I promised myself that I would keep up the blog with my recovery progress, but it's been a busy few weeks!
First off, on April 22nd, I was un-booted. Woohoo! Wellllllll, kind of. Dr Arndt gave me an ankle brace to wear with a gym shoe while I recover. I still wear the boot when I go out. It provides A LOT more protection for me, and I can stand on it comfortably, and go through the motions of walking.
I moved about two weeks ago as well. I can now say I live in Chicago. Beardo boyfriend and I moved in together. Our building has an elevator, which is great for me. We also live half a mile from my new Athletico office, and everything else I need is just a 2 minute walk. So far, we have not killed each other, and he has been a super big help for me.
Let's talk physical therapy. While I loved Liz at Bloomingdale, my new girl Lindsay at the Gold Coast location is just as awesome. Liz referred me to Lindsay specifically after they went on a mission trip to Honduras together. They have similar styles, but Lindsay has really amped up my sessions. Now that the majority of the swelling has gone down, I have a little more mobility and we have moved on to strength training. My balance is getting a lot better, and I am no longer leaning to the left as much. I can stand on my own with no crutches (in the boot, in the brace, and barefoot), but I am still not walking.
This was my routine at PT today:
10 minutes on the stationary bike. I did 2.5 miles on a 2 difficulty. Can you tell I miss the gym?
15 minutes of manual work with both Lindsay and Anna, a student from NYC.
35 minutes of exercise. Today was toe strengthening, ankle rotation on a balance board, squats using a stability ball against the wall, ankle pumps on the shuttle, and step-downs.
...Insert Vanna's breakdown. I've had a few breakdowns since the beginning of all of this. Some minor, some full on screaming blow outs. Today was a minor cry from frustration. The step-downs were my breaking point. The step-downs have me put all my weight on the bad side and step down off a two inch wooden platform. I stood on the box for a few minutes just THINKING about the movement. I had to really concentrate in order to even get that motion to process. I was holding on to the ballet bar behind me to balance myself. The pain was unbearable once I tried. While my dorsiflexion is almost back to normal, putting all 150 pounds of Vanna on a virtually unused ankle was the WORST. I lost it. I hit the wall I was afraid of since starting physical therapy. Lindsay was very comforting, and I knew I was being a baby about it, but I couldn't help it. I want to walk so bad! She explained to me that it will happen, and I need to give it some time. She said that it will take some time for the pain to subside and for my brain to register the motion of walking.
After my breakdown, I iced down the ankle and crutched it back home. I'm a little sore and am currently icing my ankle some more as I write this.
OH! Let's end on a positive note. The best news out of all of this! Yesterday I had my first pedicure in 6 months!! It was a great feeling, even though the water was barely luke warm. The bad foot is still a little temperature sensitive, so I couldn't have my normal hot water. I am happy that my feet no longer look like garbage!
I will update with a few pictures soon. Promise. :-)
- Vanna
