I've reached yet another milestone in my weight loss/broken leg journey. Today was my last day of physical therapy. I've been looking forward to this, but I was surprised at how choked up I got when I told everyone good-bye. Everyone was nice there and they really did help me. They were also sad to see me go because I worked hard.
Now it's up to me to get in shape on my own, and I still have a loooong way to go. The therapist gave me some resistance bands and assigned some exercises for me, which I'll do, but my main goal is to continue with my walking. I am definitely getting better and can walk for longer distances now, but my ankle still starts to ache if I go for too long and I still walk slowly. When I was walking to the bus stop this evening, I tried to force myself to walk more quickly, but the limp is still there. The doctor warned that it'll be there for a while and I just have to keep working through it. At least there's movement in my ankle now. When I first started PT, I could barely rotate it, but now it's almost back to normal. Whenever it gets humid, though, my whole foot starts to swell. Yuck.
As for my eating, I've been doing well this week. Things have calmed down here and I've managed to sleep for the past two nights. I hope that they stay that way and the psycho neighbor who physically attacked my husband will remain out of our lives. But as I said in my last post, I haven't binged! Instead, I've been trying to keep calm by talking to friends and making jewelry. I've been working on constructing wire rings, which is proving to be really difficult. But it's taken my mind off of the recent events. Sometimes things happen in your life where you have no idea how in the hell you ended up in that situation. This is definitely one of those times. That said, I'm happy to be back to my usual routine life.
Showing posts with label recovering from an injury. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recovering from an injury. Show all posts
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Pants On The Ground
I had a rather unusual problem today -- unusual for me, anyway. My skirt was too big ... and I kept fearing that it would fall down as I walked. I still wanted to wear it, though, because it's brand new and I'd like to get a few uses out of it before having to give it up. That said, I wasn't expecting it to be large on me already. I guess I should've ordered it in the next smaller size. Happily, it stayed intact after I rolled over the waist a few times, but there were a couple of close calls.
Having a problem like this is a good thing, though, as I'm usually concerned that my clothes will split from being too tight on me. Despite having to retire a skirt that I really like, it will be nice to buy smaller and more fashionable outfits.
What's really nice is that more people seem to be noticing the weight loss, though many aren't actually coming out and saying it. Still, I've been getting a lot of comments like, "You look good!" To be fair, I'm not sure if they're saying it to be nice since I had surgery and am finally walking again, but I choose to think they're saying it because I DO look good -- or at least better than I looked a few months ago.
My walking is still shaky, but I'm getting places ... slowly. I think my legs need a break because I was sooo tired today that I could barely move at work. Because I'm back in the city, my social calendar has suddenly filled up. It's fun, but at the same time, I'm looking forward to Sunday when I can sleep in and don't have to worry about going anywhere.
Tomorrow is the big day when I see my orthopedist. Hopefully, this will be my last visit, but I'm nervous that he'll tell me that something is wrong and I'll have to wear a cast again -- or even worse, will need more surgery. I don't THINK that anything's wrong since my leg feels good, but I'll rest a lot easier hearing it from him. It'll definitely be a little strange walking into his office!
I remember how just a couple of months ago, I wasn't sure I'd ever walk again, so being able to move is still a bit of a novelty to me. Here's hoping that a couple of months more from now, all of these struggles that I'm currently dealing with will also be a distant memory.
Having a problem like this is a good thing, though, as I'm usually concerned that my clothes will split from being too tight on me. Despite having to retire a skirt that I really like, it will be nice to buy smaller and more fashionable outfits.
What's really nice is that more people seem to be noticing the weight loss, though many aren't actually coming out and saying it. Still, I've been getting a lot of comments like, "You look good!" To be fair, I'm not sure if they're saying it to be nice since I had surgery and am finally walking again, but I choose to think they're saying it because I DO look good -- or at least better than I looked a few months ago.
My walking is still shaky, but I'm getting places ... slowly. I think my legs need a break because I was sooo tired today that I could barely move at work. Because I'm back in the city, my social calendar has suddenly filled up. It's fun, but at the same time, I'm looking forward to Sunday when I can sleep in and don't have to worry about going anywhere.
Tomorrow is the big day when I see my orthopedist. Hopefully, this will be my last visit, but I'm nervous that he'll tell me that something is wrong and I'll have to wear a cast again -- or even worse, will need more surgery. I don't THINK that anything's wrong since my leg feels good, but I'll rest a lot easier hearing it from him. It'll definitely be a little strange walking into his office!
I remember how just a couple of months ago, I wasn't sure I'd ever walk again, so being able to move is still a bit of a novelty to me. Here's hoping that a couple of months more from now, all of these struggles that I'm currently dealing with will also be a distant memory.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
End Of An Era
Today is the four-month anniversary of my accident .... and my last day of "freedom" since I return to work full-time tomorrow. I'm pretty nervous -- it feels like the first day of school!
I'd be lying if I said that I hated having all of this time off for my job, because I didn't. I liked having the time to do relaxing things like read or watch episodes of How I Met Your Mother, and I enjoyed having the time to write my own stuff. It was also a relief to not have to worry about deadlines and all of the other stressful things that come with my job.
But by having that "freedom," my real freedom was sacrificed in that my broken leg forbid me from moving around easily and doing a lot of things on my own. Then there were all of the painful doctor visits, my surgery and oh, yeah, having to have my bone popped into place. Yeeooouuuch! I definitely WON'T miss any of that.
Still, as much as it sucked to break my leg, this time off wasn't entirely horrible. In fact, there were a lot of good things that happened during these four months:
1. We hosted two awesome parties: our 10th anniversary bash in April and a house party in June.
2. We found some cool, new restaurants in our neighborhood (which Jon wheeled me to, always greatly appreciated. He really went above and beyond for me while I was hurt).
3. I got to spend a lot of quality time with my parents. Sure, the circumstances under which I was seeing them weren't so great, but I still enjoyed having the chance to catch up and feel like we're closer than we've been in a long time.
4. I got A LOT of freelance writing done, which is very cool.
5. I've become close with my friend/neighbor, Karen, who really took good care of me during this time off. We were friendly before, but now we're good friends. Many of my other friends, too, such as Amy, Scott, Lani, Suzanne and Marianna, were really here for me during this time.
6. I've lost some weight and am starting to get back into shape again. Before I broke my leg, I was kind of in a rut, but wanting to walk again has pushed me in the right direction.
See, so breaking your leg doesn't have to be the end of the world, and for me, it actually felt like the beginning of many new things. I'm anxious about tomorrow, but am determined to not let my job drag me into a slump once again. Instead, I'm planning to focus on everything else in my life and find my self worth through those goals. I think that if I do that, I can continue taking care of myself and becoming a better person.
For today, though, I'm planning to relax, take a long shower, relax ... and then go to bed early. Tomorrow is going to be a crazy day and I want to be ready to jump right in!
I'd be lying if I said that I hated having all of this time off for my job, because I didn't. I liked having the time to do relaxing things like read or watch episodes of How I Met Your Mother, and I enjoyed having the time to write my own stuff. It was also a relief to not have to worry about deadlines and all of the other stressful things that come with my job.
But by having that "freedom," my real freedom was sacrificed in that my broken leg forbid me from moving around easily and doing a lot of things on my own. Then there were all of the painful doctor visits, my surgery and oh, yeah, having to have my bone popped into place. Yeeooouuuch! I definitely WON'T miss any of that.
Still, as much as it sucked to break my leg, this time off wasn't entirely horrible. In fact, there were a lot of good things that happened during these four months:
1. We hosted two awesome parties: our 10th anniversary bash in April and a house party in June.
2. We found some cool, new restaurants in our neighborhood (which Jon wheeled me to, always greatly appreciated. He really went above and beyond for me while I was hurt).
3. I got to spend a lot of quality time with my parents. Sure, the circumstances under which I was seeing them weren't so great, but I still enjoyed having the chance to catch up and feel like we're closer than we've been in a long time.
4. I got A LOT of freelance writing done, which is very cool.
5. I've become close with my friend/neighbor, Karen, who really took good care of me during this time off. We were friendly before, but now we're good friends. Many of my other friends, too, such as Amy, Scott, Lani, Suzanne and Marianna, were really here for me during this time.
6. I've lost some weight and am starting to get back into shape again. Before I broke my leg, I was kind of in a rut, but wanting to walk again has pushed me in the right direction.
See, so breaking your leg doesn't have to be the end of the world, and for me, it actually felt like the beginning of many new things. I'm anxious about tomorrow, but am determined to not let my job drag me into a slump once again. Instead, I'm planning to focus on everything else in my life and find my self worth through those goals. I think that if I do that, I can continue taking care of myself and becoming a better person.
For today, though, I'm planning to relax, take a long shower, relax ... and then go to bed early. Tomorrow is going to be a crazy day and I want to be ready to jump right in!
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Next To Normal
We just got back from seeing Inception (a great movie, by the way) and had a fun evening. But what was really nice is that my outdoor walking has gotten so much better, even in just a few days.
Over the past few weeks, I'd have to stop at least once just to get from our apartment to the sidewalk at the end of the courtyard in front of our building. But tonight, I made it all the way without stopping. Then when we got to the neighborhood where the movie theater is, I managed to do a lot of walking, only stopping twice the entire night. The only time when things got really tough were when we were walking along a stretch of sidewalk that was at an odd angle. Since I'm still limping a bit, I really felt it!
I've been using the walker outside for extra security, but tonight, I asked Jon to hold it for me and then walked a stretch of sidewalk without it. It actually wasn't too bad, even though my balance isn't 100 percent yet. But where I really noticed a big difference is when I was walking up and down stairs. Before, I'd have to grip the banister with both hands and then carefully place one foot down and then slowly place the other. Tonight, however, I only needed to grip the rail with one hand and was able to go up the steps one foot at a time like you're supposed to.
I did well with my eating today, too. For dinner, we went to our favorite Southwestern place and I had veggie fajitas made with broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, peppers and onions. So good! I had enough points left over in the day for dessert so we got a box of M&Ms to share in the movies. I only had one serving, though, and put the rest away. The movie was so exciting that I didn't even really feel the need to munch during it. I really don't want to have to give up chocolate, so I was proud of myself for being able to eat some candy and save the rest for later.
All in all, it was a good day, and a nice way to spend my last weekend before I return to work full time. I'm feeling better about doing the commute, now that my walking has improved so much. Jon says that my limp is a lot less pronounced, too. He believes that I'm having less back pain and more success walking because I'm getting stronger, but I think a lot of it has to do with my weight loss, too. Then again, it's probably a combination of both. I don't really care, as long as I continue to feel better and my world continues to get bigger.
Over the past few weeks, I'd have to stop at least once just to get from our apartment to the sidewalk at the end of the courtyard in front of our building. But tonight, I made it all the way without stopping. Then when we got to the neighborhood where the movie theater is, I managed to do a lot of walking, only stopping twice the entire night. The only time when things got really tough were when we were walking along a stretch of sidewalk that was at an odd angle. Since I'm still limping a bit, I really felt it!
I've been using the walker outside for extra security, but tonight, I asked Jon to hold it for me and then walked a stretch of sidewalk without it. It actually wasn't too bad, even though my balance isn't 100 percent yet. But where I really noticed a big difference is when I was walking up and down stairs. Before, I'd have to grip the banister with both hands and then carefully place one foot down and then slowly place the other. Tonight, however, I only needed to grip the rail with one hand and was able to go up the steps one foot at a time like you're supposed to.
I did well with my eating today, too. For dinner, we went to our favorite Southwestern place and I had veggie fajitas made with broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, peppers and onions. So good! I had enough points left over in the day for dessert so we got a box of M&Ms to share in the movies. I only had one serving, though, and put the rest away. The movie was so exciting that I didn't even really feel the need to munch during it. I really don't want to have to give up chocolate, so I was proud of myself for being able to eat some candy and save the rest for later.
All in all, it was a good day, and a nice way to spend my last weekend before I return to work full time. I'm feeling better about doing the commute, now that my walking has improved so much. Jon says that my limp is a lot less pronounced, too. He believes that I'm having less back pain and more success walking because I'm getting stronger, but I think a lot of it has to do with my weight loss, too. Then again, it's probably a combination of both. I don't really care, as long as I continue to feel better and my world continues to get bigger.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Walking The Walk
Since my orthopedist advised me to "be aggressive" in regards to getting back on my feet I've been trying to follow that. And you know what? It seems to be working.
I still can't exactly walk yet and I have absolutely no balance in my bad leg, but I feel like I'm already building muscle -- even in just a day. Though I can't yet ambulate, I'm still trying to get a feel for actually being on my feet and came up with a little workout to do so that my leg can get used to supporting the weight. While gripping the stair railing in our building's hallway, I marched in place 60 times, then did 60 reps where I got up on my toes and lowered my heels (to strengthen the calves and loosen up the tight spot in my foot). I then did 60 "shuffles," where I took three side steps to the right, three to the left.
It felt pretty good to be on my feet again and even in a short time, I can feel a difference. When I tried to move yesterday, I was dragging my leg along as if it were dead; I felt as if I could barely lift it. But today, the movement felt a lot more natural, especially as my exercises went on. Even Jon noticed the improvement while he spotted me.
Of course, I still have a long way to go. As of now, I'm still not secure enough in my balance to even face forward and walk with a normal gait; I have to grip the banister and shuffle sideways. I also couldn't believe how out of breath I was after doing maybe 15 minutes of exercise. I don't know if I'm just that out of shape or if it was because I was concentrating so hard. Still, I felt as if I were accomplishing something and am looking forward to physical therapy tomorrow. Everyone I know who's had a broken leg tells me that you reach at least some level of normalcy fairly quickly, so it'll be nice to be able to walk again, even if I do have to use a walker. I'm hoping that if I do my own workout routines at home in addition to the PT that I can even get beyond that at a quicker speed. My friend, who also broke her ankle last fall, says that she's just starting to walk without a limp all of these months later. I'd like to think, though, that if I really push it, I can speed up the process.
It'll also be great to ditch the "moon boot," which is actually quite uncomfortable to wear while moving. My doctor wants me to transition into wearing sneakers, which will feel really weird after being in various casts all of this time. What's funny, though, is that the sneakers I have are still new. They're those fancy Sketchers sneakers that supposedly help tone your legs. I got them a week before I fell so I never really got to try them out. Maybe now I'll finally get to see if they work!
I still can't exactly walk yet and I have absolutely no balance in my bad leg, but I feel like I'm already building muscle -- even in just a day. Though I can't yet ambulate, I'm still trying to get a feel for actually being on my feet and came up with a little workout to do so that my leg can get used to supporting the weight. While gripping the stair railing in our building's hallway, I marched in place 60 times, then did 60 reps where I got up on my toes and lowered my heels (to strengthen the calves and loosen up the tight spot in my foot). I then did 60 "shuffles," where I took three side steps to the right, three to the left.
It felt pretty good to be on my feet again and even in a short time, I can feel a difference. When I tried to move yesterday, I was dragging my leg along as if it were dead; I felt as if I could barely lift it. But today, the movement felt a lot more natural, especially as my exercises went on. Even Jon noticed the improvement while he spotted me.
Of course, I still have a long way to go. As of now, I'm still not secure enough in my balance to even face forward and walk with a normal gait; I have to grip the banister and shuffle sideways. I also couldn't believe how out of breath I was after doing maybe 15 minutes of exercise. I don't know if I'm just that out of shape or if it was because I was concentrating so hard. Still, I felt as if I were accomplishing something and am looking forward to physical therapy tomorrow. Everyone I know who's had a broken leg tells me that you reach at least some level of normalcy fairly quickly, so it'll be nice to be able to walk again, even if I do have to use a walker. I'm hoping that if I do my own workout routines at home in addition to the PT that I can even get beyond that at a quicker speed. My friend, who also broke her ankle last fall, says that she's just starting to walk without a limp all of these months later. I'd like to think, though, that if I really push it, I can speed up the process.
It'll also be great to ditch the "moon boot," which is actually quite uncomfortable to wear while moving. My doctor wants me to transition into wearing sneakers, which will feel really weird after being in various casts all of this time. What's funny, though, is that the sneakers I have are still new. They're those fancy Sketchers sneakers that supposedly help tone your legs. I got them a week before I fell so I never really got to try them out. Maybe now I'll finally get to see if they work!
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