrects the symptoms, which is calcaneous bone spurs, but you never really correct why they started forming in the first place. In my case, it was high arches putting strain on my achilles.
I was never the same again. I can barely put a week of running together now. Then again, my surgeon probably wasn't world class.