Best News In a Long 10 Months

On Wednesday I had my 6 week follow-up appointment with the Specialist.  Within the first few minutes of the appointment I was all smiles.  

All indications point to the Injury (Achilles Tendon) about healed..  I was told they were moving me over to Physical Therapist immediately.  At the Orthopedic Specialty Hospital I was at, they have a PT who is specializes in Achilles Tendon injury healing, she is one of the best in the state and has many written medical papers on the process.   I decided to take this as an excellent sign, things are finally headed my way for the better!!  

I met her and we set up our first PT session for next week.  She also gave me the great news that I can begin the slow transition of getting out of the boot.

Wed. & Thurs. I got to take the boot off for 2-3 hours each day.
Fri. & Sat. - Boot off for 4-5 hours each day.
Sun. & Mon. - 6-7 hours off
Tues. & Wed. - 8-9 hours off - 1 hour of PT
Thurs. & Fri. - 10-12 hours off
Next Sat. - I get to take the boot off for good as long as I can tolerate it.  In other words November 2nd is going to be a GREAT night of sleeping without the darn boot!

!!! YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY !!!

If you can't tell I am pretty excited about this.

The best part is the Dr. told me that I healed faster then most people do. I laughed because I was like 10 months is fast???  But then told him I was glad, and that I wore that boot 23 hours and 45 minutes every single day for the past 6 weeks as he asked.  
He told me, he could tell because I would never have healed so much if I had done as most do, and took it off at night when they slept (against the Dr. orders). 
So I decided I deserved a Gold Star on my forehead:)  All the torture and sleepless nights, were worth it.

Additionally, I asked about the swelling (my ankle is swollen double in size and has been for 6 weeks straight, as well as very tingly toes because of the swelling.)  He said it was nothing to be concerned about, some people swell up when in the boot.  It will go away in the coming weeks:)


From the words of Jane Austen in one of my favorites, Emma: “If things are going untowardly one month, they are sure to mend the next.” 


Last, here is the best news.  He said I WILL be able to RUN again, and soon.  But it is going to take patience on my part (something I will have to force myself to have:)  
I start PT next week, and will begin incorporating walking back into my life.  Once I have the walking part down, and as long as I have no pain I will get to gradually add running.
The hard part is, he said I will have to walk for a while, run for a few seconds and then back off and walk to insure I don't inflame the newly healed injury.
But I figure after 10 months off, I can do slow!  Because it will be progress and like they say "slow and steady wins the race."  (Well maybe not a marathon:)  But definitely slow will win the recovery battle.

Pretty cool huh:)
I came home that day and seriously all my negativity that has been hanging around me for the past months (even though I've tried to hide it and push it away) it really left this time!  It was like a huge weight was lifted and I feel free, happy and excited again!
I don't even care that I have a good month or longer of PT as I gradually work into it, because before the end of the year I will be running again!  I've already got my mind dreaming about where Marathon #40 might be next spring:)  But I think I'll wait till I can run and train before actually pick a race:)

So that is my news, I am thrilled to share:)  
I even lost 8 pounds over the past 2 weeks as I have been trying to eat better.  I dropped it pretty quick, so I doubt the next few pounds will be anywhere near as easy.  But hey, its a start!
I'm going to sign up for another DietBet, I had great success doing those back in Jan. & Feb. this year.

“Tough times don’t last but tough people do.” 

~A.C. Green

Well for those of you running races this weekend, I wish you the BEST of luck!!!  I have a cousin and a few good friends running MCM this Sunday so I will be cheering them on from afar.
Share with me your great news, accomplishments or upcoming races.