AuburnChick's Adventures

Hello, my name is Nathalie, and I’ve been a terrible blogger of late.

The beginning of the school year is always hectic.  This one has me feeling a bit like a new teacher, but that’s a post for another day.

I never got around to blogging about my trimalleolar fracture Week 42 recovery, so I think I’ll combine the past two weeks into one post.

Sound good?

Ok then!

Overall, I’ve had a pretty good couple of weeks.  Week 41 marked six months of being in physical therapy . . .

I’m usually there between an hour and a half and two hours, twice a week.

The time is more than worth it; this is something I could never do on my own.  I knew, immediately after the diagnosis of my fracture (and a Google search), that I’d be in this for the long haul.

My trainer’s plan of advancing me slowly seems to be working extremely well.  She usually gives me a couple of visits before introducing harder moves to ensure that I’m not experiencing extra pain and discomfort.

One of my new exercises during Week 42 was a modified version of the bridge.  I had to get on my back with my knees bent.  Then, while holding my core up in the air in a bridge position, I had to bring one bent leg toward me before returning that foot to the mat.  I alternated legs each time.

Yes, those are pearls you see in the photo.  I wore them with whatever my outfit was that day, and I didn’t want to lose them, so I left them on, with the workout clothes I’d changed into, during physical therapy.

I’m classy that way.

In between physical therapy days, I make sure to do some of the exercises at home to help with flexibility . . .

My second PT visit during Week 41 had me doing a couple of new exercises.

One was partial squats!!!  I cannot even tell you how excited I was about this!  I have not been allowed to do any exercises that resemble my old leg workouts.

My trainer had me doing the half squats between my monster walks.  Talk about butt burn!  I felt amazing!

Then, she showed me another new exercise . . .

For this one, I had to stand on that board (I want one of these so bad), sit myself in a squat position with my rear end poked back, and touch my left heel to the floor in front of me while bending my right knee slightly.

I’m not going to lie.

This was extremely difficult and painful.  By the fifth rep, I was done.

Oh, and I was supposed to do it while balancing myself, but I couldn’t.  We had to move the board beside a table so I had something to hold onto.

I may have teared up.  I felt like I was back at square one – especially after my trainer demonstrated the move for me and made it look super easy.

It wasn’t.

I’d definitely hit a wall in what I could do.  When I tried to do it with my left leg, I was fine . . . evidence of how far I still had to go.

It was discouraging, but hey, if I could do everything, I wouldn’t need physical therapy, right?

I was in a lot of pain the rest of the night, but by the next morning, I was feeling a little better and was back up early stretching my tendon . . .

I don’t normally work out in my pajamas, but heck, I just didn’t feel like changing into shorts.  Ha!

That weekend, I tried, again, to do the one legged bend move, but I just could not do more than four or five . . .

That Sunday, I was determined to get up and walk.  I wanted to start on the newest Hogwarts Running Club’s race, the Platform 9 3/4k race.

I had promised my trainer that I wouldn’t do more than three miles.  I did a bit over that but only because I needed to get home!

It was a beautiful morning; the sunrise made getting up early totally worth the effort!

I kicked up my feet and relaxed the rest of the day.  I was a little extra-happy because I didn’t have to work the next day (Labor Day) . . .

Even though I didn’t have PT that Monday because of the holiday (and the first day of Week 43), I still got up and worked out . . .

I’d finished the Body Beast program, but since I’m limited on the kinds of workouts I can do, I decided to do another round of this program.

I really like building my muscles, and the calorie burn I get each day is rewarding.

I indulged in some pool time afterward – what will probably be the last for the year . . .

The rest of the week saw me working out (duh).  I like to leave things prepped the night before.  This helps speed things up at o’dark 30 in the morning . . .

I had therapy on Thursday where my trainer added some new exercises.

For one, I had to put a band around both of my feet while I was on my back on a table.  Then, with my legs in the air (this was a great move for core work), I had to pull one knee toward me, with my foot flexed upward, and then push it back while keeping the other leg straight out.  The purpose was to stretch the front of my leg, along my shin bone.  This is another area where I experience pain sometimes.  The hope is to increase flexibility.

Another exercise that really excited me was the one where I got to step up onto a box and then step back down.

This may not seem like much, but I have continued to struggle with stairs.  When I go up, leading with my right foot (my bad ankle), I have pain because it hurts to push into that foot.  When I step down, either from my left or right foot, I have problems from either an inflexible right knee or a weak right foot that doesn’t want to stretch behind me.

My trainer said that the box move is a pretty advanced one – that I’m progressing very well.

Y’all, my heart really sang at that.

I left PT in high spirits and attended my school’s football game, which had been moved up from Friday to Thursday because of the hurricane.

Just look at the sunset God blessed us with . . .

We didn’t win, and my ankle was sore after being on it for over seventeen hours.  It’s a good thing that school got cancelled for Friday because I needed to take it easy!

I did manage to get up on Saturday and do the second part of the 9 3/4k . . .

The weather was a bit chilly, but I warned up a half mile into it.

I pushed myself pretty hard during this walk and wound up with a 15:35 pace!

I can’t wait to get the medal for this because I know how hard I worked for it!

I gave myself a good stretch when I got home . . .

That pretty much rounded out my week.

I feel as though I’m turning another corner in my recovery process.  Although I still experience near-constant pain of some sort, it’s manageable.  The biggest thing I’ve noticed is that I am able to get out of bed in the mornings and walk well . . . until the reality of a day on my feet hits.  🙂

I did send an email to my surgeon’s nurse last week to inquire about having a second surgery this fall.  I am pretty desperate to have two or three pins removed.  The ones I have in mind cause a lot of discomfort, and I feel as though having them out will diminish the pain I experience every day and may help me edge closer toward a total recovery.

I will have to go back to the doctor for an evaluation to make sure it’s do-able.  I do know that I won’t be able to have the surgery during Thanksgiving week, as I’d hoped, because the doctor will be off then, so I’m hoping for Christmas, which will actually allow me time to heal before going back to school in January.  I’m just praying he gives the okay because my bones are in pretty bad shape still.

Please continue to pray for me.  This healing process seems to be speeding up, or maybe that’s just the illusion of time.

Either way, I am beyond thankful for every single step I can take without the use of a crutch or a scooter.

I’ve been watching Big Brother, and watching Christmas recover from the foot she broke ON THE SHOW has given me chills.  She’s currently walking with one crutch and a boot, and I totally remember doing that as though it was yesterday.

The struggle was REAL, y’all.  In fact, I was still walking with a crutch when I started physical therapy in January, so it’s fresh on my mind.

I’m kind of glad because it means that I’m not taking anything for granted.  I have much to be thankful for and continue #findingjoyinthejourney.

Filed under: This-n-That | Tagged: trimalleolar fracture |