I haven’t been able to walk since Saturday.
And by walk I mean, but my weight on my left foot.
By weight on my left foot I mean, put my whole left foot on the floor without a lot of effort and/or sweating and/or swearing and/or pain shooting up my calf.
I kinda look like this:
Glamorous, no?
The bad news is that I sprained my calf doing something healthy (step aerobics).
The good news is that it could have been SO. MUCH. WORSE.
Apparently the popping noise and excruciating pain I felt at the time I sprained my calf muscle is pretty much exactly what you feel when you tear your muscle away from the bone.
See what I mean about the GOOD NEWS?
I sprained the muscle, not TORE it from the bone.
Gasp!
Just thinking about it makes me cringe.
My recovery requires a whole lot of rest, ice, compression and elevation (RICE). I’ll be taking it slow and easy on crutches for the next week to 10 days.
Once I lay the crutches to rest, I’ll be s-l-o-w-l-y returning to regular activity (MINUS step aerobics).
Other good news?
I am both old enough to require a mammogram and young enough to require a whooping-cough shot.
How would you do if you were suddenly sidelined from your regularly scheduled life?
{click on image for source}
Teacher Goes Back to School 
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ahhh…it all makes sense now. i’ve been behind on my blog reading! hope you’re getting around a little better and on the mend! i know all about being on crutches! seems like i was on them all summer long! get well, my new friend! :)
@mischelle: thank you! i am feel much better. a little sore sometimes, but darn near back to new.
Wow, seems like sidelining injuries are going around these days…Since breaking my pinky finger (doing an over-ambitious acrobatic dance move with a friend) a little over a week ago, I’m amazed at how much it’s affected my “regularly scheduled life.” No full-out dance class or yoga for at least six to eight weeks… whoa. I’ve been doing a modified running regimen, but I still feel more limited than usual. *Everything* takes longer/is more laborious and clumsy with only one good hand (i.e. typing, packing, cleaning, cooking). But exactly like you say – it could have been *so* much worse. And everything, ultimately, is perfectly timed & choreographed to send me the messages I need. I was actually supposed to move apartments this past weekend, but enough signs were pointing to it being the wrong time & place that I decided to stay put (and rearrange all my furniture to make my old place feel like new :). This is my first break and felt really symbolic – humbling and grounding. In particular, having to ask for help has been such a good & challenging lesson.
I’m trying to appreciate being “slowed down”…definitely not my preference, but what you wrote here really resonates with me. I’m sorry about your injury, but grateful for the insights it’s brought, and your willingness to share them!
xoxo
@keleigh: sometimes messages come in painful packages. slowing down is hard, but ultimately i think it’ll be good for us in the long run.
i’m glad you didn’t move – i like knowing you’re in the neighborhood.
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As you know, I’ve had some experience with being sidelined from regularly scheduled life (love that phrase!) recently, although it was all for a good cause, of course. It is ALL about perspective. Yes, it can be so much worse, and yes, it happens to everyone. My mom’s friend was recently playing softball and hyperextended his neck– ICU, 3 days paralyzed, now months of physical therapy. Yikes. But even that could be worse…
Hope your leg is better soon. :-)
Been there. Done that recently. Yeah Ovarian Cancer??? Pulled Hip Flexor. It’s tough. Sending you love and hugs. It will all come out for the better. Sometimes rest is just what you needed and you didn’t even realize it. Hugs.
@kelley: hugs back to you. show off! (cancer scare, pulled groin) all i could manage was this stupid strained muscle. =)
i am appreciating how this injury has slowed down time. suddenly the clock was on strike. in a good way.
hope to see you soon, sista!
Cheers to a speedy recovery, Tami! I’m so glad to know you didn’t tear anything! I’ve had several sprains in my ankles over the years because carpeted stairs and I just have never really gotten along very well. Stairs. Or steps. No matter. I only need one or two of ’em. But never have I experienced pain such as what you must have felt when you sprained your calf muscle… One word: OUCH!
As for being sidelined? Considering today I just started a walking regimen that I HOPE will last more than the remainder of this week, it would be par for the course. Each time I sprained my ankle, I had just started a work-out routine. Then BAM! I pull my Amazing Slip-and-Slide stunt falling INTO the garage (2 different times). It was disappointing, but I took it in stride (ha ha. just punning). No, I took it as a sign that working out + me = not gonna happen.
So, I will be extraspecialcareful when entering my garage this week, for it is where we keep the cats’ food, water and potty.
The thought of being laid up at home, on the couch, watching Pushing Daisies or Lie to Me, or reading, doing cross stitch, picture projects, etc., sounds like heaven. Absolute heaven. But then there’s everything else: Doing the daycare shuffle, groceries, preparing dinner, bathing child, putting child to bed, and so on.
Right now would be THE most inopportune time to be laid up. Husband is working 11+ hours/day so I’m IT when it comes to everything else.
So, it would be a major inconvenience. The days would be great. Come 5pm…not so much.
@steph: thanks for the well wishes. recovering every day. i’m taking my time unusual for me. pretty sure it is because the unexpected nature of the injury quite frankly, it scared me. admittedly, it still hurts too. hoping for a full recovery in the next week or so. we’ll see.
your stair story is actually a cautionary tale.
the garage – comic genius. please never fall in front of me. i know i’ll laugh and then i’ll feel terrible.
good news on the walking program. every day is a new day to start over. so don’t get down on yourself if you miss a day or week or month. it’s all about starting over.
admittedly, once i got over the shock of not being able to do anything, i relaxed. we all know how much i love pajama days.
i hope you get some resting, rejuvenating time soon. much LOVE to you.
I just discovered “Pushing Daisies” and I LOVE it! I’m barely into the 1st season, but it is so delightful.
@keleigh: it keeps getting better. *swoon*