WEEK 22 | POST OPERATION

Energy level: Normal
Pain level: 1 - 3
Epiphany: If you feel silly walking in place on a plane, try dancing to your iTunes!
Milestone: First plane trip since surgery

WEEK 19 | POST OPERATION

Energy level: Normal
                      Stamina is not yet back to normal
Pain level: 1 for standing 1/2 an hour
                  3 for standing 1 1/2 hours
Epiphany: I love getting out of bed without assistance! This happy thought makes me smile every day ~ also increases the probability of  getting up on the right side of the bed.  :)
Milestone: Can stand on one leg for 60 seconds. Can stand on two legs for 1 ½ hours before the swelling becomes overwhelming.

post op day 120 - hot yoga

Energy level: Normal
Pain level: 0 - 1

Bikram Yoga changed my life 7 years ago. I was lucky enough when a studio opened across the street from my office. I practiced 5 days a week for 3 years. I gained focus and flexibility and lost 50 pounds! Life was good. Then, sadly at the height of the housing bubble, the building's owner tripled the rent which forced the studio to shut down.

Since then, I've continued a yoga practice with a different studio - but it just isn't the same. The Restorative Yoga that I switched to does not have a strength or aerobic component and I gained 20 pounds back before I sought out another Bikram studio I could go to on the weekends. I had just finished a few weeks in my new Bikram studio before I broke my heel. Being inactive for 4 months has added another 10 pounds and I'm determined more than ever to get back in shape.

Step one is regaining the strength and flexibility needed to balance on one leg. My right leg leaps back into action just about where I left off 4 months ago. My recovering left leg… well… that’s another matter.

Today all I want to be is the best tree I can be! 

Toe stand will have to wait for another day.

WEEK 18 | POST OPERATION

Energy level: Normal
Pain level: 1 after walking ½ mile
Epiphany: Ice is great for reducing the swelling, but it also stiffens the joints which makes me walk with a pronounced limp. It takes about 100 paces before the stiffness goes away.
Milestone: Ready to resume a regular yoga practice.

post op day 118 – cold turkey

Energy level: normal
Pain level: 0 for most of the day - 1.5 after a half mile walk

My physical therapist likes the way that I walk. I have a minor limp, but he thinks I should go cold turkey and tells me to ditch the cane. He also gives me a “clean bill of health” and sets me on my way.

Physical therapy has officially come to an end. Or, Rather there’s nothing more they can do for me; they have taught me all that they can.

I didn’t expect it to end like this. I thought there be a few more “let’s see you in three weeks”. I leave my pretty purple cane at their office to pass on to the next gimpy gal.

Without the cane I feel like I have lost my security blanket. Simultaneously, I feel awash with sense of freedom and loss.

The only thing holding me back now is that bloody plantar fasciitis. It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future.  His best guess is that I’ll recover from plantar fasciitis in 6 – 9 months.

I’m not going to wait around for that! Most of my physical therapy has consisted of strategic stretches to regain a normal range of motion. Hum... sounds just like yoga! I prescribe for myself a full yoga regiment.

Slow and steady stretching wins the race.

WEEK 17 | POST OPERATION

Energy level: Normal
Pain level: 1 for walking
Epiphany: Carrying things is my new favorite activity!
Milestone: Walking without a cane!!!! Woo hoo!

WEEK 16 | POST OPERATION

Energy level: Normal
Pain level: 2 for walking
Epiphany: It’s amazing how quickly strength can be lost and gained.
Milestone: Can balance on one leg for about 10 seconds. Yippee!

post op day 100 - up stairs

Energy level: good
Pain level: 1

Wow! I can't believe it's been 100 days since surgery!

What can I do after 100 days? I can go up stairs like a normal person!

Left foot on one step, right foot on the next step.

Woo hoo!

On the downside, I still do the wedding march going down stairs. Funny how going up and down engages different element. Going down stairs takes more flexibility, but going up stairs takes more strength. My left calf is almost back to it’s normal size and ankle strength is double what it was last week, but half of normal strength. Fortunately I have a surplus of stairs to exercise my ankle to help regain its strength.

♫ Climb every mountain! Climb every step! ♫

WEEK 15 | POST OPERATION

Energy level: Normal
Pain level: 2 for walking
Epiphany: Old ties make great yoga straps! Keeping ties scattered around the house encourages stretching the foot throughout the day.
Milestone: Walking with a cane at almost a normal pace.

post op day 98 - pt & cane

Energy level: Normal
Pain level: 2

It’s not normal to have this much swelling. The Physical Therapist says that I ought to consult with a podiatrist.

The pain I have on the left top of my foot is due to walking off balance. I find this funny since my Sketchers Shape Ups shoes are *designed* to make me walk off-balance. The concept behind these shoes is that every off-balance step requires various muscles to engage to maintain balance, thus putting all those lazy muscles to use! Knowing that this soreness is due to engaging the muscles on the top of my foot is oddly comforting. Hum…. I never really considered having muscles on the top of my foot before. When I think of feet, I think of bones and ligaments …. the plantar fascia and…. Now: muscles! I find it fascinating that muscles that are so tiny compared to a meaty bicep do so much work.


I know that I walk funny, but the Physical Therapist likes my walk. He says it’s time to move on to the cane! Woo hoo!

I had been dreading the ugly dull gray cane, so I am pleasantly surprised when he pulls out a purple floral cane. It’s absolutely gaudy and I love it!

We’re talking about cycling and he tell me, in the nicest way possible, that I’m a bit of a whimp. (like I didn't already know!)  After a vigorous workout on the stationary bike he suggested that I do the Ocean Beach Bike Path this weekend… but then quickly retracts that with: “well, mentally, you are not ready for that.”  Indeed, after falling off the stationary bike and having a sprain that was just as painful as the break, I won't be taking the bike on the open road until I can fully trust my left foot again.

Today’s challenge: can I make it to work with only a cane? Yes I can!  However, after just an 1/8 a mile I’m felling the swelling and dreaming of ice.

It's Friday night and it's high time to go out for diner and a movie.  It's nice to end a long week with dragon rolls and training dragons.  I'm sure that working with dragons will be a piece of cake with my new pretty sparkly cane.

WEEK 14 | POST OPERATION

Energy level: Normal! Yippee!
Pain level: 2 for walking on sunshine!
Epiphany: Keep icepacks at work - you never know when you might need an afternoon break
Milestone: Walking with a cane

post op day 86 - one crutch!

Energy level: good
Pain level: 0 for non weight bearing
               1 for 50% weight bearing

I did it! I finally walked with one crutch! Turns out it wasn’t a coordination issue, it was only a pain issue! I’d like to thank the academy for it’s support, my physical therapist for explaining the need to stretch the plantar fascia, my husband for his patience and my squishy shoes – it would not have been possible without all of you! It’s a miracle! It's like a light of a new day, out of the blue, breaking me out of the spell I was in, making all of my wishes come true! Okay, I’m not the Greatest American Hero, but I feel like I’m walking on air!

I jump on the Wii Fit and it confirms that I’m 49% weight bearing on the left foot and 51% weight bearing on the right foot.

Woo hoo! That’s progress I can believe in!

WEEK 13 | POST OPERATION

Energy level: Good – almost back to normal
Pain level: able to tolerate a little more weight everyday now!
Epiphany: Water aerobics is a most awesome form of physical therapy!
Milestone: Walking with one crutch

Post Op Day 81 – h2o aerobics

Energy level: Great!
Pain level: 0 for non weight bearing
                3 for 10% weight bearing

As luck would have it, there is a water aerobics class that I can jump right into! 

I’ve shied away from aerobics in the past due to my lack of arm and leg coordination.  But…  I’m a strong swimmer and desperate to get back into some kind of exercise routine, so I figure that I should give this a shot.

I arrive a bit early to do a few laps.  The first thing that I notice is that I am buoyant – more buoyant than ever.  I effortlessly float on my back like never before.  I’ve gained 10 pounds in the past three months of impaired mobility and it is now the difference in my fat to muscle ratio is clearly apparent as I float in a pool.

The second thing I notice is that my recovering foot is floppy. It’s a weird sensation.  My good foot propels me through the water, but the recovering foot just gets whipped around as my leg goes though the motions.

Water gives a wonderful sense of freedom.  I do a lunge!   I can stand on one foot!  I can walk with two legs without crutches!  I share Jake Sully’s experience when he ran with avatar legs for the first time.  It’s a dream come true.  This is so liberating!

Next come the “dumbbells” and like a dummy, I thought they would be heavy and ask for the smallest pair.  Well, now I know why they are made out of foam.  Instead of lifting deadweight - this all about resistance.  I immediately feel the burn on the elusive underside arm muscles as I extend and force the “dumbbells” under water. I never found free weights to be particularly exciting, but this feels like opposite-land and therefore is actually kind of fun. 

Running in water makes it easier for me to channel Jaime Sommers (insert sound effects here) and makes up for the fact that I have to crawl out the pool on hands and knees to get to my less than 6 million dollar crutches.

WEEK 12 | POST OPERATION

Energy level: Good
Pain level: 0 - 2
Epiphany: "Riding" a stationary bike always reminds me of The Talking Heads' "Road to Nowhere"
Milestone: Recovered from sprain and able to commit to a regular exercise class: Water Aerobics twice a week.

WEEK 11 | POST OPERATION

Energy level: Good to low
Pain level: 0 - 3 (the harder I push myself, the more aches)
Epiphany: No pain, no gain
Milestone: Week 11 starts off with strength and energy to attempt more exertion on a “stationary bike”. However, a trip while getting off the bike results in a sever sprain. Week 11 is a bit of a setback.

Learn from my fail: A bike trainer does NOT turn a bike into a stationary bike suitable for physical therapy.

WEEK 10 | POST OPERATION

Energy level: Low to OK
Pain level: 0 - 1
Epiphany: Physical therapy easy as ABC, 123!
Milestone: Begin minimal weight bearing

WEEK 9 | POST OPERATION

Energy level: Low
Pain level: 0        Woo hoo!
Epiphany: Spring is in the air!  But so is rain.  A hooded rain jacket is a good thing ~ don't leave home without it!
Milestone: Begin full regimented physical therapy. Current focus is stretching.

WEEK 8 | POST OPERATION

Energy level: Strained
Pain level: Variable
Epiphany: Padded bicycle gloves are so handy when using crutches – which really is the equivalent of walking on your hands.
Milestone: Start basic physical therapy with contrast baths to encourage nerve growth.

WEEK 7 | POST OPERATION

Energy level: Building
Pain level: Fading
Epiphany: Showers are for the sure footed or two footed kind. Back to baths and rubber duckies for me!
Milestone: Back to work full time, but not strong enought to get to and from work solely by public transit. Scabs are closed enough to get the foot fully wet. The first shower is tricky, but ok – second shower results in a slip and fall. Standing in a slippery shower on one foot is a bad idea. Will wait until I am full weight bearing to try showering again.