Cross-Post Problems, X-rays and Shoes

I'm not trusting Dreamwidth to cross-post correctly, it hasn't worked properly for most of the past week. So, Since I cut and paste from my personal blog to repost anyway, I guess I'll be doing it twice to get Dreamwidth and Live Journal posted properly. A pain, but a minor one all things considered.

This was my view as I sat on my patio yesterday. The umbrella in the
upper right corner kept me out of the sun, the trees were all singing
in the breeze, and the sun was shining. It was a perfect day and I
never get tired of the view. 

DH and I had a relaxing Sunday - the kind of day I often with for but rarely get. With dinner in the crock pot for most of the day, we sat outside on the patio, enjoying a beautiful summer day with just enough wind to make the trees surrounding us sing and talk together.

My x-ray from Friday's doctor appointment showed excellent
healing in all of the various breaks. The ones he had been most
worried about, the ankle and the fibula, were both healing
strongly, and the metatarsal breaks and one bone I pretty much
powdered, were also filling in nicely. I'm relieved! 

I've been wearing the small ankle support instead of the large walking boot for most of the past 48 hours now. I'm quite happy with the shorter and lighter look, and I'm getting quite used to walking on a level surface once again. When I had that walking cast on, it raised my injured foot above the ground by more than an inch, so I was off-angled all the time. It took a few hours to get used to being on level ground once again, as well as not having the larger ankle support, but I'm quite happy with the new stage in my healing now.

I ended up ordering two pairs of Keds from Zappos. This pair has
already shipped, the other will be shipped today. I chose the
pairs I did because of the elastic at the uppers. If necessary,
I'll clip the elastic or remove it to allow a better fit while I'm
still healing. If I absolutely hate them, I'll just send them
back (before alterations, of course) at no charge. 

My new shoes are on their way and I should have at least one of the two pairs by the end of the week. That's a good thing because I'm totally breaking the back end of my current shoes - they're just a bit too tight and I can't comfortably get my injured foot totally into the shoes. I do have one more pair I could try - my hand-made Renaissance Faire shoes from Beaver Tracks Shoes. I've had these for years but they're in fabulous condition and Bob makes amazing and sturdy shoes that he guarantees for life. I've never regretted buying those shoes. I might try to see how comfortable they are with my new brace. If they don't work right now, they will in another week or two when the swelling has decreased some more.

The Keds Double Decker was the second shoe I chose. The elastic
is in a different location on these, and it may be better (or not). Hard
to say, but I think both pairs will have a good shot at fitting well, and
my current shoes from Target have just about hit the
dust, they're so old. 

Since I had a weekend of non-event, I have a blog that's moving slowly like the Mississippi through the reed marshes below St Paul. I hope all of you have a wonderful Monday and I'll be back tomorrow.

The Doctor, The Verdict and The Shoes

So, the Doctor visit. He says I'm doing great! I'm quite happy. I had yet another set of x-rays, this time standing for all of them with my foot bent this way and that. It didn't hurt, and I was able to bear the weight, so I was pumped. After the doc took a look and talked with me, I'm moving up - instructions are:

* crutches can be put away. Done with them!
* I can start wearing an ankle brace (Ace bandage style or a Neoprene style waterproof one for swimming) beginning 15 minutes every hour or so, and moving time up from there.
* I have another appointment for yet another series of x-rays in mid-July.

The Ace Ankle Stabilizer brace is working well. I
wear my orthotic between my foot and the bottom of
the brace. I ordered something similar to this in
neoprene yesterday. It's made for the pool, and the
pool opens on the 22nd. I plan to be swimming
again within 10 days. 

The swelling, although down, isn't totally reduced yet, and that's making things a bit more difficult for me. I talked about getting a set of lace-up boots, which the Dr thought was a great idea, but with my left foot still swollen, it's hard to get a proper fit. I might order some Dr Martens through Zappos and see if I get lucky. I've had my eyes on a pair. Otherwise, I'm going to have to find a shoe that features elastic on the top so I can accommodate the swelling along with a sock and the ankle brace.

Doing a quick search at Zappos, a set of Keds like these
might do well for me. It has that extra elastic on
the sides that will allow for my swollen foot and extra
socks. I might give it a try. 

All things told, though, these are minor problems and I'm well on the way to recovery. So ... I'm pretty darned happy. Doc said I could take off the walking cast when I sleep, so last night was my first try. I ended up working a weird set-up with my orthotic, my Ace ankle brace and the compression bandage and tube sock from the walking cast. But that combo finally held things snugly so that I could walk and lie down without twinges of pain. I guess I'll be using the compression bandage and tube sock for a while longer - not a problem, but it makes standard shoes impossible.

I'm not quite up to dancing the tango yet (or ever,
truth be told), but I'm much better than six weeks
ago, so life is good! LOL

I'll figure things out. My shoes won't be a fashion statement, but if I'm comfortable wearing them and if they last for the summer, I'll be happy. I'm certainly NOT complaining right now. I'm not dancing, but I could ... maybe ... if I needed to - LOL. Have an excellent weekend and I'll be back Monday morning.

To The Doctor I Go

I'm running a quick post today, on a tight schedule to get to the shop, then to the doctor, and then back to work. It's ridiculous to feel rushed at 5:45 am, but that's my life.

I love my local Perkins and would hate to see it close. I know it had
a hard time during the shut-down, even though they were still
doing take-out. I have no idea who on the staff has returned, but
some of my favorite servers have worked for the company for
more than 25 years. 

On the COVID front, restaurants are now allowed to reopen with interior seating and no more than 50% capacity. My usual breakfast spot is open again, but they are no longer 24 hours, rather the hours are 6:00 am until 10:00 pm. I'll probably drop by there tomorrow, or no later than next week, to see who has returned from their old staff. I've missed them and I haven't had coffee since Stay-at-Home went into effect. It would be nice to have a pot of coffee instead of several cups of tea for a change. But I've been enjoying my breakfasts at home too, and it saves me some serious money, so I'll have to work out a compromise.

St Louis ribs are quite different than baby back ribs. They should
be slow cooked over indirect heat, but rolling them into the
crock pot at low for eight hours works great too (in a time
crunch? Cook on high for four hours instead),. 

DH has decided he wants the other rack of the St Louis Ribs for dinner on Sunday, so I pulled them out of the freezer yesterday to defrost. I'll get them into the crockpot either late Saturday night or very early Sunday morning. They were pretty good when I made them that way - meat falling off the bone, and it's an easy cook, so I'm looking forward to them.

I broke five bones in my foot and ankle, but it was the ankle
that was concerning everyone the most. A break there could
end up crippling me, and I wasn't in favor of that at all! We'll see
how well I've been healing today. 

So, I'm looking forward to what the doctor tells me about when I can ditch the walking boot. I would love to get rid of it for sleeping - just wrap up in an ace bandage instead. I was also thinking that some lace-up boots would be a good idea - ankle support and all that - but they're really expensive and I'm thinking the Ace Ankle Stabilizer I purchased several weeks ago might do the job just as well without the $150-$300 expense of a good pair of boots.

I bought an ACE Ankle Stabilizer several weeks
ago. I'll ask my doctor about using it. I hope it
will take the place of a lace-up boot. I should
probably find a waterproof one also for the
pool. 

So that's it for today. I'll let you know what the doctor said in tomorrow's post. Have an excellent Friday and, as always, stay safe. I'll be back tomorrow.

A Short Catch-up Blog Today

Just a short blog today because even though it's only 6:45 am, I'm already running behind. I put the trash and recycling buckets out early this morning, I already showered and put one load into the washer, I caught up on emails and did my dailies on Lord of the Rings Online, but I should already have my blog posted, and here I am, writing it. 

The St Louis Ribs turned out great. Eight hours in the
crock pot on low, then into the oven at 300 F for ten
minutes, with BBQ sauce, then another 10 and more
sauce. Perfection! 

The crock pot ribs were absolutely wonderful. DH loved them! That's a good thing because I have one more rack in the freezer. Maybe next week, certainly by the end of the month. 

I'm still wearing my Darth Vader boot, and
suspect I'll still be using it for a couple more
weeks, although not maybe ALL of the time.
It's worked out really well for me. 

My leg is feeling really good, although I'm not trusting myself to do much maneuvering without the walking cast on. I see the Podiatrist again on Friday morning, and he wants another set of x-rays before giving me a feel for how well things are healing. But I haven't used my crutches in a week, except to get in and out of the shower when my cast is off. I'm pleased. 

I want to get back into the pool when the gym reopens. I really
miss the water more than anything else. But with a 60 minute
limit, it's not leaving a lot of time for a workout if I shower
before and after and get dressed properly. Where can I cut
time corners? 

The gym opens again in 12 days. My major problem is that it's opening an hour later than the previous schedule. That's really going to cramp my time, and, additionally, they are requiring no more than 60 minutes inside for each member. That's also going to be hard. I haven't decided my approach yet, but I'd sure love to be back in the water again. 

Every once in a while, a "catching up" blog is OK. I'll try
to think of something more interesting to say tomorrow - LOL. 

So, that's my catch-up blog for today. It's my "day off" which means I have a million errands and tasks to try and get completed by the end of the day. Good thing I have new bluetooth earbuds for my Sirius. At least I can listen to good music while housecleaning and grocery shopping. 

Have a truly excellent day, stay safe, and be kind. I'll be back tomorrow. 

A Catch-up Post - Just Because I Haven't For A While

It's probably time for an ankle update, since I'm actually doing pretty well, four weeks along. I'm spending too much time ignoring my crutches. I know I'm supposed to use them, but Dr Jorgensen said as long as I don't get any spiking pains, it's all good. I ache a bit at night after being on my feet a lot, but it's just a small ache, no shooting pains, so I think I'm doing things correctly. Maybe. In any case, most of the swelling is down, and the bruising is gone. Things look much better. 

I'm wearing my walking boot 24/7 (except for
showers, of course) and it's working out really
well for me. I'm very grateful that I'm not in
a plaster or fiberglass cast which would be
SO much more uncomfortable. 

I still have two weeks to go until I see Dr Jorgensen again. I'm only without crutches (sometimes) when I have the walking boot on. When the boot is off - showers and such - I am ALWAYS on my crutches. No weight bearing on a bare foot yet, and no intentions of being quite that stupid. 

Although I love using the knee scooter I purchased, I
guess I really didn't need it as much as I thought I might.
It's a fun thing, and it works pretty well at the shop, but
in reality, I'm doing just fine without it. 

The scooter turned into something that's sometimes nice to have at the store, but basically wasn't worth getting because I'm healing too quickly to make it necessary. I use it to perch my leg up on at the shop, and that's actually rather great, but I rarely use it for the intended use. I'm glad I didn't spend a lot of $ on it. It wasn't dirt cheap, but it could have been much worse. 

I have an old terracotta strawberry pot
that's quite similar to this. We planted it
a few weeks ago and the plants are doing
well. Some beastie is eating my fresh
strawberries, though! 

I went into my patio and garden area yesterday afternoon to harvest several strawberries I had noticed on Tuesday. They were missing! Each one of them! If it was a bunny, it ate very carefully because neither DH nor I could figure out exactly which stems had been robbed. But I was very bummed. I had been looking forward to a few fresh strawberries. I think DH might put wire fencing around my strawberry pot during the day today. 

Congress votes electronically at their seats by inserting a
card and pressing a button. The vote is then recorded. 

He's been fighting with the PPP Loan Repayment paperwork for three days now, and it's a bit of a nightmare. I think we're close, but I also know there are some amendments that might be voted in by Congress today, so we're settling back to see what happens there. I also sent an email to my loan officer late yesterday asking a few questions. Once the answers come through, we'll have a better idea on a couple of question areas. 

So, that's about it for a catch-up. I hope all of you have a wonderful Thursday and I'm planning on being back here tomorrow. 

Stay at Home - The Final Day

Yesterday was crazy busy so I had no time to post. DH was busy trying to build portable shielding for the shop that Chickie and I can easily transport to any counter where we're working with customers. I was busy with mail orders and book work. Today he's continuing the build effort and later we'll head over to the shop to wash the floor and apply the "Stand Here" decals I purchased. I only got 10 because I wasn't sure if he would approve, but he liked them so I have another 10 coming Tuesday via FedEx. 

Chicken Pad Thai extra spicy is our usual go-to at
Lisu's, along with pork fried egg rolls with extra
fish sauce. So good! 

We were so exhausted by day's end we ordered Thai takeout from our favorite local Thai restaurant. Pad Thai and eggrolls - lots of calories but so, so good. It's hard to believe I open again to the public a little over 24 hours from now. It's been a very eventful stay-at-home for me, and I know I have customers anxious to get their bead and color fix. It's going to be great to see customers again - I've missed most of them. 

It'll also be nice to be on a schedule once again. The gyms aren't allowed to open yet, but since my foot is wrecked, that's OK. I'll enjoy having my Wednesdays to myself again. It's not always easy living in each other's back pockets when you're used to operating only on intersecting orbits. 

An Exaltation of Larks is the first book in a
trilogy which also has two side story books
that mash into her universe. It's stunning
characters, intriguing plot lines, lots of
Spanish - enough to keep it interesting but
not to get the reader lost - and wonderful
writing. Highly recommended. 

I have a book recommendation for all of you. "An Exaltation of Larks" by Suanne Laqueur is a beautifully crafted multi-family book that pulls things apart and manages to put them back together again, stronger and more interesting than before. It's the first of a trilogy, and I've been pulling my way through them for the past five days (I read fast). I'm almost finished with the fifth in the series now, and loved every one of them, but the first three are the core. Each can be read as a stand-alone, but they mesh so beautifully. Give yourself a treat and try the first one. 

On that note, I'm out of here. I have a floor to wash at the shop and time is ticking. I'll be back tomorrow. 

Stay-at-Home - Day 47 - A New Set of Wheels

I started the day out by seeing the ankle specialist who showed me my CAT scan and corroborated four breaks with a potential fifth, but he also said that everything looked really stable and that I was doing really well. I'm allowed to put weight on the foot now, but ordered to remain in the walking cast for the full six weeks, and perhaps two more. I guess I can't have everything, but at least I am allowed to put weight on if it doesn't hurt - no stabbing pains allowed. 

I now have two mobility options - the conventional crutches
on the left and the knee scooter in the middle. I'm delighted
that I'm doing better and that I have some choices now. 

After the doctor (who wants to see me again in four weeks for a third round of x-rays and another in-patient visit), we headed over to the shop. I had several mail orders to fill and pack and some other inquiries to pin down (do I have the item, or not, and how long I'll hold it aside for the customer). I even walked down the very evil stairs I have at the shop because that's where the bathroom is located, so it's really impossible to not go down stairs sometimes. 

After several hours, we zipped over to the bank and then, finally back home, pulling into the driveway just as a UPS truck was delivering something two doors down from us. I was expecting my knee scooter today, so we just unpacked our stuff from the truck while the truck moved up to our house and a box was carried up. 

I'm really happy with my scooter. DH took it out for a quick
test run and was surprised at how fast it is. It's not massively
sturdy, but quite sufficient for my needs at a great price.
I'm relieved I'll have it to use at the shop. 

DH was kind enough to start right in on assembling my knee scooter while I did the shipping labels for the mail orders in the computer room. By the time I was finished getting the labels printed and onto the boxes and envelopes, he had the scooter almost ready to go. We adjusted the height of the knee pad and handlebars a bit, to fit me better, and I took it for a bit of a test. It's fast, really quick. Has a large turn radius. but no real problems. By lowering the handlebar, it fits fine into Minion, so I'll be able to take it to and from, if needed. I think I need some flames for the scooter, and I'll have to figure out a name. It'll be a blessing at the shop, because even if I can walk with more ease, I'm still crutch dependent there if I'm not using the scooter. 

So, all in all, it was a good Thursday. We're planning on relaxing tomorrow, the last really warm and nice day before we have to return to work next week. We'll head back to the shop on Saturday to do the week end report and finalize our steps in making us open once again. The door is cracking open and the sunshine is starting to paint the floor boards. Quarantine is ending. As always, Stay Safe, and Be Well. 

Stay-at-Home - Day 42 - CAT Scratch

Yesterday's CT scan was a breeze, in and out within 30 minutes and no claustrophobia or needles. Made my day. Of course, the subsequent followup by my Podiatrist wasn't so great, so what started out as a good day ended up with me in a depressed curl. 

I'm a bit down right now, and the fact that we're cold and rainy outside
today isn't helping. I need blue skies, sunshine and some warm temps
to make up for my darned broken ankle. 

Basically, instead of breakage on two bones - 5th metatarsal and bottom of the fibula, I've actually managed to break five bones. I've also broken a bone in my third metatarsal and have two breaks through my interior ankle. I'm under strict orders to have NO weight bearing on my injured leg for at least six weeks and he actually offered me the option of getting a plaster or fiberglass hard cast if I felt it would be a better alternate for me. But since I'm doing better with the walking cast with my orthotic inserted, I'm going to try and stick with the removable cast. 

I want to be clean, this is NOT my x-ray. My x-ray would
have a break on the right side too. Dr Szopa said he was
quite amazed by how hard I had hit and the damage I had
managed to do to myself. I reminded him that I had fallen
onto a poured concrete floor. But yeah, I did it really well. 

The thing that frightened me was his talk of possible shifting of one of the breaks in the ankle, which would require surgery and pins to stabilize if it happened. That crushed my normal optimism into the depths of black despair for a while. He also mentioned that a knee walker scooter might be helpful but that they were expensive and I probably should also check secondary sellers (I actually ended up ordering a new one from Target for slightly over $100, so not bad). He said I may need to use it for up to eight weeks. 

I'm getting one of these from Target (I hadn't been aware that Target
carried medical equipment, but they do). The slightly more than
$100 I'm paying for this with free delivery beats the $188+ per month
that renting a similar one would cost me through my clinic. The
scooter isn't covered by insurance, so I want to be economical. 

He also requested my permission to pass my records over to his partner, Dr Jorgensen, who specializes in ankles within their department. I gave permission, and shortly thereafter received a phone call to schedule an appointment with Dr Jorgensen for Thursday next week. 

My main concern is work. If we are allowed to open on the 18th (and DH- thinks we'll still be shut down until closer to the end of the month) I'm not sure I could handle crutches and no weight on my left leg while working with customers. So the scooter is going to be at the shop, although it would also be a great help in the kitchen at home. Still, I think it would fit into either the pickup truck or my Mazda so I might be able to transport it from one location to another with relative ease. 

Either way, the cat scratched me and I'm going to be feeling this for a long time to come. I'm a bit spooked by the doctor's words and I'm working hard to find my internal balance once again. I think I'll wrap this up and I'll be back on Monday. Please have a great weekend, right now I'm living through all of your positives to buoy me up. Stay Safe, Stay Home and Stay Well. 

Stay at Home - Day 41 - A New Adventure

My Podiatrist wants a better look at my ankle. He thinks there may be something going on with the right side, not just the two broken bones on the left side. So, today I go in for a CAT scan - something I've never done before. I've tried to stay away from these because I have claustrophobia, something that's not recommended for such things. But, I want to find out what happened and what damages I truly did to myself. 

I have claustrophobia, so I'm not really looking forward
to my CT scan. But, I really need the doctor to know
what's going on with my foot, and the x-rays just aren't
clear enough. So I'll punch through it - no choice. 

The Doctor also put me into a new, higher boot. He said the shorter boot is used for foot injuries, but when the ankle is involved, the higher boot is recommended. So I wore that yesterday and was in some serious hurt by the end of the day. So ... 

The doctor upgraded my walking cast to the
taller style that goes just below the knee. He
said the smaller one is great for the foot, but
he suspects the ankle may also be involved,
so wanted the taller support. 

In the middle of the night, I realized a fact that might help my leg pain. I wear prescription orthotics in my shoes to help with Planter's Faschiitis. I haven't had my orthotic in the walking boots. I decided to add the appropriate one to my boot and see if that might not help my foot feel a bit better. 

Late yesterday I had two doorbell rings. The first was my co-worker Chickie and ChickieMama dropping off an offering of fancy cupcakes, mini donuts, chocolate and a "Get Well Soon" card for me. So sweet! It was wonderful to see them again - I've really missed them. The second was FedEx, dropping off my Fluidity Barre, all nicely packaged up in a box. 

I checked eBay first, but shipping on these was more than $100
in all cases, so buying a used one for $250 and paying $100
or more in shipping, vs buying a new one where the shipping
was included in the price ... it was a no-brainer. Now, if I hadn't
crushed my foot, I could clean the den and set up a space today. 

The Fluidity Barre was my present to myself with my stimulus check. Most of the money went to paying down debts, but I've been wanting a barre for working out for a long time. I decided on this one for several reasons (1) the factory was selling rebuilts guaranteed as new for under $400 and with free shipping and all of the workout program materials, (2) it doesn't need to be attached to a wall or anything, and it folds up into a compact thickness, so having it in the room with the treadmill is actually going to work., and (3) a good barre workout is basically a solid isometric workout and I'm hoping will help my muscle groups strengthen. Of course, I hadn't planned on breaking my ankle. I'll probably be able to unpack it and set it up in July. *sigh*

On that note, I'm off to get irradiated by yet more x-rays. I'm going to start glowing in the dark before too much longer. Stay Safe, Stay Home and Stay Well. I'll be back tomorrow. 

Stay-at-Home - Day 38 - A New (Old) Ride

Late yesterday I got a call from my auto body shop - Minion was ready first thing in the morning and "Looks like a Million Dollars'. That made me happy. I was perfectly fine driving the rental out on my own, as long as DH pulled it from the garage for me. Getting into the door with crutches and my walking boot would have been challenging. He decided to pull it out, but also to accompany me. So, we were off in the early morning, enjoying beautiful weather that was destined to turn colder and wetter as Cinco de Mayo moved forward. 

Originally we had planned on Margaritas for
Cinco, but with my foot and the cooler weather,
we'll stick to tacos. 

They were absolutely correct - Minion looks like a Million Dollars. She's absolutely perfect and stunning and I'm beyond happy. I handed them my credit card, they charged me $50 for a $2700+ invoice and I was thrilled. They took care of my rental car for me, and later the rental car emailed me my bill from them, a $268 bill which cost me $0. Hurrah for good insurance. Sometimes it can really pay off. Now to keep Minion looking this good for another decade. 

If you live in the Twin Cities area, and need any auto
body work, I highly recommend these guys. Totally
AWESOME! 

After the auto body shop, we headed to the Post Office. I had a bunch of papers to mail to Social Security (they're saying I didn't pay one payment, but I did), and I didn't have an appropriately sized envelope. I also wanted to pick up the held mail for the shop - bills, bills and more bills. *sigh* 

After the Post Office, we headed to the shop. We paid bills, balanced the checkbook (since we finally had some bank statements to work from) and made sure everything was OK. Apparently a large package of paper towels I had placed on the bathroom shelving had fallen, hitting the bucket and mop, and blocking the bathroom door from easy access. DH mounted an extension for the shelf so that we won't have that problem again. 

I don't usually buy more than a 12-pack of paper towels at
a time, but we're going to be cleaning like crazy at the store,
so I suspect our 18 roll package will get used up much
faster than expected. 

Finally, it was time to go to the drive-through mail depository at my local Post Office and we started gathering things, only to be missing my keys. After a half-hour search, DH finally found them in the trash can. They must have fallen down while I was putting the mail down. Crisis averted. 

I'm going to try and take it easy tomorrow, but Thursday morning, I have an appointment with the Podiatrist at my clinic. He'll review my x-rays with me, talk about what I can and can't do, I do have questions for me about how long I'll be stuck with crutches, but the walking cast seems to be working well, so that's one positive. Here's hoping that your crises will be minimal and resolved easily. As always, Stay Safe, Stay Home and Stay Well. I'll be back tomorrow. 

Stay-at-Home Day 37 - News and Late (Again)

I started the day out at Urgent Care, determined to get an x-ray of my foot and possibly a walking cast. DH had me at the doors of Urgent Care at 7:45 am, and I was the fourth person in line, slowly limping my way to the door to be met by a smiling young lady who asked me if I had checked in at the white tent to the East in the parking lot. Exhausted, I shook my head saying, "No, I thought that was for the Clinic only." 

Fortunately, she took pity on me and said, "Well, I think we can go ahead and check you in here. Let's get you into a wheelchair and let you have a sit." Those were the best words I'd heard in several days. I was ready to fall down and worship at her feet. 

All went as she said - I was in a chair, being moved to check-in, then into an exam room for standard blood pressure (slightly above my normal very nice low numbers) and temperature (excellent), and then I met with a Doctor who referred me to the Radiography Lab for a series of x-rays. After more time, I was back in the exam room and my doctor was pulling up the report of the Radiologist and the photos. OOPS! Yeah! Broken bones. 

I broke the very bottom of the fibula and the first joint of
the little toe (fifth metatarsal). They aren't major breaks,
more like shattering on the ends, but it's breaks, not
just a sprain. Blech!! 

Apparently I broke the bottom of my fifth Metatarsal and the bottom of my Fibula, the red spot I had been concerned about turned out to be arthritis, and I have a serious heel spur. The things you can find out about yourself when you're turned inside out! 

I am currently wearing one of these - an Air Trio Shell
Walker Lot Top with Air Bladders on each side for
extra support and cushioning. I'm really hoping my
Podiatrist will tell me how best to wear this and how
best to use this, as well as how long I have to use it. 

I got fitted for a walking cast, instructed on how to properly put it on and take it off, and sent home with the promise that the Podiatrist would follow up with a Clinic appointment (indeed, they called later and I'm heading back to the Clinic to meet with him on Thursday morning). He's the one who will tell me how long I need to wear the cast, and, hopefully, answer my questions about whether or not I'm wearing it properly or using my crutches properly. 

At 4:45 pm today, my car repair place called and Minion has been fixed. I'll be picking her up early tomorrow morning. I'm going to feel better just having my girl back in her home garage. So, things are looking up ... kindof. Have a wonderful (late) Monday and I'll be back tomorrow afternoon after I've picked up my car and done some errands at work. Stay Safe, Stay Home, Stay Well. 

Stay-at-Home - Day 35 - RICE For My Ankle

I didn't post yesterday, and I apologize for that. I was going to post when I finished my work at the shop - I had a lot of mail orders I wanted finalized so that I could print the shipping tags out at home and drop them into the mail later in the day. I also had to go to the bank and pick up some merchandise bags from my supplier. Very blah, but very necessary. 

Life got in the way. 

I was taking the merchandise bags down to the basement to put onto the appropriate shelf, and I messed up. Badly. I completely missed my count and missed the last step of the staircase, landing very badly on my left ankle. I don't think I broke it (well ... maybe a hairline crack, but no greenstick fractures), but I turned it really hard and I still had my work to do. So, after finally catching my breath, I started filling orders because that's what had to get done. 

My left foot is pretty swollen, and probably even a bit worse today, but
at least it's not hurting quite as much this morning. What a mess! 

I finally called DH to come over and help me (the help was negligible, but necessary), and we got the orders finished, invoiced and packed. I got home and he handed me my old set of crutches, and I finished the labels and got everything ready to send. I'll go with him to the Post Office today, and I'll have him actually go into the building and mail the boxes. 

I, on the other hand, have realized that I move a lot faster and with more stability when I'm actually crawling, so I'm channeling my inner nine-month-old and crawling as much as possible instead of using the crutches. One way or another, I'm housebound for quite a while. I guess I'm grateful to COVID-19 after all, since our stay-at-home was extended until May 18th. If I had to go in to work on Monday, it wouldn't be a pleasant thing. 

I can't believe I did that. I've caught myself on that stairway
in the past, but since I had a hand-full of bags, I couldn't reach
out to grab the hand rail. My bad! 

So, I'm once again a klutz. And I hurt, and I'm none to happy about my situation. Still, I'm going to try my best to RICE - Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevate. I'll have DH bring my laptop to the middle level of the house and set it up there to keep my foot elevated. And I'm OK - just hurting, and that will heal. But, what a mess! I'll be back on Monday, hopefully with less swelling and less pain. In the meanwhile, Stay Safe, Stay Home and Stay Well.