Little Miracles
This past week has been a time of several little miracles.
The last two nights I’ve slept without wearing the boot. Oh my, the freedom of feeling my other foot underneath the sheets! Of not sleeping with that big heavy walking boot on.
I keep my right ankle wrapped and hope it protects it enough if I happen to fall during the night. Unfortunately, that knee scooter topples over pretty easily.
This week I’ve gotten brave enough to try something else. Several times a day I ride the knee scooter to the kitchen, then I walk around holding on to things.
It’s so much easier than leaning over a scooter to wash dishes and prepare food. Plus it was hurting my back having to do things that way.
I do the same thing while in the bathroom.
I’m very careful and probably overly cautious at this point. Because I tend to overdo. It seems to be written into my DNA.
It isn’t sudden pain that will go away that I’m worried about.
It’s the 10 years of it I dealt with on a fairly continuous basis that I’m afraid of setting off. Like striking a match that ignites.
I’m afraid I’ll go a bit too far and then have another setback. That I’ll move one step forward, then have to take two or three steps back.
Toward the end there before ankle surgery, it hurt even when I didn’t walk.
It was a constant pain that was probably the result of the torn tendons that needed to be repaired.
Feeling Cautiously Optimistic:
So I’m a bit gun shy I suppose. I’d rather get around in a wheelchair than feel that kind of continuous pain again.
When you’ve had your life become so limited, you no longer take your body’s abilities for granted. Just walking a little bit, a few steps, becomes newfound freedom.
So I’m feeling cautiously optimistic this week.
I watch TV and see actors walking around and it looks so effortless. And I hope they don’t take it for granted. Because to me, it looks like a dream come true.
Many people walk along the sidewalk or inside their home, without thought. As if it’s a given.
It isn’t a given.
If I’m able to walk out my front door and get my mail and take out my trash, I will be so grateful. Maybe be able to walk around and take photos outside like I used to.
I’d like to tend to my outside plants again. Feel dirt between my fingers.
I haven’t driven my car since the end of June. If/when I can drive again, I will be so thankful. It’s not that I need to go anywhere except to doctor’s appointments. But Then I wouldn’t have to ask anyone to drive me.
I’m sure things I take for granted every day are another person’s fervent hope.
To be able to see, to have nature unfold in front of you, is a miracle. And I have the wonderful ability of sight.
Did you know that 2 out of 5 adults over the age of 65 have a disability?
This means that about 61 million adults in the U.S., or 1 in 4, live with a disability, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Taking Things For Granted:
I suppose we all tend to take things for granted. Because we do things by rote. We do things mechanically and repetitiously. Just as we’ve always done them.
I watch someone on TV run and I think how amazing that is. And I recall how, as a child, I would run up the slope of dirt that covered the cellar and then back down and squeal with joy.
How I’d run around the rural property and inside the vast space beyond the chicken fence and feel the wind whipping my hair against my face.
These things are a gift. Not everyone is born with the ability to do these things.
Or they might be born with it and suddenly have it taken away.
When a child takes its first steps, everyone is thrilled. It is an “occasion.” Something to be noted and remembered.
Each small achievement to me now is a present waiting to be unwrapped. It’s a little miracle.
I understand all too well about losing an ability. Just a few years ago I was walking five miles or more a day until I hurt one of my legs and that stopped rather abruptly. Then I had heart trouble and had a pacemaker implanted and that slowed me down even more. I can barely walk a few steps before I am out of breath. I’m like you and watch how effortless it is for most people to walk around with no problem and I pray to get that ability back again. I’m blind in one eye and got Histoplasmosis in my good eye and am getting shots to stop its progress and am so afraid of losing the sight in that eye, so, yes, I understand what it’s like to lose an ability, but I keep on and live my life as best I can knowing there are people far worse off than myself. Keep on keeping on. I pray your ankle will be completely healed.
I’m so excited for you! Have you asked your physical therapist if these small things are OK for you to do? Do you have daily strengthening exercises that you do at home every day? All the times I’ve been to PT for various things (back several times, knee, shoulder, pelvic floor…and soon I will be starting for a torn hamstring), I had exercises I had to keep up with at home. To this day, I still do strengthening exercises for most of these, just to keep things in halfway decent shape before some other body part falls apart on me! 😉
Healing after the kind of problem & surgery with your ankle is a marathon,
not a sprint. Don’t lose hope, just go slow so you will make it to get that prize – walking on your own. I believe it will happen and that it will just take a while. So glad you have been able to sleep without that cumbersome boot! See, progress! I am grateful for my simple pleasures; pets to love on and who love me, money enough to pay my bills, eyesight and hearing, ability to walk and use my arms and hands, food to eat, ac & hear, a home and my comfortable bed to sleep in. There is so much more we take for granted everyday like running water and indoor toilets. I could keep going, but you get the picture. I may not have the abilities I used to have and deal with chronic pain, up there is just so much more to my life to enjoy. Like books. I love your book choices!
Take those little miracles as they come! Wonderful!
Good news, Brenda, that you are able to be a little bit more mobile without the boot or scooter. I’ll just echo the others who’ve cautioned you to remember to take it slow. Going too fast too soon isn’t worth it if it causes you a set-back. I’m happy you are feeling more optimistic and positive about the process. Take care, embrace patience!
Glad to hear! Take it easy and have a good evening.
How wonderful Brenda! It’s so nice that you are able to take a few steps and I’m sure you’ll gradually add more and more steps.
Regarding your car, for good measure you may want to have someone start it and run it a while every several weeks just to keep the battery charged and fluids circulating.
So happy for you that things are looking up! The tone of your post is so encouraging!
That is a good idea.
Batteries have trouble when the temperature gets colder.
Take it easy Brenda. You have made progress. As you know it is slow.
Great news, Brenda! And your therapist sounds like a good guy. And yes to resting after your walking today.
Love the photos of the quilt ladder – what a pretty addition it is to you already lovely home – and the green plants.
You and Ivy remain in my good wishes, as always.
Glad for the progress and freedom from the boot at night. Hope you’ll be able to get physical therapy extended. Don’t know why Medicare and health insurance policies in general are so limited re physical therapy which can be so helpful and relatively inexpensive when compared to other medical fees.
Little miracles add up to big miracles! Best wishes as your recovery progresses!
Wonderful news, Brenda! Baby steps – no pun intended – you’ll get there.
I decided I’d do all the chores today! Laundry, clean out the refrigerator, load and run the dishwasher, pay the bills, clean the bathrooms, etc. I’m sitting on the couch exhausted thinking I may need a nap. LOL
Enjoy the rest of your day!
Oh this is wonderful news. I bet you had the best rest last night. Gregg sounds like an awesome therapist and i hope he is able to get your visits extended. You are playing it safe to realize you probably shouldn’t go into the living room without some sort of
assistance nearby. Such a happy day for you❣️
Greg was here and saw me walk about the kitchen a bit and then said I should rest for the day. He’s afraid I’ll take it to another level too quickly.
Sounds like things are healing, Brenda!! YEAH!! So glad you can do even some steps without the cart. We understand. I am so grateful my husband can manage to get around in the apt again…and not need my help and the wheelchair at every location change!! We don’t take even small steps for granted!! It is plain hard getting older…and living in our culture does not help either. We no longer live in a 55+ apt…which I so miss…we live mostly among youngers…and they are totally in considerate…guess they think they will never be old. Huh, well if they live long enough they may well understand all the challenges we face in just existing!! Keep up taking it easy and slow…and bit by bit you should get there…twas the tortoise that won the race, not the hare!!
We have younger kids living here too. But they aren’t bothersome.
It takes time to heal and patience. Patience is the hard part. Your mind says do it and your body says no way! Take it slow and easy and you will be so much better for it.
Trying!
Good news. Every little bit of progress helps our minds. I know I slow down doing more and more as I see another birthday but I am grateful to be 71 and able to take walks, clean my house slowly each day and not all day like I use to even if it takes me longer. All of it makes me feel so good each day mentally cause I would struggle more having to ask someone to do things for me. I prefer my own foods even if it’s an albacore tuna sandwich and eat quietly so even thinking of being in a care center is nothing I look forward to. Keep the good news coming to us Brenda.
I hate asking people to do stuff for me. Steve next door has to take the trash out about twice a week unless one of my daughters come by. I only see them about once a month or so.
As they say, keep your eye on the prize and keep believing:) The Tortoise and the Hare: slow and steady won the race. A military approach in US Special Ops states “slow is smooth and smooth is fast”. A quote attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte: “Dress me slowly, I am in a hurry”. Slow is very good. Caution is very good. Baby steps, but keep moving forward a little at a time. And don’t forget to celebrate each small milestone:)You deserve it!
Greg the therapist was here today. He said he’d try to get a longer time with me, as Medicare will probably cut it off in about a week. But he said he’s afraid not to come at all because I tend to move too fast for my body. So maybe a more extended care type of thing is necessary. He says he works with one that only uses Medicare. So we’ll see.
Celebrate each and every achievement, no matter the size, and know that more are on the horizon and we’re all here cheering you on!
Stay safe & well.
I know you are, and I thank you!
Brenda, I am so happy to hear that you are having progress. Sleeping through the night, in comfort, is indeed a BIG step in the right direction.
I know what you mean, by not taking anything like walking, running, or being able to see, even with glasses, the blue sky, the green grass, your flowers, the faces of your children and grand children, and the ability to be able to hear speech and laughter. I know a few friends, that this is no longer the case for them.
I had my yearly physical today, and turning 83 this Friday, I am more than thank full for perfect health. It is something I have never taken for granted, as I see so many of my peers with cancer, other ills, and of course a few close friends have died.
God has been good to me, and my husband of 59 years. Everyday should be, and is really a day to celebrate Life.
Brenda, I believe You’ve got this, and soon pain will be long behind you. Hold on, many good days ahead for you. Hugs from WI
And I too believe that you have to be grateful for each day.
Taking baby steps Brenda and u will succeed in walking again! I’m sooo happy for u with your progress! Yay!
Just walking a few steps is a bonus!
Brenda, any and all progress is worth celebrating! Congratulations! I’m so happy for you.
I’m learning that just a tiny bit is still a tiny bit. In other words, more.
So happy to hear that things are on the move for you Brenda. Yes it is very difficult for us to hold back once we realize we are feeling better or have less pain to want to strive out and do more, I hope you can restrain yourself for a little longer and that eventually you will be able to walk again without the boot etc. It must have felt very good to not have to wear it in bed!
Oh, not having that heavy hot boot on to sleep is wonderful!
I can somewhat understand what you’re going through. My husband, who’s in overall poor health, fell on ice in April 2021 and broke his ankle. 100% non-weight bearing at least three different times after that accident, each for an extended period of time, and six surgeries. It has been hell on him, hell on me, and hell on our marriage. Your post today is encouraging, and I hope it’s the start of better times for you! As a side note, does sometime at least start your car when you aren’t able to drive it for an extended period of time?
Next door neighbor starts it occasionally.
It’s progress that you can build on, a little bit at a time, with the help of your physical therapist. We’re all rooting for you and yes, hoping that you will stay as patient as possible. You had 10 years of your body learning certain habits to try and compensate for the pain and weakness in your ankle. It will take some time for your body to “unlearn” those things and it does take us in our 60s and 70s longer to heal than in our 20s, even if we still feel like we’re 20 in our heart of hearts.
That’s what the physical therapist told me too.
I am so happy for you Brenda to be able to get around, even if it is just small steps holding on to things. That is a huge accomplishment! I can imagine that was such a relief to take the boot off while you slept!
Oh my. I luxuriated in not having that clunky boot on while sleeping.
I am so glad you are able to feel some freedom! I think you are smart to do baby steps,so you don’t lose what will be the future,walking outside,driving your car! I am so happy for your progress!
Thanks. I’m afraid to walk in really open spaces like the living room. Walking around in more confined spaces like the kitchen and bathroom means I’m not far from the scooter if I wear out.