AuburnChick's Adventures

I’m a day late in posting this, but Sunday just got away from me!

I’m continuing with my week-by-week recaps on my progress after sustaining a trimalleolar fracture in November.  Week 25 got off to a pretty good start.

I got up early, as usual, on Monday and did the Sweat Piyo video.

You better believe that it lived up to its name.

While getting ready for work, I listened to another episode of what is quickly becoming a favorite podcast, Glorious in the Mundane, by Christy Nockels.

I listen to one episode nearly every weekday morning.  I found myself teary-eyed as she talked about writing your story.  My new Hogwarts Running Club t-shirt, which I’d already planned on wearing, matched up perfectly.

I don’t think that I’m writing my story, per se.  I feel as though I’m living the story that God has already written for me.

I hope that by choosing joy in my journey, especially during these past 25 weeks, others are being encouraged as they go through their own challenges.

Yeah, I got a little in my feelings Monday morning, that’s for sure.

I had physical therapy after work, and although I’d been feeling good all day, my ankle started hurting pretty good during my exercises.

Calf stretches will always suck no matter how many weeks go by.

I asked my therapist about the pain I’d felt in the inside-back of my ankle the previous Saturday during my walk.  I figured it was residual pain from one of my fractures.

After pressing around on the inside of my ankle, he determined that one of the tendons beside my tibia (I think) was to blame.  I can’t remember exactly what he said about it . . . maybe that it had thickened?  The thing I heard loud and clear was that he was going to have to “work” on it.

More of that in a minute.

Before he got to “work,” I had to finish my other exercises.

I had asked about going up to a harder color on my band, and let me tell you . . . going from green to blue was akin to moving from jumping off the edge of the pool to jumping from the high dive.

The ankle raises and clams (when the band is around my knees) were brutal.  I knew I’d be feeling them for days on end.

After finishing everything else, I eased myself onto a different table and waited for my therapist to finish up with another patient.  My ankle was definitely in the mood to swell.  Sigh.  The struggle is so very real . . . every day, y’all.

To make me more comfortable, we put a wedge under my leg.

I could have used this after I broke it.  That’s how comfortable it is.

Then, it was time for the tool.

Oy vey.

My therapist apologized.  A lot.  I assured him that I knew that it was part of my journey.  Besides that, I’d already been through so much with my ankle, that a span of temporary discomfort wouldn’t matter much.

But the pain, y’all.

I’ve never had a massage before, so I don’t have anything to compare it to.  All I know is that the feeling alternates between burning and extreme pressure.

“Relax your foot, ” he said, and then chuckled because he knew that as tense as I was, relaxing was the last thing I could do.

When he finished, he told me that I’d be bruised and sore for a few days.

I remembered the first time he’d ever used the tool, during my first visit.  I couldn’t even sit in the tub without pain, and the bruises lasted for a couple of weeks, at least.

I got pampered afterward, though, so the pain was worth it.

I was STEM therapy along with a heating pad.

I’ve only gotten the heating pad one other time . . . after a different session with the tool.

My therapist told me that the heat would increase the blood flow, which is what he wanted to help my tendon loosen up.

Here’s what my leg looked like when I got home . . . the bruise full-on in the making . . .

So y’all, that was just Monday!

Tuesday, I was a little sore, but the day wasn’t too bad.

Then, there was Wednesday.

Um, yeah.  I knew it was going to be bad when I felt pain before I even got out of bed that morning.  I took my TENS unit to school and hooked it up during my planning period.

It was destined to be a weird day.  When I got to physical therapy that afternoon and started to change, my deodorant exploded all over the restroom.

I tried to clean it up, but it hardened as soon as it hit the wall and floor, and all I managed to do was smear it, so I sheepishly made my way to the front desk to tell them that I’d made a mess of things.

Sigh.

Everything I did at physical therapy hurt . . . a lot.

The ice pack was a welcome relief when I finished.

One of the gals in the office, a former student of mine who graduated a couple of years ago, gave me a ride home because the Mr. had needed our car so he could go to an appointment at the Mayo Clinic.

Ms. M ran me home to feed the dogs, and then I treated her to Olive Garden.  Then, she drove me to Walmart to buy more deodorant.  Ha!

God has put this sweet girl back into my life at just the right time.  She’s been a huge blessing to me since I started my physical therapy in January.

I didn’t let the pain slow me down too much the next morning.  I was determined to get my workout in before school.

Then, I got a ride to school from my friend, Megan.  The rain made it a dreary day!  I had to carefully make my way inside so I wouldn’t trip on the slippery sidewalk and the wet floors inside.

My friend, K, picked me up from school (because it took a village to get this teacher around last week), and I immediately changed into my pajamas and put my foot up.

Friday was a “rest” day in my Piyo program, but I just could not do nothing, so I popped in the Hammer and Chisel ab videos.

One of the things that’s made this recovery process so hard for me is not being able to work out like I used to.  There are still so many things I either have to modify or can’t do yet.  The ab workouts allowed me a taste of what I had before.

School was lovely.  My district was observing Teacher Appreciation Week, and my school did a fantastic job doting on us.

This was the catered luncheon we got to enjoy on Friday.

The Mr. was able to pick me up from work that afternoon, and later that evening, we headed out to celebrate Cinco de Mayo.

Being in so much pain all week had stressed me out.  It was nice to be able to let my hair down a little and relax.  I went to bed at 8:30 that night and slept over ten hours.

My long sleep allowed me to wake up refreshed, and my ankle was feeling pretty good.  After another Piyo workout, I went outside for a fairly leisurely three-mile walk.

My ankle felt good until about mile 2.  That’s when my tendon started hurting.  It eased off a little before the pain returned toward the end.

On Sunday, I took it fairly easy, indulged in a little pool time, and then prepped my food for the week.

I can’t say that I feel like I made any progress last week.  I tend to gauge this through the barometer of pain.  I don’t know if that’s fair, but it’s the only thing I know to do.  Just when I think I’m doing something better, I get hit with stabs of pain when I don’t expect them.

It’s a frustratingly slow process, but once again, I have to stop and remind myself that I am doing good.  The pain is unnerving but not a sign of anything bad.  It just is what it is.

And so I continue to praise God for what He’s doing that I may not be seeing . . . for continuing to knit my bones back together and strengthening the muscles and tendons connected to these bones.

Would you continue to pray for my healing and pain management.  I’m a pretty tough cookie, but I’m not ashamed to admit that I was in tears a few times last week because of the pain.  I hate being a baby, but heck, I did break a few bones, so I guess I’m entitled a little.

Thanks, sweet friends.

Filed under: This-n-That | Tagged: Glorious in the Mundane, trimalleolar fracture |