It's a What I CAN DO Day

Last week I was blessed with my first trip back to the box after surgery… As I walked/crutched into the box I was immediately flooded with joy!  There's something about the smell of sweat, chalk and rubber that, for me, is soothing and comforting.  I feel at home in a gym.  Not just at Oakland County CrossFit where I have a special connection, but really… any athletic facility… Like pulling on your favorite old jeans, it just feels right!

BUT THEN… As my buddies started their warm ups and moved on to the WOD I began to see all the things I could NOT do. :(

I tried to quiet my mind and focus on some ring rows.  I had no plan… no goal… so I very quickly quit.  EEEEWWWW, I hate that word… QUIT.  GIVE UP.  LOSE.  But I did in that moment.

I reverted to one of my other strengths which was sideline coaching and cheering… That was O.K. for the WOD, but once that was over I was left with my personal disappointment.

Here's the deal, I have to rely on people A LOT right now.  Andrea/Boss came and picked me up, Anette drove me home, people are going out of their way to keep me up and I let them (And Me) down.  Not that they were counting on me to get my workout done in order to make their day any better… but you know, when someone goes out of their way to do something nice for you… I don't know, I just don't want their generosity to be for some bullshit pity party of mine… :P

So, I was mentally beating myself up on the drive home and vowed to my mind-gremlins that they were done for, finished, kaput!!! I now have a standing weekly date to get a ride to the box as well as a personal mission to write and execute a specific workout.

I sat down and threw up a list of movements that I felt comfortable with and then wrote out work out #1 for this week.  The first draft looked like this:


I finished everything on the workout. I do have some tweaking to do, but it felt good to have a plan and to complete it.  I also have movements to add, as well as some creativity, but again, it felt good to have a plan and to walk in the gym and keep my eye on the list of things I COULD do instead of the wall balls and burpees that I could not do with my friends… ("with friends" being the ultimate desire, cuz lets face it I EFFING HATE WALL BALLS).  ;)

Here's something interesting… I could not do a lot of the stretching because the pain at the surgery sight was way too intense… Stretching will be limited to upper body for a while longer.

Besides a physical outlet I have been reading up on some of the best healing foods.  Now, since it is such a chore for me to prepare food, my first choice of healing foods are the AMAZING, GENEROUS, KIND, TASTY dishes that my friends have been bringing me!!!

Chicken Shack from Lisa B.
Homemade Spaghetti AND Sloppy Joe's from Rob C.
Mushroom Chicken AND Taco Night  from Joyce F.
Creamy Chicken Bake from Katie F.
Lasagna from the Haddads
Pizza Lunch with Bailey and Freaky H.
Chicken Spaghetti from Dana S.
White Bean Chicken Chilli from Kelly C.
Broadway Grill lunch with Carol G.
Salmon Spinach salad lunch with Joe C.

This is my first line of Thank You's… I may even write out old school cards… but I have to admit I'm a bit of a procrastinator in that regard, HOWEVER, I PROMISE I AM NO LESS GRATEFUL!!! 

I AM SO THANKFUL AND FEEL SO LOVED!!!

(Except this one day when my soon-to-be ex-husband ate the food that was prepared for me and left me with nothing to eat… I thought that was a pretty dick move even for someone who's divorcing me…{of course this is a dick move on my part, being a tattle tale… Please forgive me, I'm still working on my issues}  LOOK, I don't mind sharing and he had the food for dinner the night before, but he took the rest for lunch and left me with nothing to eat… I just don't get it).  But I can't let the actions of one person overshadow the love and grace of so much good in my life!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN!!!

Back to nourishing foods after surgery…
Connective Tissue Healing:                                                                                                                 
      "Healing after surgery may often require special support for connective tissue, which will have to be regenerated for complete healing.There's research evidence to support a focus on four vitamins when connective tissue healing is required, and those four vitamins are: vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin A, and the B-complex vitamins. You'll be covering the bases well in this situation if you emphasize green leafy vegetables in your diet.    
     In post-surgery healing, collagen proteins can become an especially important part of connective tissue repair."

I will be filling my basket with some of these foods this week:

• Kale, Spinach, Asparagus (help in the production of collagen; also helps body use this protein more effectively)
• Garlic (sulfur for collagen/contains lipoid acid & taurine, for rebuilding damaged collagen fibers)
• Tuna & Salmon (protein + omega 3's)
• Red Peppers (contain plenty of antioxidants…promotes collagen)
• AND CHOCOLATE (because it makes me happy and happiness heals)!  

****(6 Foods that Enhance Collagen Production)

I could keep rambling on but it took me 5 minutes to read to this line… If you're like me you stopped being interested 2 minutes ago… HAHA :)

So here's a few adventure pics from this week and I'll see you next time!!! If you're getting a kick out of this, please share or comment!  Love ya friends!!! 

STAY STRONG. 
STAY HEALTHY. 
HELP EACH OTHER.

Sometimes I have a hard time sitting still… So Bubby spots my L-Sits on crutches :)

Internal and external rotation work with the bands… It's a What I Can Do movement!!!

Jacob's Senior Homecoming with his sweet friend and Jimmy John's colleague

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 

I'm a WEANer!!!

That's right!!! You heard it hear first!!! I am off the crutches :)

Last Wednesday I went to see Dr. Fugle and he and his peeps adjusted the boot to just five degrees short of whatever normal is. AND he said I can start walking without crutches, to which I replied "WHAT? YOU CRAZY" and I gave him three snaps in a Z formation!!! Not really, but when I tried to walk in the office it was a MASSIVE FAIL!!! Oh Lord, it HURT!!! I really did THINK he was crazy and he thought it was funny, but he told me I could wean myself off the crutches over the next week by spending a couple of days on two crutches and then a few days on one crutch and finally none!!! Just the boot!

Day 1 Wednesday (after appointment)-Two Crutches - Add Weight:
YEEOOUCH!!! The new angle SUCKS!!! It hurts like H-E-double hockey sticks, PLUS, the boot MOVES now!!! That's right, instead of just being in the stretched position it flexes and when it reaches it's maximum (new) angle I see stars and I break out in a sweat and sometimes get a little light headed...mother of pearl it hurts!

Day 2 - Two Crutches/Lets Try One? - Oooh I feel so free, well not really, although, now I can carry stuff in one hand! But, I am so SLOW.

Day 3 - One Crutch - Aw Screw It: I started the day with one crutch, but at some point it was just in the way...So, I hobbled around still VERY SLOWLY and not at all smooth, but with both hands free and life was GOOD...UNTIL I sat down and then tried to get back up and then I needed one crutch again, cuz maybe when the Doc said to spend a couple of days on one crutch he knew what he was talking about :-/
This evening I used the crutches at Eddie's high school reunion. It's kinda weird going back to the crutches after knowing I can walk without, I felt a little like a fraud, but mostly I knew that after a loonng first day of walking I could not count on being fully able-bodied...

Days 4,5 and today: There is some soreness in the back of my knee on the ATR (achilles tendon rupture) leg. I know this feeling, it's sort of a feeling of hyper extension mixed with weakness. I tend to baby the tendon by walking somewhat straight legged and due to my bow legs it can result in a minor hyper extension in the knee all to avoid the "full" range of motion that the boot allows (that I should be striving for...please don't tell)! Every first step is filled with pins and needles and after a period of time I begin to feel pain and fatigue. I try to concentrate on keeping my toes forward and walking properly, but I know that I get lazy and do what is less painful on my achilles when I want to keep going and it starts its nagging. The result is... now I need a chiropractor! I can feel soreness in my opposite hip and up and down my back, but all in the name of PROGRESS!!! It's a good theme, I think I'll stick with it :)

My next appointment is next week and we shall see what we shall see!!! I am anxious and nervous to start physical therapy but mostly anxious!!!






The Boot and the Blog and the Dog


The Boot on the way to the Monroe Jefferson Class of 1990 High School Reunion