Wednesday, March 9th, was twenty-three weeks post surgery. I noticed that sometimes on days when the weather was damp or rainy, my ankle was not sore... and then on other days it was. I was beginning to think there really was no rhyme nor reason to what made my ankle sore; it was probably something that I was just going to have to deal with. My therapist had told me that the soreness could go either way... it would either remain for the rest of my life, or my ankle would heal and the soreness would subside.
Another thing I noticed was how much more active I was becoming. I was on my feet more, running errands and doing household chores without thinking too much about it. Things I couldn't do before, like work at the shelter in the morning and then run errands in the afternoon, were becoming easier. I could carry more weight when walking, but still had to be careful with anything too heavy, especially when going up or down stairs.
My increasing energy and activity were making it difficult to keep up with my blog, and unfortunately I felt that my blog was becoming stale... there weren't too many more obstacles to jump over and report about. On the bright side, I was able to write about how much the quality of my life had improved. That in itself was worth sharing, and I knew it would give others out there more motivation and comfort in making their decision to have this surgery. It always felt great to read comments posted and know I was helping someone get their life back.
Thank you all for reading... and forgive me if I am not as diligent in posting... remember that in my book, no news is good news. I will keep you all posted on my progress and hope you benefit from my experiences!
Friday, March 18, 2011
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Week Twenty-Two
Wednesday, March 2nd, was twenty-two weeks post-surgery. My ankle was still feeling sore due to the rainy weather, but I was definitely over my sinus infection.
On Thursday I woke up feeling great; the weather was clear and dry and my ankle didn't hurt at all. That day I did some new exercises at physical therapy, working on stabilization. I still couldn't lift my body weight on the ball of my left foot; standing on tip-toe was difficult. I could do it with both feet but not on my left foot alone. My therapist told me this was due to the lack of range of motion in my ankle, and not necessarily due to the lack of strength.
I spent most of the day on my feet Friday, and my ankle felt fine afterward. On Saturday morning I went to the shelter and then to physical therapy in the afternoon. My ankle was sore afterward, but it was nothing I couldn't handle. Before the surgery I would have been off my feet for the rest of the day after going to the shelter.
My therapist told me we might try tapering off with the visits at this point. I was currently a member of the YMCA and could use the gym there a few days a week while cutting down my therapy visits to once or twice a week. There were plenty of machines to use at the gym, such as the treadmill and leg press. I felt as though my therapy had taken me just about as far as it could... my ankle would get stronger and more stable but I would be able to work at it on my own.
On Thursday I woke up feeling great; the weather was clear and dry and my ankle didn't hurt at all. That day I did some new exercises at physical therapy, working on stabilization. I still couldn't lift my body weight on the ball of my left foot; standing on tip-toe was difficult. I could do it with both feet but not on my left foot alone. My therapist told me this was due to the lack of range of motion in my ankle, and not necessarily due to the lack of strength.
I spent most of the day on my feet Friday, and my ankle felt fine afterward. On Saturday morning I went to the shelter and then to physical therapy in the afternoon. My ankle was sore afterward, but it was nothing I couldn't handle. Before the surgery I would have been off my feet for the rest of the day after going to the shelter.
My therapist told me we might try tapering off with the visits at this point. I was currently a member of the YMCA and could use the gym there a few days a week while cutting down my therapy visits to once or twice a week. There were plenty of machines to use at the gym, such as the treadmill and leg press. I felt as though my therapy had taken me just about as far as it could... my ankle would get stronger and more stable but I would be able to work at it on my own.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Week Twenty-One
Wednesday, February 23rd, was twenty-one weeks post-surgery. That night I pushed myself on the Wii Fit, playing games that required ankle movement and really focusing on using my left ankle rather than relying on my right. I felt pretty sore afterward, but good!
On Thursday I started feeling sick, like another sinus infection was coming on. I didn't go to physical therapy that night nor on Saturday; I went to the doctor instead and began a course of antibiotics.
I went to physical therapy on Monday and took it easy because I wasn't feeling 100%. I started paying attention to the weather because I noticed that when it was clear and dry, my ankle felt fine. When it was wet and cloudy, my ankle hurt. My therapist told me this might always be the case with my ankle, but there as also a chance that it was temporary.
The weather was rainy on Tuesday and my ankle was very sore... I hoped the weather would clear up soon!
On Thursday I started feeling sick, like another sinus infection was coming on. I didn't go to physical therapy that night nor on Saturday; I went to the doctor instead and began a course of antibiotics.
I went to physical therapy on Monday and took it easy because I wasn't feeling 100%. I started paying attention to the weather because I noticed that when it was clear and dry, my ankle felt fine. When it was wet and cloudy, my ankle hurt. My therapist told me this might always be the case with my ankle, but there as also a chance that it was temporary.
The weather was rainy on Tuesday and my ankle was very sore... I hoped the weather would clear up soon!
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