Day 197: Discharged!

Today was a BIG day for me! I got discharged from PT... did my final session today! And I graduated out of using a shower seat!

At PT we discussed the fact that I'm pretty much as far as therapy is going to take me. The next step is just me... increasing my daily activity in real life.  Since I don't need a physical therapist for that part,  I was discharged!

I have also made it to the point where I can stand for an entire shower. So BYE BYE shower seat... can't say I'll miss ya.

Day 156: Confirmation

Today I mentioned the snap, crackle, pop thing at PT,  and sure enough she confirmed it. I broke up scar tissue and took another "step" forward in my healing process... with those pops! Yeah me!

Also had to do the evil BOSU again... that thing is the devil! 

Day 137: The devil's ball

Have you heard of a BOSU ball? Or as I like to call it, the devil's ball?

I've seen it lurking over there in the corner of the PT room... I just always refused to accept the fact that it would one day be a part of my life. No longer.

On day 137, I was introduced to Satan's weapon of evil. It wasn't as awful as I thought it would be,  but it wasn't fun either.

It's basically half a stability ball... platform on one side,  stability ball on the other. My goal was simply to step up and down on the stability ball side. 

I was terrified of what would happen when my still recovering new tendon encountered such instability,  but I guess that was the point. In order to grow.... my muscles,  tendon, stabilizers.... need to encounter instability and react properly to it.

It wasn't a HARD exercise.  It was just terrifying. My body quickly got the hang of it, but my mind kept screaming,  "BACK AWAY FROM THAT DEFORMED BALL!" all the way through to the final rep... it was just as scary on the final rep as it was on the first one. But I made it through, and I'm done with that terrible torture. At least for the next 4 days... sigh.

Day 86: Wearing a shoe

I brought a shoe to PT as instructed today. They had me riding a stationary bike. I also did weight transfer onto my injured foot with only a shoe on! It was liberating, exciting, and a little bit exhausting.

Coming soon: walking!

Day 79: Saved by the doctor

Tuesdays are the day that Dr. Fischer is at the New Berlin clinic, where I go to PT. On this Tuesday, I dejectedly hobbled into the therapy area. I could've sworn there was even a storm cloud hovering over my head.  I'd been GRUMPY for two days with the refrain "two more weeks... two more weeks..." running through my brain.

I spilled my depressed guts to my physical therapist. Before you know it, he had Dr. Fischer in the PT area looking at my foot and delivering SWEET salvation. He said I could take out this last wedge after only ONE week. 

My mood instantly improved. The dark cloud rolled away.  Somehow one more week was SO much more tolerable than two!

Day 43: First PT

My first PT appointment wasn't too painful. A lot of questions, a bit of examination, and just a few exercises to get my foot moving. But honestly only my toes got to move, my ankle wasn't really doing anything yet.

Tape Stitches Gone!

I did learn that in the opinion of my physical therapist I could drive wearing the boot. However, I decided to stick with my doctor's advice. He had told me that I could drive, but if I got in a car accident I would be found at fault because I was in a boot. With the luck we've had the past six months (heck who am I kidding??? The streak has been more like a decade, not 6 months!) I decided to play it safe and just not drive while I was wearing the boot.