Progress with walking has been fast! Scary fast.
It's been a little over a week since I was cleared to finally ditch the crutches and walk unassisted, in the boot still of course. The first couple of days, I was slow, wobbly and awkward. I could only walk the first part of the day, then in the afternoon I would have to switch to my crutches because my foot was starting to ache and become painful. I'm not supposed to push through pain and I have been a compliant patient.
But, as each day has passed, the progress has been exponential. I began to wean off the crutches more and more, until I found myself only needing them early morning and late at night. The foot is definitely the stiffest when I first get up in the morning, and it feels like I need the crutches to get myself going. But after a couple of minutes of walking around and exercising the muscles, I can ditch the crutch and walk around with just the boot without a problem.
Walking barefoot (or without my super-stylish 1 size up supportive shoe with Superfeet insert) is still out of the question.
I've been able to take a few steps on my barefoot, as long as most of the weight is in my heel. I'm not really supposed to, but there was one night in the wee hours of the morning, where I had to go to the bathroom and I forgot to bring both scooter and crutches in with me before bed, so I had no other choice. It was like a drunken baby deer stumble. And sensations in my right foot are still way off, so stepping on the cold tile felt like a sheet of ice in Antarctica! (My left foot was fine, and the temperature felt completely normal.. so weird!)
Other than that, life has been getting more and more back to normal. I moved back into my standup shower with dual shower heads (with my stool of course). I hadn't been able to manage to get myself in it while I was in the non-weight bearing phase, so I haven't used it in almost 5 months. It was pure heaven. I love that shower and decided that I am never again going to use the guest bathroom shower! The first time I attempted to get in to the shower by myself, Nate was protecting me like a papa bear! He is so afraid I'm going to fall!
My PT exercises have been helping with walking and I'm seeing some improvements in my balance. There's this one exercise I do "Single Leg Stance" (think Tree Pose in Yoga) and the goal is to balance on my right leg for 20 seconds in my tennis shoe without holding on to anything. When I first started doing these last week, I couldn't even let go without starting to tip over. After doing them for a full week and a half, 8 times a day, I still only can balance for a couple of seconds without having to grab on to something. That one has definitely been the hardest and most frustrating. The best thing is though, is I did get clearance to workout on the stationary bike. I can FINALLY do some cardio. And, I've discovered, my cardio SUCKS. I have worked up to 15 minutes, and by the end, I feel like I might die.
However, the idea of walking is extremely appealing and I've found it very easy to over-do it. I work in a very large office building. On Monday, I went in to work, and just had a lot going on that day. I ended up walking the length of the building several times, going back and forth between meetings and other activities and helping out some of my co-workers with things. I was helping set up for a meeting and carrying Costco-sized cases of water around. I was trying to be my old self and I pushed it too far. That night, my foot was swollen like an overstuffed sausage link. When I got home from work, I basically stayed off of it until it was time for bed. The next morning, it was so sore I could barely walk with the crutches and my ankle was getting shooting pains with every step. I decided to stay at home that day, and I actually used the scooter for most of the day to give it plenty of rest. The next day, it was back to normal, and I could walk again. But, it was a reminder that the healing process, is still in process. It's slow. It's a marathon, not a race, and I really need to listen to my foot and my body. Just because I can do something doesn't mean that I should.
I find it hard to believe that I'm STILL dealing with this injury 5 months after my fall.
Lisfranc sucks.
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