How is it already 2015?! That means I am nearing the three-year anniversary of my life-changing ankle injury. I have certainly learned a lot about myself in that time, which often seems short. The time only really seems long when I factor in all the hard work I’ve put into my rehab since then.
A refresher for those who might not have been following this blog from the beginning:
- My wrist is completely 100 percent back to normal, though I usually like to bump that up to 130-150% now since I have the added reinforcement of Titanium! The only visible clue that something actually happened is the bad ass scar that extends down the inside of my forearm from my wrist for 11 inches (that’s almost 30 centimeters!). It has become a great conversation starter with the guys, but – most of all – I consider it my ‘girl scout badge’ for all that I’ve been through.
- The ankle remains a work in progress. Am at the gym 3-4 times a week (usually 4) to strengthen leg muscles, ride the stationary bike, do some squats and get some other stuff into the workout. My progress has been noticeable, especially by all the guys at the gym! I’ve started to do a short bit of walking on a flat treadmill now and then, mainly when the bikes are occupied (it’s a purposely slow pace of about 1/2 a mile in 15 minutes; those machines scare me, especially with a bad ankle). If I do that, I add some bike at the end of my workout (am usually at the gym for about two hours when I go). Everything that I am doing has been working GREAT for me, though I am fully aware I will never be back to ‘normal’ (whatever that is!…my normal has been redefined). Biggest changes in 2014 were adding the intense weight-training for my legs and getting a new orthopedic doctor (yeah, I did that – but this is the first time I’ve mentioned on this blog). It was also the first chunk of time since all of this happened that my ankle wasn’t my absolute ‘top’ priority – it got bumped down a couple of centimeters by layoffs at my work (I was one of many hundreds who were let go in the past year) and my dad’s diagnosis with a very rare cancer, both of which hit me at the same time. I won’t lie – I already had enough to deal with before these two new challenges, but for lack of a better way to say it – that’s Life… and sometimes it can really SUCK (can I say that word on my own blog?!!). That said, I truly believe that it’s in Life’s challenges that we all learn and grow (I would just like an opportunity to come up for air once in a while). So, this is one reason I wasn’t posting blog posts every day – the other reason is that, once you move into your longer-term rehab, the changes you see are not as often as when you first started out from square one.
Where am I now? Well, for starters, I haven’t had a cortisone shot in my ankle since October 2013. That alone is pretty amazing! I had my first and only ankle x-ray of 2014 on December 19th, mainly because I wanted to see what was going on in there. My last previous x-ray had also been in October 2013. I am going to credit both of those ‘feats’ (can I call them feats?) to my hard work in the gym – yes, I OWN those abductor and adductor machines! 🙂
Goals for 2015: I am STILL working to get back to the state park near my house so that I can hit the hiking trail. I used to do 6-12 miles there every weekend before all of this happened. Am counting on getting there this year – just need to find someone else who likes to hike, too. Will admit that, post-injury, I am not so keen on hiking alone anymore, even with 110+ pounds of dogs (my two Springer Spaniels). I learned the hard way that “sh*t happens” – so I prefer to have someone (or more) along for the fun! Oh — and then there’s this item: I am going to get that crappy, ginormous screw removed from my ankle – the one that has been my complaint since the very beginning. When it happens (soon?), the news will be *BREAKING* here first!
HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM ME & MY GUYS
Springers never stop moving, especially when some entertaining Christmas collars with reindeer bells are added to the mix (my dogs love squeaky toys & making ‘music’), so our ‘selfie’ photoshoot didn’t work as planned –
It IS, however, ALL SMILES & LAUGHS!
AN ARM & A LEG 