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.

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!

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!

What To Wear With a Foot Cast or Walking Boot

I am a very firm believer in wearing what makes you comfortable. Now, I should specify here that comfort doesn't actually have to be physical comfort. There is also emotional comfort, and any woman who has slipped into her favorite dress will tell you all about it. Personally, I am not really one to lounge around in sweatpants and a t-shirt for more than about a day. Right after the surgery, I did for a bit, but as soon as we started having company come visit I was wearing jeans and a nice top. Several people remarked on this, but honestly getting dressed made me emotionally feel a lot better.

Now, what you wear will depend on a lot of things. The season, your own personal style, how you're feeling, and what you've actually got going on at the end of your foot. As an FYI, most of my clothes are from some combination of The Limited, Express, Gap Outlet, and Target, and I tried to get as close as possible to what I actually wear in the outfits I made below. Here's what worked for me at the different stages I went through post-surgery.

Foot Cast
I primarily stuck with bootcut jeans, wide legged sweatpants, and occasionally shorts although I had my surgery in December in Upstate NY so those never made it out of the apartment. What I found was that I had to work with pants whose legs were wide enough to fit over top of my cast. I also found that knit Christmas stockings made great toe covers!

Walking Boot & iWalk 2.0
During the period of time when I was in the walking boot but non-weight bearing, depending on my trusty iWalk 2.0 pegleg to get around, I relied on long pants that could be tucked into my boot. The boot is big enough that, although I can fit sweatpants over it, the bootcut jeans I'd used with the cast wouldn't go over the top. I pulled out my straight or skinny jeans, and primarily wore those. Because the pegleg fastened around my thigh, I avoided wearing leggings with tunics, dresses, or skirts, anything that would look awkward with the handle and strap. The above outfit is one I wore out for dinner for a friend's birthday.

Walking Boot & Going Back to Work
Tuesday next week (YAY!) I will finally be returning to work, but I will still be in my walking boot for probably another month. I'm planning outfits for dressing professionally with my walking boot still hooked onto the end of my foot. Luckily, my office is very easygoing, with only one other full-time staff member, so if I need to put my foot up on my desk with some ice packs, it isn't a huge deal.

PS #1 - You might notice that the shoes here are the same. This is actually intentional. You'll need to find what shoes you own work for you. This is especially important once you are weight bearing in your walking boot. You want something comfortable, but also tall enough that your hips are lined up. I made the mistake of wearing flatter shoes one day, and that night my hip ached so badly I couldn't sleep. Don't make the same mistake I did!

PS #2 - If you're surgery takes place over the winter, and you chose to use an iWalk 2.0 (which I HIGHLY recommend) you'll also have to be a little selective about what coat you use. I have a gorgeous trench sort of winter coat that I love, but it comes down to my knees and the handle of the iWalk 2.0 got in the way. Luckily I also have a nice and warm puffy coat, which is great on days like today when it is supposed to get down to -10, and ends at my hips so doesn't bother my pegleg!

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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..."