A brief hiatus

It’s been almost a week since my last post. Delayed from a series of ups and downs, here’s an update on my progress:

Friday marked the first day of my physical therapy. If I could sum it up into one word it would be -- frustrating.

My therapist showed me a series of seemingly effortless things to do using my good ankle, and then he told me to do each exercise with my bad ankle.

Seeing how easy something is on one side and how challenging it is on the other is the most testing thing I have been through since the first few [painful] days after my surgery. Not to mention, the repetitions from each exercise pulled and strained my ankle so much that I felt sick to my stomach.

I also found out that, because of the position my ankle has been inside the boot, I have a build up of tetanus, in which my muscles have been contracted for so long that my lower leg is starting to spasm and assume the position that it’s been kept in [for almost a month now]. Added to my list of exercises, I have to roll a tennis ball around on the ground several times a day using the bottom of my foot so that the ball will help move/reshape the bones and muscles within my foot.

I left the appointment tired, sore, and frustrated, with exercises as homework and with the realization that this is no short process. Appointments will be two to three times a week for the next six weeks, and all notions I had prior to the appointment [that I was healing and would be back to normal in another two weeks] went flying out the window.

Originally, my surgeon insured me that after the surgery, I would be running in six weeks. Well, it’s been four weeks now and I can hardly walk.

Rehab resumes tomorrow...