When I get sad about things I miss or think too much about progressing more slowly than I would like, I try to remember all of the things that have improved since surgery. I wish I had started this blog sooner to have more of a reminder of how far I've come!
When I first got home I was in SO much pain. SO much pain!! My pain level has been manageable with no drugs or Advil for months. That is awesome!
When I first got my cast off, my incisions were still open and they were painful. My stitches dissolved, but the tape was still on them. It was so hard to figure out how to get that off when I could barely touch it. Also, my foot would get super swollen in the shower and turn this awful bruised-looking color. It was not only gross but worrisome! I also had to use my parent's shower because it only has a little ledge (instead of mine that is a tub), they installed a hand-held shower head, and had to hop in on one leg and sit on a stool. It was a production! When I had the cast on I had to also get an extremely tight plastic covering over the cast before getting in. I cannot begin to describe how happy I am ever day that I can just get into any shower now! Whoever thought that would be an accomplishment and be so exciting!
I'm walking pretty well recently too. Most days I can walk without a limp! It's not perfect, but it looks pretty good! When I get tired or sore or stiff I limp a little bit. But overall my walking is doing pretty well and I am even picking up my speed just a little. It's amazing that a couple months ago I couldn't put weight on my right leg, then I could sort of do it, and now I can stand on only that leg and even bend over while only standing on my right leg! That's pretty awesome!
There are so many little improvements it's hard to keep track sometimes, so I'm trying to focus on these instead of the things I wish would improve faster. While I may be in the 6 months to one year of recovery time, as I approach 6 months it's pretty amazing the things I can do!
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Things I Miss
I started a list of things I miss about a month ago, but never published it. Some of these things are already a little better!
After having my ankle reconstructed, there are a ton of things that I miss (like for a while I couldn't even walk... now it's more like running and swimming). I never expected some of the things I would miss though!
Running/walking quickly. When it's raining, or say 30 degrees outside, do you ever run quickly from your car to the building you're going to? I used to. I really miss running, or at least quickly walking, places, especially when it's rainy or cold out. I want to get inside quickly!
Flip-flops. I lived my life in flip-flops! But did you know that Old Navy's 2 for $5 flip-flops are terrible for your feet? Ok, I did too, but I ignored it. Now that I've had my foot reconstructed I have to ALWAYS wear supportive shoes, and there are barely any flip-flops that are acceptable. I've thrown away all my Old Navy flip-flops. Oh well. I think my feet and back will actually thank me in the end.
High heels, cute flats, etc. See "flip-flops" above. But unlike flip-flops, I will be able to wear heels eventually. Cristina (PT) just said I will hate life when I do wear them. Great. In the end, is it even going to be worth it to look cute for an evening? Oh the things we do in the name of beauty!
Dancing. I'm a weirdo and I dance everywhere. I can't do this right now. If I forget and I start dancing, my foot reminds me very quickly that it doesn't dance right now. I have done the xbox dancing, but with my boot on, and only on low level dances where you don't move your feet too much! Not sure I can really do that. Maybe in March/April.
Working out. I feel like such a sad, lazy sack when I can't workout! I miss boxing!! I'm now clear to swim (starting slowly), walk in the water, and stationary bike and possibly (real) bike on flat areas (of course it's freezing here now that I can do it!).
I'm glad to finally be able to wear two shoes more because trying to get in and out of the car but on my boot first, etc. is really annoying and time consuming! I'm not really patient with myself, so in general I'd like to be able to move at a faster speed
After having my ankle reconstructed, there are a ton of things that I miss (like for a while I couldn't even walk... now it's more like running and swimming). I never expected some of the things I would miss though!
Running/walking quickly. When it's raining, or say 30 degrees outside, do you ever run quickly from your car to the building you're going to? I used to. I really miss running, or at least quickly walking, places, especially when it's rainy or cold out. I want to get inside quickly!
Flip-flops. I lived my life in flip-flops! But did you know that Old Navy's 2 for $5 flip-flops are terrible for your feet? Ok, I did too, but I ignored it. Now that I've had my foot reconstructed I have to ALWAYS wear supportive shoes, and there are barely any flip-flops that are acceptable. I've thrown away all my Old Navy flip-flops. Oh well. I think my feet and back will actually thank me in the end.
High heels, cute flats, etc. See "flip-flops" above. But unlike flip-flops, I will be able to wear heels eventually. Cristina (PT) just said I will hate life when I do wear them. Great. In the end, is it even going to be worth it to look cute for an evening? Oh the things we do in the name of beauty!
Dancing. I'm a weirdo and I dance everywhere. I can't do this right now. If I forget and I start dancing, my foot reminds me very quickly that it doesn't dance right now. I have done the xbox dancing, but with my boot on, and only on low level dances where you don't move your feet too much! Not sure I can really do that. Maybe in March/April.
Working out. I feel like such a sad, lazy sack when I can't workout! I miss boxing!! I'm now clear to swim (starting slowly), walk in the water, and stationary bike and possibly (real) bike on flat areas (of course it's freezing here now that I can do it!).
I'm glad to finally be able to wear two shoes more because trying to get in and out of the car but on my boot first, etc. is really annoying and time consuming! I'm not really patient with myself, so in general I'd like to be able to move at a faster speed
Honey-Lime Chicken with Coconut-Black Bean Rice
We made this chicken a couple Sundays ago and I'm just getting to putting up the recipe. It was wonderful!! Here's the link to its recipe on Sounthern Living:
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/honey-lime-chicken-coconut-50400000119149/
Ingredients
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/honey-lime-chicken-coconut-50400000119149/
Ingredients
- 1 (13.5-oz.) can coconut milk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
- 1 cup uncooked long-grain rice
- 6 (4-oz.) chicken breast cutlets
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 3/4 cup finely crushed tortilla chips
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 teaspoon lime zest
- 1/3 cup fresh lime juice
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 (15.5-oz.) can seasoned black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
- 1/3 cup sliced green onions
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Preparation
- 1. Bring coconut milk and 1 tsp. salt to a boil over medium-high heat; stir in rice. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 20 minutes or until rice is tender.
- 2. Meanwhile, sprinkle chicken with pepper and 1/2 tsp. salt. Place crushed tortilla chips in a shallow bowl. Whisk together honey and next 2 ingredients in a second shallow bowl. Reserve 2 Tbsp. honey mixture. Dip chicken in remaining honey mixture, allowing excess to drip off. Dredge in crushed chips.
- 3. Cook half of chicken in 2 Tbsp. hot oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat 2 minutes on each side or until done. Repeat procedure with remaining chicken and oil. Spoon reserved honey mixture over chicken.
- 4. Stir black beans and next 2 ingredients into rice; spoon onto serving plates. Top with chicken and cilantro.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Newest Setback
I've been pretty busy lately! It's a good thing, but my foot is not happy about it.
Last Friday was Districts for my swimmers. Both the girls and boys teams won!! The boys were supposed to place 2nd (of 6 teams) by 40 points, but they WON by ONE point!! It was very exciting and they were beside themselves! For me, this meant standing and walking on a pool deck for about 6 hours. Then Saturday and Sunday I had a training for a sexual assault hotline in DC all day. I had to do some walking in the city and was sitting in a desk all day both days, which meant not getting my foot up. My sister and I also went shopping Saturday night, which meant walking. Then Monday and Tuesday I substitute taught for my sister's 2nd graders. Not only were they a handful, this meant standing most of the day.
At the end of five days in a row like this, I was in a lot of pain. The weirdest thing was where the pain was - the top of my foot. It hurt to drive, etc. It has never been painful here before. I went to PT Wednesday and Friday and saw Kim, instead of my normal PT's. Kim is still awesome. But she didn't let me do any of my normal PT activities since my pain was so bad. She looked at it and said it was ok, but it still hurts. She massaged it and then I had ice and EStim. It felt a little better.
Last night we had Regionals. It didn't go quite as well as Districts, or as well as we hoped - both teams got 5th place. But this meant standing for about 9 hours this time. I sat as much as I could. But ouch!! I think I will rest the rest of this weekend!
Last Friday was Districts for my swimmers. Both the girls and boys teams won!! The boys were supposed to place 2nd (of 6 teams) by 40 points, but they WON by ONE point!! It was very exciting and they were beside themselves! For me, this meant standing and walking on a pool deck for about 6 hours. Then Saturday and Sunday I had a training for a sexual assault hotline in DC all day. I had to do some walking in the city and was sitting in a desk all day both days, which meant not getting my foot up. My sister and I also went shopping Saturday night, which meant walking. Then Monday and Tuesday I substitute taught for my sister's 2nd graders. Not only were they a handful, this meant standing most of the day.
At the end of five days in a row like this, I was in a lot of pain. The weirdest thing was where the pain was - the top of my foot. It hurt to drive, etc. It has never been painful here before. I went to PT Wednesday and Friday and saw Kim, instead of my normal PT's. Kim is still awesome. But she didn't let me do any of my normal PT activities since my pain was so bad. She looked at it and said it was ok, but it still hurts. She massaged it and then I had ice and EStim. It felt a little better.
Last night we had Regionals. It didn't go quite as well as Districts, or as well as we hoped - both teams got 5th place. But this meant standing for about 9 hours this time. I sat as much as I could. But ouch!! I think I will rest the rest of this weekend!
Chocolatey Oatmeal Cookies! (aka Neiman Marcus Cookies)
These might be my favorite cookies ever. I LOVE a good oatmeal chocolate chip cookie! I made these for my regional swimmers - and it makes A LOT of cookies! My kids loved them. (At least they told me they did!) The cookies are very chocolatey because of the grated Hershey bars in them, which for me is perfect. And as usual, I don't put nuts in mine. The choice is up to you!
This recipe was one of those things that was passed around in chain emails years ago. The story is that someone wanted the recipe from Neiman Marcus and was told it was "two fifty." Supposedly when they got their credit card bill it was $250 instead of $2.50, as they had thought it was, so they decided to spread the recipe to everyone with an email address. Whether that's true or not, these are great cookies!
Neiman-Marcus Cookies (recipe may be halved)
2 cups butter
24 oz. chocolate chips
4 cups flour
2 cups brown sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 cups sugar
1 8 oz. Hershey bar (grated)
5 cups blended oatmeal
4 eggs
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups chopped nuts (your choice) - optional
Measure oatmeal, and blend in a blender to a fine powder. Cream the butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla; mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Add chocolate chips, grated Hershey bar, and nuts (if desired).
Roll into balls and place two inches apart on a cookie sheets. Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees.
Makes 112 cookies.
This recipe was one of those things that was passed around in chain emails years ago. The story is that someone wanted the recipe from Neiman Marcus and was told it was "two fifty." Supposedly when they got their credit card bill it was $250 instead of $2.50, as they had thought it was, so they decided to spread the recipe to everyone with an email address. Whether that's true or not, these are great cookies!
Neiman-Marcus Cookies (recipe may be halved)
2 cups butter
24 oz. chocolate chips
4 cups flour
2 cups brown sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 cups sugar
1 8 oz. Hershey bar (grated)
5 cups blended oatmeal
4 eggs
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups chopped nuts (your choice) - optional
Measure oatmeal, and blend in a blender to a fine powder. Cream the butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla; mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Add chocolate chips, grated Hershey bar, and nuts (if desired).
Roll into balls and place two inches apart on a cookie sheets. Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees.
Makes 112 cookies.
 |
| Yummy!! |
Thursday, February 2, 2012
My Internal Debate
I need help with my internal debate. I cannot decide how much to push myself. For so long I haven't been allowed to do much of anything. Now that I can do things slowly I feel like I'm walking this fine line between pushing myself more and not getting hurt from pushing too much. PT hasn't been particularly helpful in helping me decide this either.
So tonight I took my suit to the pool to swim after coaching. But the kids were crazy and I had such a long day and was so tired, and I pushed really hard this morning at PT... So I didn't swim. I probably should have, but it was so easy to say I couldn't do it.
I think I'm going to need some help and encouragement with this!
So tonight I took my suit to the pool to swim after coaching. But the kids were crazy and I had such a long day and was so tired, and I pushed really hard this morning at PT... So I didn't swim. I probably should have, but it was so easy to say I couldn't do it.
I think I'm going to need some help and encouragement with this!
More PT Progress!!
I've had less pain this week! My foot still gets very stiff at times, especially after standing for a long time. And it's still painful. Just less so now. Yay!
So with less pain and a little more strength in my right ankle/leg (yay!) I've added a few more exercises at PT! Now not only can I stand on my right leg only, I can also stand on it on an uneven surface (foam), stand on it and bend in half and touch the ground, and walk backwards on the treadmill at an incline. Oh yes, I'm getting fancy!
It feels good to progress and it's very exciting. I think my right calf is even getting some muscle and shape back to it! It's been so sad and skinny looking since getting my cast off! I still have a long way to go though. And I think the hardest part for me will be slowly easing back into things. I'm not very patient with myself and get frustrated easily. I guess now is the time to work on that.
Oh, and I haven't worn my boot in weeks! Even while at the pool I only wear tennis shoes now! And I even wore dress shoes for an interview (and walked really slowly!).
So with less pain and a little more strength in my right ankle/leg (yay!) I've added a few more exercises at PT! Now not only can I stand on my right leg only, I can also stand on it on an uneven surface (foam), stand on it and bend in half and touch the ground, and walk backwards on the treadmill at an incline. Oh yes, I'm getting fancy!
It feels good to progress and it's very exciting. I think my right calf is even getting some muscle and shape back to it! It's been so sad and skinny looking since getting my cast off! I still have a long way to go though. And I think the hardest part for me will be slowly easing back into things. I'm not very patient with myself and get frustrated easily. I guess now is the time to work on that.
Oh, and I haven't worn my boot in weeks! Even while at the pool I only wear tennis shoes now! And I even wore dress shoes for an interview (and walked really slowly!).
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