Adventures in Healing Begin… Again

Ok, so I wanted to be super serious, dedicated and consistent on writing this blog this time around… But there's something funny about having all the time in the world on your hands… It seems the more time I have the less I get accomplished… You feel me??? 

I know I've read studies and articles on human nature and how we work within the time frame which we place on ourselves… With a quick Google search, Wikipedia reminds me it's called Parkinison's Law - "Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion."

At the moment I feel like I have an eternity to read, write and watch netflix. I am ashamed to say that Netflix is winning… SMH :(  Please don't judge… At least you can't see me sitting here in 3 day old pajamas surrounded by candy wrappers and fruit flies… Not gonna lie, it's not always pretty.

I've been struggling to figure out what to write about… I'm mean I've done it before…ruptured my Achilles that is. You ALL have done something like it before… You get broken, it hurts, people are nice to you, you heal, you strengthen and you go back on your way… Ain't no thing… we all gotta do it sometime…


Ok, so maybe Achille's surgery is a little bigger than say a sprained ankle or even a broken arm, but it's no cancer, it's not life threatening… UNLESS of course you live here and you have no compassion for people outside of yourself (I may have visions of poking someone in the eye with my CRUTCH)… 



yes that is a dig at my soon to be ex husband.  I love him dearly and I wish him well on his personal journey, but I am not impressed with him as a compassionate human being at the moment. It could be the pain talking… but it's not.





I'm pretty sure I went through this the last time around… Trying to justify and balance just the right amount of self-pity with the drive and fortitude needed to not only heal, but to come back a stronger, smarter, better person than before.  

I'm a work in progress.  A Sicilian Hippie my mother dubbed me once… Peace, Love and FU!! I'd like to believe there's some sort of yin-yang going on there…. You tell me… or better yet… don't.

I am two weeks post op.  Today I got the cast removed and was put into an adjustable boot. 

LUCKY ME… 

I ALREADY HAD ONE!!! 

YAY!!!

I'm on a 4 day regimen of adjusting the angle on the boot.  Every 4th day for the next month I will be adjusting the boot by 10 degrees until my ankle reaches a 90 degree angle with my tib/fib. 

This is different from last time where I had weekly visits with my doc and he checked on me and did the adjustments… I have much more power this way!!! Also, I don't have to try to secure as many chauffeurs… Doc says, "No Driving."

I have every intention to post soon with some adventures of the boot/cast.  That was a fun and helpful part of the journey three years ago… we'll see if it has the same joy this time around :)

Here are some of the first couple of adventures:

Ice cream and baby cows :)

Starbucks, Target and Ellie

An ER adventure in the middle of the night

Yummy meals made with garlic, basil and love

Chivalrous Jacob :)

And of course keeping the foot elevated!!!   

Peace out friends!!!

Love, Julie 

400M PR 4min 58sec

Howdy friends! I missed you :) I feel like I don't have a whole lot to tell you... But, I'm sure once I get started I will find plenty to blah blah blog about.

The boot is officially retired unless of course I decide to do some sort of hiking adventure, but I just don't have that on the docket so I think we're all safe...well I am...for now.

This past week I discovered that I can walk a 400 meter loop (one lap around the track) in 4 minutes 58 seconds!!! This is exciting and also deflating. I am happy to be walking sans boot and I am sad that I am being lapped multiple times by the kids at the track. There has been some swelling in the ankle region as I push myself more, but that seems to be subsiding.



For the record, this guy is Jeremy Wariner and he is a Track and Field gold medalist. He can go around the track 5-6 times in the time I go 400m. His time in Indianapolis this past weekend was 44.67 secs!


I still walk with a limp and anytime I have been OFF of my foot for a bit and I get up to go again it feels like I am starting over! First thing in the morning is THE WORST!!! I feel like a gremlin got in there in the middle of the night and tightened it up another inch! Once I get moving I do pretty O.K. but sometimes (like when I'm trying for my PR {personal record} in the 400m) I'm feeling so good and then I think, "I bet I could jog," and then say I jog about ten steps and THEN it hurts again and I'm sad and depressed again and I think I'm never gonna be normal again... :(

Who am I kidding, normal? Again? .....Well, you know what I mean :)

SIDE NOTE RE: A FELLOW ACHILLES TENDON RUPTURER:
So, there is a fresh new ATR out there and my heart just breaks for him. His name is John Orozco and he is a great young gymnast. This weekend was the Visa Championships in Hartford Connecticut. This competition qualifies athletes to Worlds which is generally a preview of the Olympics. I am so sad for John, but have great hope that his determination and - let's face it - his youth will have him back in time for LONDON 2012!!! Fingers Crossed.

*By the way, John's gymnastics was a lot more impressive than my round-off back handspring back tuck...
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BACK TO ME, "CUZ THAT'S JUST THE WAY I AM:

Stay tuned for my new PR in the 400, I hope to knock off a few seconds this evening and I'll keep you posted...as long as it's a success ;P

Nine days until the next appointment and I'll hopefully have an idea when PT
(physical therapy) can start.

Ba da ba da ba da that's all folks!

Since there is no more boot there are really no more adventures of where the boot has been. I do have this one last pic of the boot about to go to sea :)

The Boot on Lake Michigan along the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Shoreline about to be happily sent to Davy Jones Locker ;)

Have a great day! Keep on keepin' on!

More Progress More Frustration

I guess I'm just in a dumpy kind of place right now. I shouldn't be. I just got back from a great girls getaway. I have a beautiful family. I am walking with and without the boot! But sometimes I just get in the dumps. I'm sad (and grateful) that the girls getaway couldn't last a little longer. I am nostalgic (and proud) that my family is getting so big and independent. And I am disheartened (and impressed) with the progress I am making on this Achilles rupture and road to recovery.

Maybe it's because I am a Gemini? Sign of the twins, the yin and the yang, back and forth, blah blah blah... I guess the good thing is at least I can recognize the positives even when I'm feeling negative
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Here is the quick update:

• I am walking without the boot around the house and I can already see my calf muscle getting stronger. That feels great!

• I am still unable to stand on my toes even in the pool. When I discovered that unfathomable weakness, it just about brought me to tears...I don't know why? I mean I have been with me every step of the way. I should realize it's just the next step in the process. But, not being able to go on my tippy-toes EVEN UNDER WATER really kicked me in the face and reminded me that there is still a long way to go.

• Yesterday I walked 400M ON LAND without the boot!!!

I ended up doing it without shoes too :-P

As it turns out the incision area is still very tender and I could not tolerate the shoes for too long. The funny thing was I totally felt like a little kid walking around in daddy's shoes as I slid into my tennies for the first time and awkwardly clomped around in my bedroom!




I was on my feet a lot yesterday and had some pretty significant swelling, so I watched SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE and iced that puppy!
(I like to pretend that's a poster of me).




I am at once limited AND strong and I just have to keep reminding myself to look at this experience from the right perspective. I am blessed to be surrounded by people who remind me to just keep going :)

No excuses!

I came across this next link via Facebook and my friends at Oakland County CrossFit. They have not only helped to keep me sane but have been supportive and motivating along this entire journey. I still get frustrated with myself but I am also inspired by others. If you have a few minutes watch Kyle Maynard. He isn't waiting for something as easy as an Achilles to heal...He just not waiting PERIOD.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQ0VgKGophI


AND NOW that you all may feel a little lazy but hopefully INSPIRED, here comes the traveling boot section of the blog :)

First stop the Trophy Room at Boyne Mountain

Next stop the boot in a tree in Petoskey

I call this Adventures with PETOSKEY PEDICAB!
I highly recommend them :)
Josh and Calvin were delightful hosts and gentlemen
They didn't make one comment about our weight
P.S. Josh is taking the picture

The boot works the booty with BABY GOT BACK
Karaoke night at Giuseppe's in Charlevoix
If you go there say HI to Ray the bartender! He was also the bouncer and kept us safe!

The Boot on the Mountain
going down the chairlift

Good Bye Up North --- for now

For now the boot is home. I still wear it when I leave the house, but I will be wearing less and less over the next week or so!

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Keep On Truckin'

Howdy Friends!!! Good News!!! I went to see Doc Fugle today and he says I am right on track and I should come back to see him in a month...A MONTH!?!?! UGH! How about three days? Maybe a week? TWO WEEKS TOPS!!! Nope, it's a month, but here's the thing, over the next month my orders are to start walking at home without the boot! WITHOUT THE BOOT!!!


(Psst, don't tell, but I started doing that last week...hey, sometimes a girl has to pee and doesn't want to take the time to pull on a compression sock and then lace and velcro a boot...I'm just sayin').


The next step for me is in two weeks when I have the green light to walk OUTSIDE without the boot!!! I am giddy with excitement! Here's the deal, I have permission (nagging monotonous internal voice: two-weeks-from-now-as-long-as-I-practice-at-home-on-flat-even-surfaces) to go OUTSIDE of the home to MORE FLAT and EVEN surfaces and ........

W - A - L - K!!!!

I do realize that I am over using the punctuation that represents excitement, but I WANT YOU TO KNOW HOW EXCITED I AM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh, and somewhat NERVOUS :-/

At the doc's office I felt like I have been ordered to walk a FINE line. On one hand they keep telling me to "BE CAREFUL! We don't want you to re-rupture" which is quickly followed by "Why are you limping? You need to push through." I am continually looking for the middle ground between being too aggressive and too tentative... So far so good 'cuz every time I go visit Doc seems pleased with my progress.

Since I was such a model patient I decided to push the envelope and ask (O.K., beg) for rehab...Doc Fugle says, "you may not need rehab." The other doctor said, "We'll get you into therapy, don't worry." ;) So, I decide this is a good time to mention my plans to run a 5K on the 6 month anniversary of my ATR (achilles tendon rupture)... and he stops... he looks at the ground, so I repeat my request for permission only louder, thinking he didn't hear me and he says, "GIMME A MINUTE, I'M THINKING!" Ooops, I hope I didn't make him mad... Then he says, "We'll talk about it in a month..." A MONTH! Again with the MONTH?!?! (Maybe I did make him mad)? No talking about Physical Therapy or running for one more month.



In the meantime I will be enjoying a little getaway with the girls. I'll be doing some swimming which I have not only been given permission but have been encouraged to do! I will also be shopping and karaoke-ing which I have been discouraged to do, but eh, it's vacation!!! :)

In case you are following the boot here she was today:The boot at Piano lessons

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Aint Nothin Gonna Break My Stride

Matthew Wilder sang it best:

Ain't nothin' gonna to break my stride
Nobody's gonna slow me down, oh-no
I got to keep on movin'...

To say this hasn't slowed me down would be a little bit of a stretch, but keeping moving has kept me from throwing myself an all out Pity Party of the grandest kind!!!

The "crankies" and the lack of patience seem to be waning, not with absolution, but my goal this week of having appropriate expectations seems to be helping. I think. I suppose you have to ask the peeps I live with about that??? There was a chart for last week that set the ground work for the expectations! A LOT got accomplished and that was wonderful. The goals for this week have not been set and with a 2 day getaway in the plans I have a feeling very little will get accomplished, but I will breathe deep and chalk it up to SUMMER VACATION and be O.K. with it :)

My other goal this week was not to cry too much and I have met that goal with flying colors!!! I was a little uncomfortable for the first few days after the boot adjustment, but now feel pretty darn good. Some days I still do too much and my foot and ankle swell and ache and I am reminded to elevate and behave.

The things that keep me going and keep my spirits up include Movie Nights with the family, Coffee Meetings with the girls, CrossFit, the many Graduation Parties/BBQ's and of course all the new babies! I like having things to go to and to be a part of. I appreciate feeling included :)

The things I struggle with still are: 1. Not having a job this summer and feeling stuck, feeling like I am not contributing, 2. I get frustrated that I cannot go for a run or even a walk. On one hand I feel like my leg is getting stronger and I think I'll be able to take little steps or scoots, but it's just not true. I have been measuring the pounds of force that I am able to tolerate on the bathroom scale and I am only up 40 lbs on my ATR (achilles tendon rupture) and that is only about 1/3 of my total body weight, so I still have a ways to go :(

I have been getting pictures of where the boot can go to show you and remind myself that I am still on the move. That "Ain't nothin' gonna to break my stride, Nobody's gonna slow me down, oh-no I got to keep on movin'..."


The Boot on the road ... I am NOT driving (in this pic) ;P












The Boot in Starbucks ... mmmmmmmm














The Boot and a Baby :)















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