Therapy - Day one

I went to therapy for my ankle/foot yesterday. I went to the same place I always go, but requested the last guy I had while my regular therapist was off getting married. He knows his stuff a lot better and stays focused on what he is doing instead of chatting it up with other people in the room instead of paying attention to the person who is paying $350 an hour to be there.

My therapist's name is Brad, and he is a young guy, looks way too young to have a wife and three kids, but he says he is in his mid-thirties. He looks about 25, very thin and doesn't look strong enough either to be a therapist. Anyway, like I said, he knows his stuff and had attended one of the best orthopeadic schools in the country. After taking some measurements, Brad says that my ligaments and tendons are all very tight, and especially where they connected one tendon to another tendon. That's going to take some work.

And as for stepping on the foot, all I can do is to do these weight-bearing exercise several times a day where I stand with the crutches and just sway back and forth from one foot to the other. He says it's going to take a long time to be able to walk with no pain, so much just be patient, keep doing my exercises and just plodding along. As for the other things, I will be getting massage treatments, stimulation and ultrasound to try to get the pain to settle down, and also to help the feeling come back to the outer side of the top of my foot. It's a mess, but with diligence and patience all should be functioning well in a few weeks. My problem is that I want to walk NOW dammit!

Jon and I went out to our favorite restaurant last night for dinner after therapy. Burrito Loco and I got a veggie baby burrito that has potatoes, rice, beans, cheese and guacamole in it. And they call it a baby burrito and it's HUGE. Their regular-sized burritos are the size of footballs, I kid you not. And one regular burrito could feed a family of four, easily. But Jon can eat one by himself, but he is a big man. Not fat (except for his gut), but BIG. 6'4" and strong as an ox. He can lift the front of my son's Mitsubishi by himself, carry in whole sheets of drywall without help, etc. Yep, despite his arthritis problems and aches and pains, he is a very strong man.

He is still over-protective of me...more than usual anymore and now that I am able to do more and more by myself he can let up a little bit but he is reluctant...paranoid about me. Though he is tired, I think he likes taking care of me. He's always been my "Rottweiler" (only way I can think of to describe it) and is quite protective and wants to be near me all the time...which is sweet, too. He is especially protective of me hurting my back right now. He helps me go up and down the stairs by practically lifting me at each stair and I told him he is going to end up hurting himself, and he says not to worry about him...but I do.

When we got home Jeff was cooking his stinky garlic stuff that him and Whitney love...(and if you two are reading this no offense), but I cannot appreciate the smell from that. I need Pepcid just breathing the air. Soon their kitchen will be done and they can cook in their own area and probably will still get a whiff of it up here, but not strong like now. They are VERY healthy eaters and have so much self-control. They eat a lot of greens, tofu, beans, rice and grains. They have a smoothie nearly every morning before work (and I hear the blender every morning at 4:30 and then 6 -- yawn!) But I'm glad they take care of themselves. If they continue to take care of their health, and keep exercising they will not look like Jon and I when they are in their 50s and hopefully won't have the problems we have had, either.

Jeff and Whitney plan on running the Chicago half-marathon in June. I think Jason may join them for that one. All three of our kids are quite athletic. Jason lifts weights, and he runs. Jeff and Whitney swim and bicycle and run. Mary runs when her foot isn't bothering her...she also goes to the gym whenever she can. I've lost a lot of weight since a couple years ago...nearly 70 pounds now and am not needing to lose any more, just have to build muscle now as I look like a flabby grandma with all this loose skin. I hate the flappy arms. Those of you who visit here who are female and over 40 probably know what the flappy arms are unless you work out with weights regularly. But hopefully I can firm all that up as time goes by and who knows, maybe by the time I get my first grandkid I will be a fit and trim granny. Right now though I will be happy just to be able to lift them to my lap.

Well, off now to have my coffee and oranges for a late breakfast and maybe sit on the deck to enjoy the sunshine before the rains move in.