SPINNING

I love yoga. You know that by now. Yoga has my heart. BUT GAWDAMMITMOTHERFUCKER there are just certain yoga things I still can't do because I haven't gotten my range of motion back and I still lack strength. So, in addition to yoga and pilates - I had the idea to throw some spinning into the mix. Believe it or not, it demands a really small range of motion from your ankle, and it's a great way to regain strength in the quads, hamstrings, and glutes. I used to be a big spinner in my gym days, but stopped when a hip injury forced me to. These days I don't even belong to a gym - so J took me to the class he likes at his gym.

A few tips for spinning after ankle surgery:

- Don't even think about keeping up with the class - they will inevitably do things you can't. Go at your own pace with your own resistance...and remember: form trumps all.
- In my opinion, I waited just long enough to try the class - I'd say 4-5 months post-op is a good time for it. I made it through the class (again, mostly doing my own thing), but my ankle was fatigued as shit by the end of it. There was much icing that day.
- Make sure you really focus on articulating your ankle joint and challenging your range of motion - it's easy to lock your foot/ankle into a 90 degree angle and just stay there. I sat next to a mirror which was great because I could just look to the side and see what my ankle was doing.
- There are 2 routes to go: sneakers or spinning shoes. Both have pros and cons.

• Spinning shoes cons: they really hold you in there and you can't move our foot around in the shoe very much - you're also literally locked into the pedal and have to kind of jerk your ankle a to get your foot out. That might be jarring for some.
• Spinning shoes pro: they give you a solid base and support for getting out of the saddle (standing while spinning). 
• Sneakers con: when you want to get out of the saddle in sneakers, you won't be able to. They're too bendy and don't provide enough foot/ankle support. 
• Sneakers pro: they let toes and foot wiggle around more which is a good feeling over all. I think. It definitely wasn't a bad feeling.

 I went with sneakers this time (though I debated back and forth...you can see my spinning shoes out in front of me) - I think next time I'll try the spinning shoes.

So that was that. I am a little sore today (the day after) but nothing terrible. I think I'll just do some yoga and ice and I'll be cool. And thank you guys so much for your recent blog comments - they really make my day. It's nice to know people are reading this stuff. 

i basically do things now

Hi all!!

It's been a couple of weeks since my last update - and I realized yesterday that I'm 16 weeks post-op...yes, that's FOUR MONTHS. That's bananas. 4 months is long, but it has sure as fuck felt longer. This also means I started weight-bearing just a little over 2 months ago. Wow. Time sure does NOT fly when the only thing you think about is your ankle.

But on a more positive note - I've been reflecting on how far I've come. I actually kind of do stuff now. Aside from driving to work, being there all day (walking around quite a bit, which is good), and driving back, I also sorta have a social life again.

I made dinner with my mom for her birthday and then cuddled with J on her couch:

I went to a potluck and hung out all night with friends:

I met a brand new baby:

Aaaand in a few hours, J and I are headed to San Francisco! I'm a little nervous. My feet swell on planes a lot anyway, so I'm nervous that mine's gonna explode. Also, it's the first time I'm going through airport security after my ankle's been packed full o' metal, so that should be interesting. We're renting a car so I'm sure there won't be TOO much walking once we're there - but at the same time who doesn't wanna walk? I love walking. Blah.

In other news, I'm still doing pilates and yoga...my ankle is still tight as shit - my range of motion sucks and I still can't tell if it's getting any better. I want this hardware OUT LIKE YESTERDAY. I've started doing ankle ice baths which feel way better than all other ice options, but they're kind of a pain in the ass. 

So that's my update. I'll let you know how San Fran goes.

new job, neglected foot

Hi guys!!

So I've started a new job - which in itself is awesome. I just finished my first week (yay!). How does my ankle/foot come into play?

• I wake up about 15 minutes earlier than I need to so I have time to stretch/massage it.
• It's about a 20-60 minute commute to work, depending on traffic. When it's smooth sailing on the highway my ankle is totally fine, but it's the stop and go - the back and forth between the brake and the gas - that really gets me. I basically have to pick up my whole foot each time, rather than just move my toes back and forth. 
• The building I work at is MASSIVE - the campus is even more massive. The hallways are multiple blocks long, and while I CAN walk them, it's tough. Each step is deliberate. Luckily haven't had to deal with many stairs because I work on the first floor - but even the walk from the parking lot to the building takes a while...
• ...luckily my doc gave me a handicap parking permit (it just came in the mail today), so that cuts down on major walking time for me. I feel a little weird/guilty about having it, but I also don't. 
• I have to wear sneakers...every day...do you know how hard it is to try and look business casual cute in sneakers?? HARD. 
• The second I come home I kick my shoes off (carefully), strap on an ice pack and elevate. Then I usually do a little yoga to stretch out the day.
• I'm currently trying to pick out an insurance plan (yay for corporate jobs!) that will make it easier for me to pay for my hardware-removal surgery next year - which is still something I'm trying not to think too much about (the removal surgery, not the insurance). 

So that's work. My poor foot that was once so diligently pampered is now kind of neglected. Luckily I get to work from home on Fridays so I have time to go to my new PT, which is Pilates with Lavinia Magliocco who's insanely awesome at what she does - I have high hopes for my recovery (even though it's still going slow. as. fuck.).

2 feet down! (follow up #3)

Last week I went to my doctor/surgeon for a follow-up. He said my bones looked strong and were healing great - his exact words were "it's solid in there". (Yes, "solid" is a great descriptor for what's happening in there, it's still so fucking tight). He said I should continue to ween myself off of the crutches until I'm just walking in the boot, and estimated that in about 3 weeks I should be out of the boot and into a sneaker. He also said I could start playing around with putting both feet on the ground...so I did:

 

This video is the 2nd day of putting 2 feet down - the first day I tried it I found myself sobbing uncontrollably from relief and happiness and joy and I think a little bit of fear.

 SUMMARY!!

Where I'm at right now: Walking with 2 crutches & boot when outside, walking with 1 crutch and the boot when inside.

Where I'm headed this week, hopefully: Walking with 1 crutch and boot outside, walking with only boot inside.

Where I'm headed after that: Move to boot-only walking, then when I get out of the boot and into a sneaker, the crutches come back until I'm strong enough to not need the extra support.

So that's that. I didn't blog much last week because not much changed. Or at least it didn't feel like it in the moment, but looking back I guess there is some stuff of note. My range of motion improved by several degrees each way, I got more interesting exercises to do at PT (including using the pilates reformer machine), I'm up to 14 minutes from 6 on the recumbent bike, I finally got my hair done (NOT pictured below), I took a really long walk to get some excellent cheesecake...oh and I bought some towels at Target and rode this thing: