Week Seven: “Orange you glad that the whining is over!?”

[7 weeks post break / 6 weeks post ORIF]

By this point, I was feeling like things were starting to get back to normal. Or at least as normal as they could be for a life on wheels, a peg-leg and crutches.

It's okay to be in awe of how I can  accessorize with my peg leg!

Feeling stronger every day, I was itching to do more and more. My biggest hindrance, as expected, was the inability to drive with my right leg in the cast. And that was not going to change for a few weeks- which was too long a time for me to continue to put every aspect of life on hold. I became more motivated to go outside, get back to doing the things that I enjoyed. And stop my steady decline deeper and deeper into my couch…

There would be bursts of energy, where I would feel like I could do anything: I would go to estate sales, flea markets, antique stores: strapped into my Pegleg- and maneuvering around crowded buildings, rickety stairs, and uneven floors (pegging around for 2-3 hours at a time).

Wow! A 120 year old, industrial
sized coffee grinder!?
Totally worth the 2 flights of
rickety wooden stairs... Ha!

* [If you had told me just a couple of weeks ago that I would be able to do this while NWB, and actually functioning on the iWalk- I would have never believed it] *

I had come a long way from needing my husband to walk me to the bathroom, lower me onto the toilet seat, and help me back up.

I no longer needed to hold on to the wall as I uneasily hobbled around on my crutches or my iWalk, in constant fear that I would fall over at any moment.

I did not resort to staying inside for weeks, just because it would be easier, less scary, and afraid that I would suck at it.

I was not taking any pain medication (aside from the daily dose of 81 mg Aspirin: a common recommendation after surgery), and was not feeling the effects of throbbing pain through my leg, or burning/stinging at the incision site.

It’s easy to forget how much progress you have made when it is not obvious from day to day. But it really helps you gain some perspective when you go back to those times where you felt hopeless, helpless, and completely overwhelmed by the situation.

Thinking back to week 2 and 3, where I was in excruciating pain or utter frustration- that seemed like a very distant memory. I guess that is one of the things to keep in mind as you struggle. Because nothing really lasts forever (except, ironically, animals that fall into bogs- due to the acidity of the environment, they are preserved for thousands of years)…Hahahahah! Too soon!? Yeah- I agree.

THEN...

...AND NOW!

As I became more and more motivated, I also became surprised at the tasks that I WAS able to accomplish (despite being a traveling circus of walking aids, pillows, and a backpack full of snacks).

I ended up going to a friend’s party- an outdoor event in a barn: where the bathrooms were across the long driveway located inside the house (with a series of steps leading up to the door). I did not know many people at this party- but what was even more astonishing to me: was the fact that I was not completely terrified of that. I just casually hopped on my scooter to navigate the terrain of the uneven driveway, parked my scooter at the bottom of the stairs, strapped into my Pegleg, climbed up to the door, went inside to the bathroom, removed my peg, peed, washed my hands, strapped back into my peg, went outside and back down the stairs, removed my peg and went back on the knee scooter, and wheeled myself back to my seat in the barn. I was done in two dozen shakes of a lamb’s tail, no big deal at all... (If that long and tedious sentence was tiring to read, you have a slight perspective into what the actual process also felt like). I was exhausted by the end of the day, but that was probably in my top 5 proudest bathroom moments of all time!! Hahahaha!!

No longer terrified of drinking fluids in public!
Bring it on, strange and unfamiliar bathrooms!
I got this! ;)

Little accomplishments like that went a long way to make me feel like I could function in a life outside my comfort zone again. That was one of the best realizations in my recovery process so far…and it only took 7 weeks to get to this state of mind! (So to those of you who are in the earlier weeks of this process, hang in there! I promise it WILL get better. There will always be some harder days and easier days, but the harder days do get farther and farther apart- and you just become more and more badass along the way! You really are a kick-ass superhero bionic fiberglass ninja, because you were BORN to wheel/hobble/peg/crutch through this challenge)!!!

Some superheroes don't wear capes!
They wear a peg leg! ;)

Even though I was feeling more motivated than ever before, I was also on a continuous spectrum of understanding my limitations. I realized that it took an immense amount of energy to do the tasks that I would have never thought twice about, before I injured my ankle. My body was healing, and it was weak. An outing of a couple of hours would deplete every ounce of energy I had. Each spurt of activity would be followed by an equally long nap. I was simply amazed by how tired I would get, and how much rest/sleep I would need to recuperate. It became the norm for me to take a nap as often as I felt the need to (which was pretty much every single day). Feeling tired also brought about a feeling of pride. I felt as though I had ‘earned’ being tired…as opposed to earlier in the recovery process- where ‘tired’ was basically something I would experience all day, every day.

Kicking Ass, and Taking Breaks! ;) 

Being out and about on the knee scooter and the iWalk also helped me strengthen the parts of my body that had to compensate as a result of the injury. I would have a sore calf, hamstring, quad, and butt after a longer and more rigorous periods of being out and about. And with the iWalk, I was amazed that the device actually seemed to be working out my quad, hamstring and glute on the injured leg as well! This was a big added bonus, as I felt as though this would speed up my recovery after the cast would get removed. It would be nice not to have to start from scratch again, and have some semblance of muscle mass in my legs. I had no delusions about what my wimpy injured calf would look like (picture: chicken legs), but as week 6 in the cast came to an end; I felt a little better that I could do something slightly constructive during a period of so many restrictions.

A couple of weeks ago, was my villain phase. My angry at the world phase. My not giving a sh*t phase. My bubble of isolation phase.

Starting now, I would be entering a bright and beautiful NEW phase:

The optimistic, upbeat, energetic, and SO READY TO MOVE ON TO THE NEXT PHASE, phase…

Ready to rock and roll and peg!

I could not think of a better choice for my LAST EVER cast color to suit my brand new outlook and attitude!!

Watch out World!

Orange you glad that the whining is over!? I know I am! <3