Temporary post

I've had too much coffee today and am about 8 oz though a glass of sangria. This is a good state to ponder life in, especially this semester, which has been one of the consistently busiest I've had to date. On the other hand, it's also one of the most productive, especially in getting that pesky gimpy ankle fixed.

I do feel like it is fixed- I've got a long way to go (especially if I want to start riding races next fall- not to win, just to not finish last), but I can definately tell a difference from this time last year to now. It's still pretty stiff but is way tougher- I wobble a lot, but my ankle doesn't give out on me before I can redistribute my weight and avoid what would have been in the past a nasty sprain. That was the goal. Both the doctor and the physical therapists say that if I want to ride my bike I can- I just haven't had the time yet.

So at my semester, my 12 hour/week internship for a democrat, my ankle, and general senior year projects like graduate school applications and the GRE, I make this face:

I'm still winning.

New Shoes!

I've finally had it hammered into my head after all this ankle stuff this year how important proper footwear is, and how a $20 department store shoe simply isn't going to be of the same quality as an $80 shoe by a solid orthopedic company. Expensive (outside of the fashion craze- I will never forgive fashion for those disgusting Uggs shoes) does mean better as far as footwear is concerned.

A few months ago in March or so I bought a pair of Clarks shoes, as seen in screenshot:

At the time I had found another (girlier) pair that I wanted just as bad, but definitely couldn't afford- so I remembered the name and style and waited around for the money to come. The other pair I wanted are below:

This week my grandmother, the original instigator of Clarks-love in my family (my mom has two or three pairs too, hers are the Birkenstock-looking style) found out I was wanting a pair and send the money my way to get these wonderful orthopedic shoes, which I did today.

I will admit with only mild shame that I get really sweaty stinky feet if I don't wear socks, and the Un.Examine shoes are meant to be worn barefoot. They've got a ton of ventilation, it turns out, and I've had them on for several hours now without even the slightest moisture. Finally, I can wear a shoe without a sock or clouds of stink when I take them off!

So even though the price is fairly staggering, I highly recommend Clarks shoes for the structure (proper support and arch and such), styles, and durability- my mom's Clarks shoes that I mentioned above? Yeah, she got them five years ago. She wears them to work every day (teaching all day at a community college). They're not even close to wearing out yet. So if you do the math, buying two or three pairs of cheap shoes one after the other for $25-$30 each in a five year period, versus paying $100 for a pair that lasts the same five year period and is more comfortable anyway, it makes sense. (or maybe it's just me because I hate shoe shopping and it takes forever.)

Here are my legs enjoying my new shoes:

Week 13 post-surgery

Mostly due to the physical therapy, there's been a lot of improvement in general strength and flexibility in my ankle, although I still have a long way to go. They currently have me doing a lot of theraband activities, the total gym (the machine where you go from squat position to standing position by pushing against the footboard with your legs), the stationary bike, foot pumping (sort of like paddling but with only feet), these horrible ab thrust things, and an occasional massage.

They're starting to add more strengthening exercises- my archnemesis the Wobble Board's evil cousin Wobble Pad Thing appeared Monday in a balance exercise that my ankle still hurts from over a day later.

Someday I'll have my revenge, wobble board.

There will be new exercises tomorrow, which will not be fun and probably involve more of the wobble board. I was never good at it fully healthy, let alone recoving from surgery, so hopefully something will happen and I suddenly develop fabulous balance.

My sessions are still going pretty long- the average is an hour and a half, over a week in. Unfortunately I keep having to cram everything into one hour so I'm not late for school, but on Fridays I can take my time and thoroughly do everything they want. I have 2ish more weeks of going 3 times a week, and then my doctor will either bump it down to 1 or 2 or graduate me entirely (I'm betting on being there awhile longer).

Hopefully I'll be able to start riding my bike again by October, and my dad (who rode all over town when he was out here during my surgery recovery) told me about a few flat paths that would be easy to start on until I knew how my ankle did. Generally it doesn't get too cold for outdoor activities until mid-November here, so I'd have a good month or so before winter sets in to work out outdoors, then once it does I'll start going to the indoor gym again and lose that weight I've packed on!

Week 12 Part 2

It's been an interesting week. I somehow ended up with so much to do that I only went to class two days (since Monday was Labor Day and Fridays I don't have classes). Most of the sudden onslaught of business was due to a fire at my apartment complex, in an apartment not too far from mine- I got a lot of smoke from it that took days and lots of cleaning to eradicate, however no smoke damage at all. While we were evacuated I took a lot of phone photos. Here is a picture of firemen running towards the smoke:

Also, the part that actually relates to this blog- I'm walking in regular shoes, finally! Originally my plan had been to wait until yesterday to lose the boot, but I was feeling good after therapy on Thursday and decided to leave it off until I felt like I needed it...and it stayed off! I appear outwardly normal once again! I got new tennis shoes to celebrate, they are super comfy:

Also, my ankle, finally with only a minimal amount of swelling- this is right after this morning's p.t. session. The guy who I've worked with most consistently is apparently impressed with the speed I'm improving at, especially in regards to my range of motion.

That lump is partially swelling but mostly ankle. And yes, those are Christmas socks with penguins and snowflakes. :)

I still have 2-3 weeks of p.t. and an Oct. 1 doctor's appointment and then I believe I'm more or less done with all of this! How exciting!

Week 12 Part 1

I've got a photo finally to show some of the progress. The swelling is still there but a lot less so. The swelling at my ankle, though more or less the same size, is a lot softer than before (it had been hard before and not fond of massage- there must have been a ton of scar tissue). The part of my foot above my toes is still a little swollen too, but that should hopefully go away as I use my foot more. My PT homework is probably helping- I have been noticing a moderate increase in my range of movement, although based on the amount of fixing my ankle had to endure the doctor and therapist both say it probably won't ever be as flexible as my left again. Oh well. I'll take what I can.

This week is my final week in the boot before moving permanently back to regular shoes, while in PT this week I will be practicing walking with my tennis shoes in preparation. My foot is very stiff and not flexible, but it doesn't hurt when I walk without my boot (barefoot) so I suppose I'm as ready to lose the training wheels as I will be. Tuesday is PT session #2, and they are already going to start me in my tennis shoes on machinery like the treadmill and elliptical (but still end with a good massage to help with the soreness and swelling).

So talk to you then.

First physical therapy session

This isn't my first round of physical therapy for this ankle, however it is the first post-surgery so I'm cautiously optimistic.

Yesterday was my first session of it, about 40 minutes long, crammed in between work and classes. The drive took 40 minutes, which will hopefully decrease if I take the highway through the Death Exit and survive (no exit ramp should suddenly develop four lanes, merge with the frontage road, and hit a major intersection at the same time, that's a stupid design for such a heavy traffic flow).

I'll probably be remaining at Peak Motion for the duration of my therapy even though it's so far away because it's a nice small friendly place with huge windows for natural light and a nice variety of equipment and other stuff. The therapists had this nice casual banter with each other that was nice while I was laying there having my foot twisted around- to increase my flexibility (it was freakish how well it worked, plus the swelling went down). I was put in this freezing cold ice sleeve that I could probably develop a hatred for, although I did feel better later once I thawed out.

My p.t. homework is to do about six exercises- sitting and lifting my heels off the ground, then the same thing but with my toes, tracing out the alphabet, a sort of elevated-straightening-my-foot-out exercise, curling my toes, and scrunching up a towel with my toes. Most of these I am supposed to do daily whether I have therapy or not, and on the days I don't have therapy I'm to do them twice in multiple sets.

Because of my limited free time and Labor Day on Monday, my next therapy appointment is Tuesday. I'm going to start strengthening excercises on things like the treadmill and elliptical. Next Friday I ditch the boot and go into regular tennis shoes, however therapy will continue for 2-3 more weeks after that. My next doctor appointment is on Oct. 1st, at which time I will hopefully be pronounced cured.

My personal goal is to be either walking or riding my bike on paved, relatively flat trails by the end of the month.