I ran

That is all. I ran. Its my new years present to me. :-)

Free.....

How amazing. I managed to score an early - well - 2 weeks!! I got out of my moon boot 2 weeks early, and have been walking the dog, hydro in the pool, using the stairs... all such simple things yet things I've grown to really appreciate them! AND I can now do them all again.
After missing my follow up appointment with the surgeon (yes it would have been nice to be TOLD I had an appointment) I now have to wait till the middle of March to see him! Still, it doesn't worry me too much, the physio (bless him!) keeps telling me Im making wonderful progress and that the surgeon has done a great job.
Still - he's not just blowing wind - after starting shoulder deep in the pool, Im now back to my waist. Im hopping, Im running and Im flippering! Truth is now, that my un-operated ankle actually pulls up sorer than my new one.
Im allowed to run in 2 more weeks... just a wee little bit, but run regardless! In the meantime, I can walk in the water, on soft sand at the beach and all those wonderful things that summer brings.
Bless this ankle reconstruction. I've dropped 4kg, got a brand spanking new ankle and am healing just nicely.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

And Im in a boot...

So I can shower, and I can walk (as opposed to hop or crutch) however I STILL have to sleep in this clunker. Its a beast of a thing, it looked stunning at the two weddings and formal 40th I went to this month as well. I have had limitless conversations with random strangers (which I LOVE - those of you who know me, know I will pretty much chat with anyone!) however .... please please please is it time to start my rehab proper?

I am allowed to do massage, heat, flexion & extension. Thats it. I see the physio again Monday & he will hopefully book me in to start rehab doing some hydro that Friday. I can't wait. Like - really can't wait. 

Well, as for my shrivelled leg once I got my cast off after 7 weeks... how was it? For those who like skinny, hairy and completely shedding 7 weeks of skin - read on. Those who don't - might want to give this one a miss...

New cast....

This is how I regularly see myself now...

Day 1 - note the pink antiseptic!!

Day 1 - backslab only, not too swollen or painful - yet.

Thanks to my parents for our lawnmower - best engagement present EVER. Thanks Josh for mowing :-)

At the hospital, about to get my new cast

Old cast gets snipped off... it was only bandage and cotton wool @ the front anyhow...

Note the arrow to distinguish which leg to cut! I couldn't wait to see what was underneath....

Loving this. Only a small amount of blood on my ankle/cast, 3 holes in my leg!

My ankle was wider than my foot. Not nice. It got a lot bigger too...

The bottom plaster for my ATFL cut, the middle one for my arthroscopy, the top/right one for my ganglion excision.

Note the stitches... yes the part that looks like fishing line. They started tugging on these to snip the ends. I got dizzy and lay down... this from someone who LOVES the gore of the medical shows. Didn't last long and I was back looking again.

A fairly bruised, but neat cut. It goes under my ankle bone, so chances are will hide the scar well.

My foot from my view. The scar on the right is the ganglion... which turns out it wasn't! However pathology hasn't let me know just yet exactly WHAT it was. I'm intrigued.

Stocking bandage layer 1. Warm and cosy...

Cotton wool bandage layer 2.

"Plaster" (fibreglass or some version of) bandage going toe to top.

The nurse was learning how to bandage. Thankfully due to this she was anal about how neat it was, so I now have a perfect cast!

And bandage 2 going top to toe! Then some moisture on the gloves - rubbing it all over and smoothing the edges.

Joshy came for the ride. Very interesting to watch. Most of these photos are by him. Ta!!

Rubbing in the moisture, to set the cast.

Cast complete... touch dry in 20 minutes, completely dry in 45! Amazing.

Note the new cast... see the FAT toes!

This is my life for the next 6 weeks!

Im cut!

Well, Friday morning I went in to hospital to get my reconstruction done, so I sit here today (Monday) with my foot in a cast, the laptop on my good leg, the dog asleep in the sun in front of me and the lifestyle channel on TV showing me how to make cakes...
The surgery went well, but despite people telling me that it was day surgery when I arrived the nursing staff were very surprised to hear I thought I was heading home that day. However, on minimal painkillers (about half the recommended dose) I managed to convince them I'd be ok to go home and not need to stay in overnight.
Day 1 - great, only a little nausea, not too sleepy or painful. Day 2 - even better... no nausea, not sleepy - went to the dog park, went to shops, went to volleyball... Day 3- OUCH! Bit me on the bum for the two days before. So Day 4... I sit resting, like a good patient. Without much patience. :-)
So people, stay tuned. Photos will follow, I have my backslab cast now till the end of this week at least, maybe till the end of next. THEN I get a full cast to round out 6 weeks... all on crutches. NO WEIGHTBEARING.  Then moon boot and shuffling round for 6 weeks more...
Watch this space hey?

Time ticks away... ITS nearly here

Well in a little under 2 weeks, I get to go for my final appointment before my reconstruction... then under the knife I go, 10 September. I have to say, I am a bit nervous, having never had surgery before, but to be honest, Im VERY ready to go... its been nearly a year since I booked in, and Im over it - the wait...

What does frustrate me though, is that just as Im about to become the one left sitting on my bum, Josh - my other half (oooh... I can now excitingly say fiancee) is just getting back up to speed... he hurt his ankle filling in for a social team... SOCIAL ... its always the way.

Never the twain shall meet it seems...

Still, now for me, the search begins in earnest... I need to find things I CAN do while my foot is in a cast. There is this odd looking machine in the cardio room called a 'grinder'. The way it works is you sit on a seat and like the hand pedal bikes, you spin two hand grips around and around (think hand pedals....). Doesn't sound too amazing does it? However thinking further there is no reason I can't do upper body stuff in the gym, boxing might work after a few weeks too... time to put my thinking cap on - to ensure I can do the same with my pants after 3 months!

1m and fluffy!

No, Im not talking about my dog, or my favourite teddy bear, or a great pair of ugg boots... Im off to the snow. In under a week our big trip to Mt Ruapehu will finally become reality. I have NEVER spent more than 2 hours in the snow. To say Im excited would be an understatement...
Packing at present - so many choices about what to take... but given a) the cold & b) my dodgey ankles... and therefore calves.... and therefore knees ALL my compression gear is the first to go into the bottom of my bag. Yep, all my linebreak gear will be padded out with other less important(?!!??) things such as thermals, beanies and layers and layers of jackets.
We are going snowboarding - its what all the cool kids are doing right - so instead of being a cool kid, I will be the one on my butt on the ground with everyone wandering just what Im finding so funny. I don't care that I might be terrible at it, I carry no expectations of myself, and as such if I suck - completely and utterly suck - I don't mind!
Stay tuned... photos will come, blogs will be posted!