Them's the Breaks

Three weeks ago, on Saturday, 2/21, I broke my foot!

I was exercising at home (the challenge requires 30 mins of exercise per day), doing mountain climbers which involve high knee jumping combined with pumping your arms.  Without realizing it, I was slowly moving backwards as I jumped and as my left foot came down from one jump, my heel hit the front of the couch and my toes hit the floor, twisting my ankle as I fell.  The pain was sharp and instantaneous.  I was writhing on the in pain as Eve looked on.  My cries woke Andrew up and he ran downstairs to help me.  I couldn't move for a few mins, but when I could, he helped me to the couch where I spent the rest of the day with my foot propped up and iced.  It was very painful, but there were no bones sticking out, so I figured I'd just twisted it.  It was swollen, but not ridiculously so.  I sat out Sunday as well, which was a little more difficult.  I couldn't walk on that foot at all, but could get around the house by hopping and up the stairs by crawling.  Halle and Abigail were sick, so I stayed home from church with them and Andrew took Eve to church.  Getting them all baths that morning was quite a feat while Andrew was at meetings.  But we did it!

It's crazy how hard things are when you're down one foot.  I couldn't walk and carry the baby so when it was her nap time, I had to crawl up the stairs with her tucked under one arm (Andrew and Eve were still at church).  It took a long time!  Anyway, that's how I spent Sunday - hopping around when I had to, but mostly sitting with my foot propped up.

By Sunday evening, Andrew and my dad had convinced me that I should go get it looked at.  Just to make sure.  So I made up my mind to go in Monday morning to have it checked.  I obviously couldn't go to work with it like this!  Especially since I take the train and have to walk for 3 blocks to my building!  But that night is when the ice storm hit.  So Monday morning, the city was covered in ice.  We called our doctor to see if they were open, but got no answer.  Their message didn't say they were closed, so I decided to chance it.  Andrew stayed with the girls while I drove myself to the doctor on roads of ice.  When I got there, I found a hand written note taped to their door that they were closed due to weather.  Ah!  So back home I went.  There was no way I was going to the ER for something like this, so I just had to wait until they were open.  

I did a lot of hopping again on Monday.  At one point, without paying attention, I'd hopped down through our sunken living room and when I got all the way across the room to the step up to the family room, I stopped.  I was trying to decide if I should chance a one foot hop up the step and risk falling when Eve, who was watching me, in a very serious voice suggested, "you could crawl".  Haha, that's what I ended up doing....

I tried again to go in to the doctor first thing Tuesday morning to find ANOTHER note taped to the door that due to the weather, they wouldn't be opening until 10am.  Try updating your phone message, people!  So back home to wait until 10am when I finally got in and because of the swelling and bruising, got x-rays.  It turns out that I'd sprained the top of my foot, just where the foot meets the ankle and broken my foot on the outside side.  It was a minor fracture, where a piece of bone had actually broken off and was just sitting there, I guess?  

Anyway, they sent me across the street to see an ortho who put me in a walking boot for a month.  

Overall, I was glad!  I was going to be pretty upset if I went in and paid all that money just to find out that nothing was wrong.  But I also wasn't interested in a major problem that required a real cast or surgery.  I hit the sweet spot!  I feel like I got my money's worth, without it being anything too serious.

It's been quite an adventure since then, but overall, it's finally healing!  People make fun of me at work, but it's always a good way to get sympathy too.  Especially if my boss asks me to do something I don't want to.  I just put on a sad face and absently rub my leg and they cave!  I'll have to remember this trick and keep the boot on hand for future use....

Anyway, it's been three weeks now.  The hardest part has been continuing the challenge with a broken foot.  All I want to do it sit on the couch and be pampered with sweets!  Instead, I've had to find more creative ways to get my 30 mins of exercise in every day - lots of abs and arms!  Today I start at-home rubber band exercises they've given me to strengthen my ankle/foot and in one week I can start to phase the boot out.  Hopefully it's fully healed soon!

Serves me right for exercising!  ;)