Broken Ankle Week 17

Here at week 17, after I initially broke my ankle, the weeks are starting to get more similar. Improvements this week are:

• Walking with a cane or no cane. The crutches are officially retired and the knee scooter is collecting dust and cat hair.
• My wife is my evening walking companion. We walk about 1 1/2 blocks on sidewalk and then walk back. San Francisco sidewalks are often uneven and a bit challenging. I hold her hand for balance.
• One evening we went uphill one block then downhill one block. I was surprised at how much anxiety I felt on the hill since these are hills I used to fast walk and jog up/down.
• Today I’m hoping to see my daughter’s college dorm for the first time. She lives on 3rd floor and there are only stairs. Today I think I can do 3 flights of stairs.
• Tried doing toe raises to help my calf muscle and I can do them! Now I’m doing them a couple times a day to help build that muscle back to pre-injury state.
• New exercises at PT are more about balancing. I tried balancing just on my injured left ankle and I can’t. Yet. Goal: do tree pose standing on left leg.
• 30+ minutes at a time now on stationary bike (previously was doing 10–20 minutes).

The discomforts remain the same:

• If I do too much standing or walking in one day then my ankle becomes uncomfortably swollen and tight. Icing is what helps the most and I’m learning how to judge “too much” standing/walking. It feels so limiting and I’m trying to be patient.
• Tibia hardware pain twinges continue. They surprise me a few times during the day and last less than 10 seconds. When it happens I say “hello, tibia, I know you’re surprised by the breakage and the screws, you’re gonna be okay.”
• Incisions continue to be sensitive and I continue to massage them with soothing salve and protect them with soft socks.
• I’m very impatient to walk more. I know where I am is excellent progress and it’s uncomfortable to keep waiting until I can do what I could do before this injury.