Baby Steps

Learning to walk again... After breaking a bone in my toe, six weeks ago, it has finally healed! Or has it?

Now, there are one or two things you need to bare in mind when you read this blog post! Point one, I missed my 3/4 week checkup because my attention has been on another extremely ill family member, and point two, I also missed the physiotherapy that would have followed this checkup! I thought after six weeks, I would take the boot off, walk and be back playing tennis by the end of this month. But no!!!

My foot feels like a dead foot!!! It's swollen, still has bruising, and the skin is hypersensitive! Having said that, this week, I did walk again for the first time in my comfy beach sandals, using one crutch as an aid. This walking business is harder than I thought...

I tried to find some help online regarding walking again after breaking a toe but I didn't find anything really helpful and no one at the hospital had told me anything about what happens after the six week healing period! I did receive a letter with an X-Ray appointment for Monday 20th September but I figured by then, it would all be over! I realised, I would have to just deal with this as best as I could on my own!

I was amazed to discover that my body had completely adapted to the leg height difference caused by the boot! Two weeks ago, I was forced to walk to and from the hospital a lot, after I had been resting for three weeks, and I have to say, I was in agony, especially with my back. But by the second week, my body had adjusted and I found I could get around on my crutches pretty fast! Now, life without my boot feels all wrong!

I began doing yoga again at home and made a conscious effort to place my feet flat on the mat whenever I could in an effort to desensitize my foot. I'm trying to get the blood flowing by pointing and flexing my feet, rubbing my toes gently, and circling my ankles. It's very uncomfortable and my toes feel like they're cramping often! As well as this unexpected dead foot surprise, I was shocked to see how out of shape the rest of my body had become in the process too!

As well as working on my foot, I need to get cracking on my fitness and strength again and to be honest, it all feels a bit like an upward battle right now! :-(

As this week has gone on and I have been trying to walk more, the muscles in my foot have become very sore and my ankle is pretty swollen! I suppose this is from the strain of trying to walk again after such a long time in my safe and secure boot... I can't really roll through my foot, and I haven't dared to put my full weight on it yet, but have instead, relied on a rather strange flat-footed shuffle-style walk! Oh boy, if only you guys could see what has become of me lol!

Anyway, my sweet friend told me to just take baby steps and I'll be back doing pirouettes in no time at all! I sure do hope so!

Love your feet...

♥ Anna-Christina