297 days ago, I began the second part of a two-part challenge: walking.
For 80 days (11 weeks and 3 days), I put no weight on my right leg. It is truly amazing how quickly you can lose what took you years to create when you are prescribed non-weight bearing for such a seemingly short time {however, during the fact, it does not seem short at all}.
Rehabilitating a now-healed-but-once-broken ankle takes commitment, patience, and dedication. It also takes an optimistic heart; you cannot take on the attitude of 'woe is me.' Maybe woe is you, but woe is going to continue being you as long as you keep that attitude.
I will never forget the day - May 5, 2016, when my surgeon looked at me, reached out his hands and told me to stand on my right leg. I can now understand how Peter must have felt when Jesus told him to come walk on water with him; like seriously dude, you want me to stand on this leg, like, right now?
I had a boot, one designed for maximizing support when walking; however, walking with this dang boot was literally the worst thing. The boot adds about three extra inches to your leg length, and if you are trying to walk barefooted with your other leg, you start walking like a pirate; it is not very comfortable for your hip joint. So on day three, I chucked the boot across the room and stuck on some tennis shoes and an ankle brace.
I also resolved to using two point gait with one crutch.
Limping was a problem that took much time to resolve, and even now when my foot becomes stiff after sitting down for an extended period of time, I have to 'walk out' my limp.
My surgeon wrote an open referral for physical therapy; he told me that I could probably rehabilitate my ankle on my own, and at first, I thought that is what I was going to do. However, I quickly realized that rehabilitating an ankle is quite more of a beast than you would have thought.
My physical therapy journey was a total of two months with two sessions each week; during my third month, my physical therapist challenged me to go on my own, and at the end of the month, he would evaluate my progress once again.
It was nothing less than a challenging journey. One of the most frustrating parts was not being able to do something that had, at one time, been super easy. However, this once-broken-but-now-healed ankle had become apart of me, apart of my identity, and I chose to benefit from my hardships rather than sulk in woe.
If I have learned anything from this journey, it is to accept those circumstances you cannot change with an optimistic mindset, allowing the challenging circumstance to change you for the better.
My ankle range of motion is still not 100%, I still have limitations in the movement of my joint; however, my functional ability is beyond where I was before my accident. I have taken on the challenge of not only reinstating my 'pistol squats,' but modifying them in such a way as to make them all the more challenging.
Decreased range of motion can be frustrating, but you have to learn how to adapt. Things will never be the same as they were when my ankle was just an ole-regular-Joe ankle, but being through the trauma my ankle has been through and seeing how far we (my ankle and I) have come makes the victory all the more triumphant.
With each passing day, walking get easier and easier; it is able to withstand more and more periods of standing; running is getting easier and my leg is getting stronger.
The journey was not easy, and I still have challenges to face in reference to my ankle.
When you injure, lets say, your ankle, you have to adopt a mindset of flexibility and make it your goal to become better, physically, than you were before. For every challenge is an opportunity to grow, to become better than you were before the challenge existed.
You will face challenges, but if I can get through it, so can you.
Keep on believing, because if you have the right mindset, your options in overcoming challenges are limitless.