Showing posts with label Physical Therapy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Physical Therapy. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Commuting 45 Minutes One Way

Hi Friends!

Long time no blog (again). A lot of life has happened since the last time I wrote, but I figured my second consecutive snow day was a good time to get you caught up on everything that was going on.

Since mid-December, I got to go home and spend a whole week back in Iowa with my family after Christmas, which was wonderful. One of my best friends in the whole wide world had her own ankle surgery and got to play with her own peg leg. I turned 30, and our oldest furbaby Seamus turned 5. I restarted physical therapy, this time for my shoulder. And the last week of February, I started a new job as the Curator of Education at an art museum about 45 minutes away from our house.

First, I have to say how amazing this job has been. I was pretty nervous going in, as my background has been entirely in history museums, but so far the transition has been great. The whole institution is going through some really exciting changes and there is such a positive energy.

The only downside is the commute. Spending an hour and a half in my car every day is taking a big toll on my shoulder, which I need to keep in check or I risk my migraines kicking back up again. A lot of the fight for me is about keeping my posture correct and keeping things relaxed. I have a few things I'm doing to help keep it a little more manageable:

  • I pulled out my old TENS unit. If you've ever done PT before, this is the electro-stim that they use at the end of your session, but a personal size. I put it on my shoulder when I get into work before anybody else or when I get home and am cooking dinner - my insurance covered the purchase of this when I first bought it. I don't know if my current plan would, but it would be something to look into!
  • I've got a hot pack that I wear to help remind my should to stay relaxed while I'm driving
  • I've had this lumbar pillow in my car for years to help with my posture. Seriously years. I got it from my physical therapist when I was still living with my parents back in college. When I get into the driver's seat of my husband's car, I reach behind myself to adjust this pillow and grasp empty air. 
  • At work, I have this stability ball chair in another attempt to help keep my posture correct while I'm sitting at my desk. I do still slouch a bit, but I catch myself more often than I do with a regular chair. Plus, it has the added benefit of being about to bounce. The wheels help take off the strain on my ankle that it would be as just the ball alone.
  • My laptop also sits on top of a desk stand so my head isn't tipped down. This is by no means fancy, it is made of plastic, and I don't use the fans at all anymore. I bought it years ago when I had a laptop that constantly overheated, and the fans did work decently, but now it just sits on my desk and lifts my laptop up to eye level. 
  • Every night before I go to bed, I lift weights. I do these in bed because several of the exercises require laying down, and I also do my ankle exercises at the same time. 
In addition to all of this, I am still taking daily migraine meds. I have another follow-up appointment next month with the neurologist. I am hoping I can start weaning off of these meds. The biggest side effect for me has been weight-loss. It sounds like a great problem, right? Overall, I've lost about 24 pounds. On one hand, this has been nice, because I definitely could have lost the weight. I had gotten to the point where my doctor actually printed out a sheet on BMI, which I would like to point out I was still at the high end of healthy for, but she told me it was something I needed to watch. However, I am now at the absolute bottom of healthy for where I should weigh for my height. Granted, BMI is not the only measure, and it is a flawed measurement at that. The other issue is that, if I'm not careful, I skip meals without realizing it. I have no appetite at all.

Here's a comparison:
March 2016
March 2017
Obviously, the lighting and outfit are very different in both pictures, but I think you can really see the weight difference in my face. I know, this seems like a dumb thing to complain about, but I want to start training for a 5k that our friend group has signed up for, and I'm worried about doing that and maintaining a healthy weight at the same time. Blergh.

This post contains affiliate links. By purchasing the items linked on this page, you will be helping support this blog, my student loans, and my reading habit, all at no additional cost to yourself :)

Saturday, December 17, 2016

Why hello there, shoulder

Hello, friends! The good news is that my main reason for starting this blog, my journey with my ankle surgeries, has largely come to a resolution at least on the medical side. My flexibility has returned, and I am slowly continuing to build up strength.

On the other hand, I have still been struggling with constant migraines. In late September, however, I was finally able to pinpoint with what I felt was a fair amount of accuracy the cause. Following this summer's excitement with a round of vertigo, I had a follow-up appointment with an ENT specialist.

I went into her office and was blown away by how thorough and holistic this doctor's approach was. Although my ear, nose, and throat checked out fine, she put her hands on my neck and shoulders and said, almost casually, "Say, you've never had any trauma to your left shoulder or neck, have you?" Because you've got a tremendous amount of tension here and that might be what is causing these constant migraines."

Those of you readers who don't know me in real life might not be aware, but I have had chronic pain in my left shoulder since 2008 when I slipped on some ice in my parents' driveway and fell onto my back. It took us nearly 4 years to figure out that when I fell I had detached the muscles along my scapula, and in 2012 I flew down to the Shoulder Center at the Lexington Clinic in Kentucky where I had surgery to reattach those muscles. As far as I am aware, these guys are still the only ones actually doing the procedure.

Here's what it looks like:



This surgery took me from missing a year of grad school and a 6-8/10 on a pain scale to a 2-5/10. It literally gave me my entire life back and made my shoulder something I barely noticed, to the point that when the migraines started up again in January, it wasn't until that ENT doctor mentioned my shoulder that it all clicked into place. 

Of course it is my stupid shoulder. On one hand, thank goodness I'm not adding another weird medical thing to my list of weird medical things. But, I'm really not thrilled that after all this time this stupid thing is still an issue. I made an appointment with my neurologist. When I got in to see (not the neuro, but one of his PA's) I explained what I had discovered to date, then said that I was interested in exploring physical therapy as an option. She said "I'd like to see you back in three months, and let's explore physical therapy then. First, I want you to try taking this additional prescription which is good for tension-type headaches." 

So, I walked out of that office and called my primary care physician, got in to see her PA the next day, and got them to write me a script for physical therapy. Low and behold, my near-daily migraines cut down to weekly.

And, when I got into a minor car accident that gave me whiplash in my left neck and shoulder (of course)? They jumped right back up to daily migraines. 

The good news is I have another appointment with the neurologists the second week of January. I'm going to take all of this information in with me, and if they don't listen, time for a new neurologist. Again. But, all of this is about being your own best advocate. And the best news is that I have an amazing physical therapist who is a dream to work with, and has really been a great part of my care team, through both my ankle and my migraine journey.


Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Happy Independence Day!


Today was my six-week follow-up appointment after getting the stitches out after my Modified Brostrom surgery. The appointment itself was a pretty quick, he checked the flexibility of my ankle (a little stiff) and we discussed the knee swelling (shouldn't be an issue now that I'm out of the boot) and the game plan for the next six weeks. Here's how it looks:

  • Heavy-duty brace (seen in photo) all the time for the next four weeks
  • After the first four weeks, transition out of the brace, the wear it when on grass and rough terrain for the foreseeable future
  • Physical therapy on my own, unless I feel like I'm not improving
I've been in physical therapy more often than not over the last four years, and "you know the drill at this point. No point in wasting your money on co-pays when they're not going to tell you anything you don't know, and I don't see the need for any physical manipulation at this point." His recommendations were using a theraband to do 12/6s, 9/3s (although not pushing the 9:00 side, as that's where the repair is), as well as doing calf raises, towel toe scrunches, and building up from there. All the stuff I'm used to doing. I will keep you updated!

Monday, May 30, 2016

Modified Brostrom Surgery - Return of the Frenemy

I apologize for being a bit slow to update you with my progress following this latest surgery. Unfortunately, I'm still battling this darn migraine on top of the ankle, so  I've been limiting my time on the computer, which seems to aggravate everything. Sorry, but thanks for sticking with me!

On the plus side, the ankle recovery seems to be going smoothly. The first few days immediately post-op were a little rough. I was a little surprised by the initial pain levels, but that was purely my own fault for expecting this to be more in line with the hardware removal, rather than an actual surgical procedure. Silly Jenna. Added to that my stomach's usual disagreement with pain medications and it was a slow start, but once we got a prescription filled to help that out everything settled down quickly.

I spent a very long two weeks and two days stuck on our couch, keeping my ankle elevated and being entertained by the kitty cats. I did a full read-through of my favorite book series (Percy Jackson), watched a few movies, had some great friends stop by and say hello, and took a lot of naps. I'm not a good sit and wait person, so honestly I'm so glad to be back at work and back in the swing of things.

Last Wednesday, I had my first post-surgical follow-up appointment. I didn't see the surgeon himself but saw his PA who I've seen before and like quite a bit. I also met with a student that studying with them for the year, and a nurse who was there to remove my stitches.

After the stitches were out, the student physician and the PA took a look over everything. They were quite happy with the lack of swelling and redness around my incision, but apparently during the surgery, both the anterior talofibular and calcaneofibular ligaments were exceptionally thin. Although they were still able to do the surgery as planned, that did change their post-op a bit. Initially, they thought I'd be in the boot for 2-4 weeks after the splint/cast, but now I get a full six weeks at least. Woohoo.

I'm a little frustrated by that, but after three separate surgeries on this ankle, I'm trying to remind myself that it is better to move slowly and do this correctly than to rush this and risk injuring everything all over again. I'm bummed I won't even be able to touch physical therapy until July, but I guess this is a good opportunity to practice being patient.

Initially, when the student physician came in and talked to me, he said that a lot of people who have had this procedure go into a half boot at this stage, rather than the full walking boot. But upon looking at my surgical notes and the thinness of the ligaments, plus hearing the demands of my job (outdoor historic site, chasing after 4th graders, giving walking tours that cover uneven grounds) they put me back into my old friend/enemy/frenemy, the walking boot. Check out my first, painful little baby steps below. By day two back in the boot my calf had stretched back out enough that I was walking comfortably again, but that first day or so was not super comfortable.


The next morning following my appointment was my first day back to work. And of course, it was an insane chaotic day where we had one 4th grader pass out from heat stroke (because why wouldn't it be 90 degrees in May) and had to deal with a volunteer being exceptionally rude to my new intern (wheeeee), plus just the general chaos that comes with trying to shepherd 75 ten-year-olds around a historic site. According to my Jawbone Up Move activity tracker, I went from taking about 300 steps on Wednesday to taking almost 4,000 on Thursday and 5,200 on Friday.

So, from here, it is really just trying to be patient with myself, not pushing too hard at work, and doing what I can to keep the rest of my body healthy while I wait until July 5th, which is my next appointment. My stamina levels are slowly returning, so after another few days of work I'm going to try heading back to the gym and will start doing some upper body weights. Gotta start somewhere!

This post contains Amazon Associate links. If you purchase any of the items found in these links, there is no additional cost to you, but it does provide a small source of income for me that helps fund my reading and Disney habits!

Monday, April 11, 2016

MRI Follow-Up & My Pre-Surgical Questions

Well gang, we'll see what tomorrow brings. Two weeks ago I had (another) MRI of the left ankle, and tomorrow afternoon is my follow-up appointment with the ankle doc. In our last appointment, he was fairly certain I had a tear in my anterior talofibular ligament. At this point, it is really a question of to what degree. I've pretty much resigned myself to this being a surgical fix, which means that if tomorrow he says it isn't, I will be very pleasantly surprised.

Before any big doctor's appointment, it is a good idea to come up with a list of questions to ask your doctor to make sure that you have a good understanding of exactly what is going happen. If possible, it is also a great idea to bring along a buddy to your appointment. Tomorrow my hubby is actually coming with me. He wasn't able to come with me for the appointment before my last surgeries, but I had a dear friend who did, and she was a great advocate. Hubby will be perfect for this because while I get very emotional which sometimes makes it hard for me to listen, he is very analytical and can stay calm in stressful situations, which this will be for me.

Saturday, March 26, 2016

Ligaments & Bone Chips & Migraines, Oh My!

In my last post I apologized for not having written for awhile, and while I wish in this one I could give you some answers as to exactly why that is, unfortunately, I am still waiting on those myself. Life has sort of given me a one-two punch lately of both a significant return of my ankle problems with what is, to date, a 22-day long headache with no known trigger.

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

5 Ways to Deal with Pain in Disney

I have had the not so much a pleasure of traveling to Walt Disney World twice while dealing with chronic pain and am about to make that the charming third time. First time around was my shoulder and now I'm fighting with my lovely left ankle, the latter of which has flared up and will likely be a bit of an issue during our upcoming January 2016 trip.

Surviving Disney, preventing further injury, not slowing down your family or friends, all while still enjoying yourself can seem like a daunting task. But there are steps you can take that hopefully will still give you the chance to have a magical park experience.

#1 - Identify those things that are going to cause you more pain or difficulty - there might be some that surprise you!
When we went to Walt Disney World back in August 2015, I was actually in a pretty good place ankle wise. It held up a lot better than any of us expected and wasn't really until the last two days out of a five-day trip that it even slowed me down. I had planned ahead for a lot of walking through the parks but did not anticipate the rides. A number of the rides required a fair amount of bracing, which put a lot of stress on my ankle. Space Mountain, in particular, was hard to enjoy. I was really caught off guard by that, but now going into this upcoming trip I know to be more careful or to just be the official bag holder for some of the most intense rides.

#2 - Train for your trip
Now that you've identified those things that might cause you problems during your trip, do what you can in advance to prepare yourself. Worried about walking a lot? Try to take small walks every day to build up your stamina. Worried about jostling? Talk with your family about football-style blocking for you in the crowded walkways (this is what my dad and brother did during our 2010 trip!).

#3 - Take breaks. Lots and lots of breaks. 
My first Disney trip with chronic pain was way back in 2010, pre-scapular muscle reattachment surgery. My family's usual pace through the parks was frenetic to say the least, and I just physically couldn't have kept that up. So instead of sprinting from ride to ride, we got the Dining Plan. We sat down and ate meals instead of eating on the run, we talked to each other, we relaxed. And our day at Universal after getting jerked around by the Spiderman ride, I called a cab and went back to the hotel. I was really bummed to miss part of a day, but it meant that I was alive the next day when we went swimming with manatees (still to this day one of the coolest things I have ever done).

During our trip last August, we had just finished the Finding Nemo show and my in-laws and husband decided that they wanted to do the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. Now, I don't know how good your Animal Kingdom geography is, but those are pretty much opposite sides of the park, and the "trail" is a self-guided stroll.  After some internal debate, I let them know that I would be happy to meet up with them once they were done, grabbed myself a bottle of soda, and parked on a nice flat wall where I could people watch and just bask in the awesomeness that is the Tree of Life. Did I miss that walk? Yup. But was I more alive and present for more of the trip because I took a break? Absolutely.

#4 - Bring supplies
What physical items will help make your trip easier? For me, I'll always have Aleve in my purse and I'm going to be wearing my ankle brace. A cane would probably also help me out, but I'm going to be too stubborn for that. I'll also have plastic bags with me and will ice my ankle in the evenings once we get back to our room using ice from the handy dandy ice machine in the hotel. There are some supplies you can get when you're in the parks, but they'll be more limited.

My last ditch if everything is awful plan is to rent a wheelchair when we're in the parks. The cost per day from Disney is $12, $10 if you're renting for multiple days. Wheelchairs don't leave their respective park. Disney also has a partnership with five different rental companies who can deliver right to your resort, but for me the idea of traveling in the buses with a wheelchair seems cumbersome and I am not that limited mobility wise. The website All Ears has put together a much more comprehensive explanation of dealing with the parks while in a wheelchair, and I won't repeat their well-arranged information here!

If you've looked other places for information on dealing with mobility issues in the parks, you've probably heard about the Disability Access Service Card, formerly known as the Guest Assistance Card. Please note that Disney has modified how the card works and it is no longer available for wheelchair guests. You can see get more information about the new DACS card from Disney themselves.

#5 - Don't be afraid to ask for help
This can mean a lot of things depending on yourself and the people you're going with. Need a wheelchair? Don't be afraid to ask someone for help up a hill, especially in Animal Kingdom. Need to slow down for a bit? My family walks VERY quickly (I'm the shortest legged at 5'7") so I occasionally need to remind them that I'm falling behind. Need to sit down and take a break? Maybe suggest that it is time for your daily Mickey Mouse Ice Cream Bar break. Every family does one of those, right? (BTW, swap out the rando in that picture for a golden retriever and that is the most "my mom" photograph ever taken.)

I hope that this helps you, and takes some of the nerves out of your trip. I'm starting to get kind of anxious about my visit, which is in less than a month. I can't get in for physical therapy for another week, so I will only have a few sessions under my belt before the trip. I am thinking that if it is the week before and I still have a lot of inflammation and pain, I may see about getting a cortisone shot. I had one right before our wedding and it let me dance at the reception and wander around Quebec for our honeymoon.

Have you dealt with pain in the parks? Is there a piece of advice I missed that you think would be useful for someone else?

Monday, December 28, 2015

All-American Surgery One Year Later

This Wednesday, just three hundred and seventy days after my All-American Surgery, I had my one-year follow-up appointment with my surgeon. It has been a long and tough twelve months, but I wanted to take some time to talk about where I'm at now and what work is still left.

Let's start with a high note. November was the healthiest month I've had in probably two years. On Thanksgiving, I went running. Outside. I went 2.3 miles alternating running for 60 seconds and walking for 90 and felt great. Like, might have sat down and cried a little bit from happiness once I was done. That wasn't the first time I'd run, I'd gone on several on the treadmill at the gym. I also was very successfully meeting with a personal trainer once a week and doing a variety of strengthening and stretching exercises, not just with my ankle but in general.

And now the low note. The Sunday after Thanksgiving, my husband and I were doing yard work (in Upstate NY. CRAZY weather this year). We've had one spot on our gutters that drips onto a windowsill when it rains, so we decided to go up and clean the gutters out. Ladders + unsteady ankles do not equal a good plan, so I asked my wonderful husband to go up for me while I held the bottom. We successfully cleaned the gutters out, he didn't fall off the ladder, and as he was coming down I took a step backwards to get out of his way and rolled my ankle on a clump of grass.

What has followed has been very frustrating. My Achilles tendon swelled right back up, and I'm having pain on the outside of my ankle joint, right where I was having problems prior to the surgery. I've stopped running and training, cut way back on my daily physical activity, and still have quite a bit of swelling.

The good news is that I had my one-year follow-up appointment on the 16th. As part of the regular appointment, we took x-rays of the ankle and bone wise, everything looks great. He gave me a script to restart physical therapy, and if things haven't improved after a few weeks I'm supposed to come back in for an MRI. The trick has been that we did a lot of traveling over the holidays (been gone since the 20th, heading home this afternoon) and we are heading back to Disney World with my family on January 19th. That doesn't give me as much physical therapy before our trip as I'd like, but we'll make do.

All-in-all, I'm glad I did the surgery but the recovery has been difficult. They said that full recovery was at least a year out and boy, I did not believe them. The sprain is absolutely because my ankle is still weaker than it should be, which just means I need to be more vigilant about doing my exercises. In my ideal happy world, once the swelling goes down I'll start doing yoga consistently to help keep everything flexible and strong. If you saw in the photo, I still have a lot of swelling but also quite a bit of bruising which at this point I'm just assuming I'll have from here on out.

So, sorry that this wasn't the glowing and excited one-year report I was expecting to write after Thanksgiving. Check back soon for my 2016 goals and ambitions.

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

All American Surgery: Nine & Ten Month Recovery


I think that, at this stage in my recovery, it is easy to forget how far I've come. In the last two months, I went to and danced at a friend's wedding, I spent an entire day walking around the Adirondack Museum with a friend, and as you'll see below I'm even rocking walking tours at work. I no longer have to plan my schedule around my ankle, and that is amazing. It still hurts, it still definitely gets tired at the end of the day. My left hip aches quite a bit, largely because of my stride. But, I have come SUCH a long way from where I was even three months ago, and I'd be remiss if I get into the grumbling about not moving fast enough without mentioning that fact.

I'll probably give one year its own post, but the last two months have blown by so quickly and change at this stage is slow and incremental, so I didn't feel like each month warranted its own post. Sorry those of you who were waiting on baited breath!

What I Would Have Done Differently - Been More Consisent
Unfortunately some of this was out of my hands. I managed to get a really nasty sinus infection that is still sticking around, even post-antibiotics, and it has slowed me down a bit. But, most weeks I am making it to the gym twice a week, huzzah! It still isn't a habit yet, which is my next goal for sure.

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

A Small Setback

If I had to be laid up, at least I had good company
I am impatient. I know many of you are probably in the same boat. When they told me I'd be out of my brace in a few weeks, I believed them. And actually, I had two weeks where things felt great. I went for bike rides, even went for a walk (woohoo!) and was happy that spring was here.

Then, last Wednesday I trained several of my new museum educators, which included a full scale tour and walking across the uneven fields of my site. 

Thursday, I attended an Earth Day event and had to park my car half a mile away. By Thursday night, I could hardly walk.

Friday, I woke up crying. The good news is that I had physical therapy scheduled first thing. Usually, we start with heat and/or biking to get things warmed up, do my exercises, then use ice and the electrical stim to cool everything off. Friday, we did stim and heat, I biked for ten minutes, did a few stretches, and then we did stim and ice. Both of my PT's expressed concerns about the screw on the outside of my ankle. They felt like it was more pronounced than it had been previously. I took the day off of work, slept, and kept it elevated. 

Saturday I went to work, and tried my best to not move at all. Sunday I felt like I had moved backwards three months. I really wanted to go to the gym or go for a walk, but I knew my ankle wouldn't tolerate it. Instead I sat on the couch and watched Princess Diaries.

Thursday, April 16, 2015

All American Surgery Update - Four Months

Yesterday I had my four month check-up with the Physician's Assistant to touch base about my continued recovery from the All American surgery. I am still doing physical therapy twice a week, and my limp is definitely less noticeable. My ankle is still stiff in the morning, and swollen at night, but there is progress.

The other big news is that I will be going back in six weeks to schedule a surgery to remove the screws in my heel and ankle. They are still exceptionally tender, and you can actually palpate the edges of the screw in the heel! I'm glad we are doing it, but definitely not looking forward to more surgery. But, more on that as it gets closer. Now, the updates!

What I Would Have Done Differently - Changed PT's Sooner
Since the surgery, I've worked with two different physical therapists. One is the one I did pt with previously when we thought the ankle was sprained, and the other who has filled in when my regular was gone or sick. They work side by side, and are both very nice and friendly and smart, and I don't want to misconstrue that at all.


Sunday, March 15, 2015

All American Surgery Update - Three Months

What I Would Have Done Differently - PATIENCE
This is really nobody's fault but my own. Before the surgery, my doctor's told me that full recovery would be at least a year out. And I believed them, but I really didn't believe them. I knew it'd be a slow process once the walking boot came off and I started moving on my own, but I didn't realize it would be this slow. Patience has never been my virtue.

I had my three month checkup at the beginning of the month, and handed over my walking boot in exchange for a very sturdy brace complete with boning and more straps than I know what to do with. The Physician's Assistant told me we'd be looking at wearing that for 2-3 weeks, with its removal directed by the physical therapists I could now start seeing. I, of course, thought this meant I'd be off like a shot...how wrong I was!

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

All American Surgery Update - Physical Therapy & Returning to Work

What I Would Have Done Differently - Managed Timeline Expectations
When I first went in for the surgery, they gave me the return to work timeline of six weeks to three months. I am in my late twenties, relatively healthy except this whole stupid foot, and I absolutely though I would be gone for six weeks, eight max. Instead, I was out of work for two and a half months, and still have pretty heavy restrictions on what I am able to do. But, the exciting news is that I am finally back, and it only took me four days to go through all of my emails!

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Taking Control

I have no idea if this is the same way for men (although I sense that it is not) but in my experience, when women have large emotional upheaval, we use our hair as a way to give vent to our feelings. I think that this can be a positive or a negative, happy or sad, all depending on what we need.

I actually didn't do the "post-wedding" chop, although I know a number of women who have. I've personally done a "breakup chop", I've done a "you couldn't dye your hair because you're doing living history but now its over" redhead switch, and now, I've done the "I have no control over just about anything but I can control my hair so it is GONE..."

Thursday, December 18, 2014

All American Surgery Recovery - Week Two Update

All the pretty colors, plus 2/5 of my incision sites
Yesterday I had my two-week follow up with the surgeon's PA. We took the soft wrap off, removed the stitches and staples (ouch!), took a couple of x-rays, then I got my new shiny hard cast.  The PA walked me through the different procedures that they done, explaining the incision on my inner left calf that I hadn't expected (lengthening my Achilles tendon) and we talked about restrictions on the recovery. The bad news, I am allowed to do upper body weight lifting, but no cardio. That sort of kills my goal from last week to get active again, but I'll readjust for this week).

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Staying Healthy While Immobile

My view for two weeks
One of my biggest concerns going into this whole surgery recovery ordeal was making sure I was able to stay as healthy as possible. Because of the pain that led to the surgery itself, I've fallen out of exercising and into some bad comfort habits (I'm looking at you, Cheez-its) and unfortunately find myself weighing in at the heaviest I've ever been. While I am really looking forward to being mobile again and being able to return to physical fitness, I didn't want to wait to get the jump on being healthy. Here are the measures I've put in place to stay healthy while I'm still stuck on the couch.

Exercise What You Can
At least until Wednesday, I am on 23 hour leg elevated rest. That said, I need to give my shoulder a little bit of work to keep it from getting too grumpy, and I want to avoid my leg muscles atrophying too much while I'm stuck on the couch. Here's the exercises I'm doing in some combination every day:

Monday, December 8, 2014

My Big Post-Surgery Goal

In 2016, I will run a half-marathon at Disney World.

New Year's Eve, 2010
This, my friends, is my big recovery goal. I'm really excited about this for many reasons (awesome RunDisney community, running in Disney themed outfits, getting back in shape), but there are three in particular that really make this a goal I am excited to work towards.