My focus today is my biggest frustration of the moment. I have mentioned it before, but this darn broken foot of mine. I am typically confined to my home due to my health. I have to nearly pack up the house just to leave for a few hours; meds, emergency gear, protective measures, etc. The current pandemic has forced me to stay in even more, which has actually proven good for my Lupus. If only all others would fall in line. Lupus is really affected by sun rays so the less time outside is reducing inflammation inside my body. I am getting cabin fever though. With my foot broken it is limiting my activities even more and that is driving me crazy.
I went to the podiatrist two weeks ago for a follow-up hoping I would be able to begin using only the walking boot with no crutches. No dice! Everything is still in place and aligned which is normally a big concern with diabetics. That one was a relief. However, my foot is not ready yet. I was moved into a smaller boot. The first one went up to my knee. This one is mid calf. But I still needed 2 weeks continuing non-weight bearing. Then, the plan is to move on walking with the crutches as support the third week. The fourth week I will be allowed to walk in the boot without a scooter or crutches for one to two hours a day. I will see him after that week.
I am on the third week. Although I am feeling improvement I am not ready to put my foot down too much so I am using the crutches and scooter just as I had. I have put a little more weight on it, but not much. Next week I will try walking in the boot with the crutches. I am just too afraid to push too quickly and end up spending more time recovering. Let's get'er done by taking it slow.
My shoulder injury that occurred last fall was supposed to be a simple eight weeks of physical therapy. That turned into sixteen weeks, then twenty four weeks.....and then COVID-19 caused the facility to close so I had a home program to follow. I continued that until I had reached my final goal/milestone. All in all it ended up going from October until May. Except, the facility opened up again in June so they called me in. As terrified as I was to leave the house I thought they would see the progress I made and release me. HA. Nope. They started me back up to finish out six more weeks. At this point, however, my foot was already broken so they had to modify a lot of my exercises. Although I enjoyed the challenge, I had to let them know that until I could bear more weight on my foot I just wasn't strong enough to be so active. That length of time has challenged my patience and emotions greatly.
With my foot slowly moving along, I am becoming more fearful of the actual length of time for healing. Not only do I need to take baby steps to start bearing weight, it will then take six to eight weeks before I can possibly get out of a boot. Once out of the boot I will need special shoes and/or inserts to support my foot. I will also have a lengthy physical therapy/rehab time. I have come to accept that. I believe in about a year I may be where most healthy people are after four to five months. A very healthy person I know had a four year recovery from a sesamoid fracture of the foot. That bone is right near the big toe embedded in tendons. My fractures are of the calcaneus and cuboid, which is the heal bone and the bone that attaches it to the last three toes. Seems to me, I am no expert, but it seems to me they are similarly difficult to heal because of their positioning. That being said, I am just a little overwhelmed with the thought of it all.
I am an active person. Sick or not, I exercise everyday, multiple times a day. Not just because I have always been an athlete, but when I eat I must get up and move otherwise the food sits like bricks in my belly. Trust me, I would be fine with a morning workout and be done for the day. I prefer to walk around or clean or something similar for the movement after food, but right now I have to find a creative way to move after lunch and dinner to get some movement in. We recently moved into a home that sits on front of a mountain. My husband and son have spent a lot of time hiking and discovering new "Goonie adventure's" as my son calls them. I am so envious. I try to push that down because it is just the reality of the moment holding me back from joining them, but I miss it. FOMO.
We also live in an incredibly beautiful rural area of NM. There are so many hidden gems and well sought out tourist attractions. All outside and wide open spaces so during this moment in history it is perfect. I have yet to visit my favorite lake that I hear is pretty full right now. I haven't been able to get to that area to hike around either. My parents live in the wilderness, but it has been ages since I have been to their property even though it is a mere twenty five minutes from us. There is a lot of "I wish I could"s going on here. That only makes me feel sad because that is a lot of negative and fearful thinking.
As this blog typically is, it is helping me iron out my thoughts in a cathartic way allowing me to see what I should be appreciating. I can definitely say I am learning a lot more about my body. Because I have had to get creative with movement and exercise I am probably stronger now than before. Most of what I do is upper body work so my arms and abs are steel right now. There is a lot of total body workouts I can do on a yoga mat without putting pressure on my foot so my legs are still be activated. The movements I am learning from the online program I came across have trained muscles I rarely used before. It is also helping my shoulder because the abs, hips, and butt are the center of your body. Making them strong creates balance helping strengthen your posture muscles. That comes along with shoulder strength so....bonus ;-) My only hope is that once I can incorporate weight bearing exercises I don't lose sight of what I have created now. That is a goal I plan on focusing on as I recover.
It being the year of shelter in place seems like the best time to be laid up with an injury. My hope is that maintaining my active lifestyle while hurt will help during the rehab phase. Since I will be going to the same facility for physical therapy as I did for my shoulder, maybe they can get knocked out together and I can worry about something else. Isn't that human nature? When all goes well, we still find something we long for. The good thing is, I know that to be true. with that in mind it helps focus your mind and heart on what you do have that is positive.
Everyday I wake up and work to find something I am proud of and hold it close. When life is so overwhelming, focusing on small victories is the best medicine. Today has not been my favorite day, BUT I have my small victories. I got up before my alarm meaning I had good sleep last night. I woke up in a good mood. I completed my workout, enjoying it the whole time. Man it was tough though. This Caroline Jordan health coach is awesome. It is raining so this high desert is getting some good moisture. I had no control of that, but it is nice. And I was able to get out and deal with an errand or two. Let me just say, rain and crutches are not easy. Believe it or not, writing this blog today is a victory.
It seems I have so much to chronicle, share, and inform that I often second guess every word. I truly want to help someone out there who may be struggling with similar issues. I want to keep my friends and family up-to-date. When all this first began in my early twenties, I had no where to turn for a road map on how to navigate such a complex web of diseases. I had no one to look to as a role model for keeping your head above water and managing these disease that seem to fight one another.
I am a professional student. I love to learn and research. I rarely found anything. One thing I found solace in was learning that President John F. Kennedy likely suffered from the same rare disorder I have, APS Type II. A little snippet, they actually had him isolated for a while to give him steroid treatments so when he began to run for president he looked healthy and vital. All the while, even during his presidency, he suffered in pain daily. His back and adrenal glands really took him out. That is a small pinhole picture for you. There is not a whole lot written about it. Anyway, I needed a JFK to look to during those first few difficult years. I want to make it easier for a layman who may be ill or have a family member who is ill to find some real account information. Not just medical jargon, but real world accounts. I hope that this blog reaches someone who truly needs it. I pray that it leads them to better scientific research to gain knowledge. Science talks the talk, I walk the walk. Together we can conquer.
My shoulder injury that occurred last fall was supposed to be a simple eight weeks of physical therapy. That turned into sixteen weeks, then twenty four weeks.....and then COVID-19 caused the facility to close so I had a home program to follow. I continued that until I had reached my final goal/milestone. All in all it ended up going from October until May. Except, the facility opened up again in June so they called me in. As terrified as I was to leave the house I thought they would see the progress I made and release me. HA. Nope. They started me back up to finish out six more weeks. At this point, however, my foot was already broken so they had to modify a lot of my exercises. Although I enjoyed the challenge, I had to let them know that until I could bear more weight on my foot I just wasn't strong enough to be so active. That length of time has challenged my patience and emotions greatly.
With my foot slowly moving along, I am becoming more fearful of the actual length of time for healing. Not only do I need to take baby steps to start bearing weight, it will then take six to eight weeks before I can possibly get out of a boot. Once out of the boot I will need special shoes and/or inserts to support my foot. I will also have a lengthy physical therapy/rehab time. I have come to accept that. I believe in about a year I may be where most healthy people are after four to five months. A very healthy person I know had a four year recovery from a sesamoid fracture of the foot. That bone is right near the big toe embedded in tendons. My fractures are of the calcaneus and cuboid, which is the heal bone and the bone that attaches it to the last three toes. Seems to me, I am no expert, but it seems to me they are similarly difficult to heal because of their positioning. That being said, I am just a little overwhelmed with the thought of it all.
I am an active person. Sick or not, I exercise everyday, multiple times a day. Not just because I have always been an athlete, but when I eat I must get up and move otherwise the food sits like bricks in my belly. Trust me, I would be fine with a morning workout and be done for the day. I prefer to walk around or clean or something similar for the movement after food, but right now I have to find a creative way to move after lunch and dinner to get some movement in. We recently moved into a home that sits on front of a mountain. My husband and son have spent a lot of time hiking and discovering new "Goonie adventure's" as my son calls them. I am so envious. I try to push that down because it is just the reality of the moment holding me back from joining them, but I miss it. FOMO.
We also live in an incredibly beautiful rural area of NM. There are so many hidden gems and well sought out tourist attractions. All outside and wide open spaces so during this moment in history it is perfect. I have yet to visit my favorite lake that I hear is pretty full right now. I haven't been able to get to that area to hike around either. My parents live in the wilderness, but it has been ages since I have been to their property even though it is a mere twenty five minutes from us. There is a lot of "I wish I could"s going on here. That only makes me feel sad because that is a lot of negative and fearful thinking.
As this blog typically is, it is helping me iron out my thoughts in a cathartic way allowing me to see what I should be appreciating. I can definitely say I am learning a lot more about my body. Because I have had to get creative with movement and exercise I am probably stronger now than before. Most of what I do is upper body work so my arms and abs are steel right now. There is a lot of total body workouts I can do on a yoga mat without putting pressure on my foot so my legs are still be activated. The movements I am learning from the online program I came across have trained muscles I rarely used before. It is also helping my shoulder because the abs, hips, and butt are the center of your body. Making them strong creates balance helping strengthen your posture muscles. That comes along with shoulder strength so....bonus ;-) My only hope is that once I can incorporate weight bearing exercises I don't lose sight of what I have created now. That is a goal I plan on focusing on as I recover.
It being the year of shelter in place seems like the best time to be laid up with an injury. My hope is that maintaining my active lifestyle while hurt will help during the rehab phase. Since I will be going to the same facility for physical therapy as I did for my shoulder, maybe they can get knocked out together and I can worry about something else. Isn't that human nature? When all goes well, we still find something we long for. The good thing is, I know that to be true. with that in mind it helps focus your mind and heart on what you do have that is positive.
Everyday I wake up and work to find something I am proud of and hold it close. When life is so overwhelming, focusing on small victories is the best medicine. Today has not been my favorite day, BUT I have my small victories. I got up before my alarm meaning I had good sleep last night. I woke up in a good mood. I completed my workout, enjoying it the whole time. Man it was tough though. This Caroline Jordan health coach is awesome. It is raining so this high desert is getting some good moisture. I had no control of that, but it is nice. And I was able to get out and deal with an errand or two. Let me just say, rain and crutches are not easy. Believe it or not, writing this blog today is a victory.
It seems I have so much to chronicle, share, and inform that I often second guess every word. I truly want to help someone out there who may be struggling with similar issues. I want to keep my friends and family up-to-date. When all this first began in my early twenties, I had no where to turn for a road map on how to navigate such a complex web of diseases. I had no one to look to as a role model for keeping your head above water and managing these disease that seem to fight one another.
I am a professional student. I love to learn and research. I rarely found anything. One thing I found solace in was learning that President John F. Kennedy likely suffered from the same rare disorder I have, APS Type II. A little snippet, they actually had him isolated for a while to give him steroid treatments so when he began to run for president he looked healthy and vital. All the while, even during his presidency, he suffered in pain daily. His back and adrenal glands really took him out. That is a small pinhole picture for you. There is not a whole lot written about it. Anyway, I needed a JFK to look to during those first few difficult years. I want to make it easier for a layman who may be ill or have a family member who is ill to find some real account information. Not just medical jargon, but real world accounts. I hope that this blog reaches someone who truly needs it. I pray that it leads them to better scientific research to gain knowledge. Science talks the talk, I walk the walk. Together we can conquer.
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