The Next Step

So now I can walk.  I was actually walking on my boot for a week or so before I got permission two weeks ago.  I have been driving for the last week.  My first physical therapy appointment is not until November, but the general advice seems to be try to walk as normal as possible and rest when it hurts or swells.  My foot is pretty strong, but it does get sore with a lot of driving or walking.  Mom helped me find a cane at the thrift store, which I cut down to size and use to ease my foot when it hurts.  I try to move the foot and ankle whenever I sit and increase the flexibility.  I have the walking boot to fall back on when it starts to hurt or if I know its a long day on my feet.
I may also have that weather gauge you always hear about.  It has been achy during the latest storms.
Stairs are a little scary, I imagine I will be nervous on those for a while.  I don't want to lose what I have gained in the upper body, so I am working out some now.  Of course, walking our "huskador", Angel, is also good strength training.
At the same time, I am taking 3 online college courses, Art 102, New Testament (2nd half) and Student Development 100.  The last is a rather general course I have to complete to formally accepted to the BYU General Studies program.  Being a fellow student may help Ellie who is feeling the effects of being in a real school with no 'do overs'.  She is also getting used to P.E. that is also a competitive team.  I thought it would be better to have practice during school and games afterwards, but it takes up a great deal more time than we first realized.  Still, she loves field hockey and isn't sure what she wants to be in for the next trimester.
Steve is supportive of it all and is finding it easier now that I can pick Ellie up from the bus stop.  His day had been rather tight, since is was almost exactly an 8 hour day with drop off and pick up.  He and Ellie have done better on communicating as well on these morning drives.

About the Ankle

It seems like so many things have come out of this broken ankle.

Steve and Ellie have had work out doing a lot of the things I used to but can't or shouldn't. They also have had to be more organized to deal with school transport, the dog, etc. Steve mentioned in his testimony this month that he had prayed to gain more understanding of what I do. Some husbands came up afterwards and thanked him for the warning.

On the other hand, they have had some benefits. Handicapped parking is one that comes to mind. A lot of things in this town become easier when you can use handicapped parking. Handicapped access to theme park rides is another. Of course, they have to have me along, but I think I rode more rides when we went to Hershey Park in August than I have ridden our last three or four theme park visits combined. I also learned that we aren't really cutting in line, as you have to get validated for a time and then come back and you can only get validated on one ride at a time. I also learned that the reason automatic sinks don't work for me is I am standing up! They work great for a wheelchair bound person. Sorry.

I don't know what else Steve or Ellie may be getting out of this, but I had wanted to slow down. Not a problem now.
I wanted to drive less. Can't drive now.
Wasn't sure how I would find time to work on getting my bachelor's degree. Lots of time for that.
I have had to prioritize what I do and don't do and work out how to get there. So I have eliminated a lot of activities I realized weren't that important and I get to spend quality time with Mom and Marie.
Mom and I were having a hard time getting together to exercise walk and now Mom has worked out a way to get exercise everyday and even improved on the quality.
I was worried about getting a total workout, and now I am (except for my right leg, which looks terrible, but that is coming. And now that I have a boot on instead of a cast, I can take it off and flex my foot and ankle.)
Improving my balance. It's amazing what you can do while standing on one leg.
Lose weight. Somehow the calories seem twice as bad when you can't rationalize that you can work them off.

Some things I will try never to complain about again:
Vacuuming
Doing laundry
Going up or down stairs to get something
Sweeping and dusting
Washing windows
Cleaning in general
Driving
Doing anything that I used to do with my right foot
Anything to do with my Primary calling as first councilor (well, maybe still the scouting part)
You get the idea.

So, it would appear this was a blessing for lots of people. Including me.

A Newsy Letter

Everyone,
We are all doing well for the most part. Ellie is starting school Wednesday. We have her in a private school, due to disagreements with the public school system, and so it is a little more complicated as we have to drive her to a bus 20 minutes away. The complication is mostly because I have broken my right ankle and while I have avoided surgery, it has been 2 months in casts and now another 6 weeks in a boot before I start physical therapy. So, no driving for me. Still, the result is I have improved my balance, seriously improved my upper body strength, and my left leg is really strong. Mom says I need to start sculpting in stone again, I definitely have the muscle for it.
I am working on college classes home study and am working on getting an associate degree in art and a bachelors in writing. BYU has a program for the bachelors and I am taking the art at the local community college. I hope to start back on the regular art classes when my ankle is better. One class I really love is printmaking and I am working toward setting up my own shop. The shop at the community college across the street may be the best in the state and I will use it when I can stand again. I even got to do lithographs, printing on stone, which is amazing.
Ellie is nervous and excited about school. She went to field hockey camp last week and made some friends, so that helped. She loves field hockey and her coach said she was like a brick wall, nothing gets by her. She is one of the co-captains of the team--mostly because she is an eighth grader and has played before, but she can be very likable. At home she can be moody, but then she can be great. 13 is a tough age that way. The school has learning support so that will help with the dyslexia and the deafness. (She still has 100% hearing in the right ear, so its only the left she is deaf in. No way to fix, as she is missing the nerve, but unilateral deafness can be quite a problem. )
Steve is enjoying work at ICES. He left SAIC a year ago. He works nearby in Herndon and that makes things easier, especially on transportation. He was recently discovered to have a partially collapsed vertebra in his neck (the discs are fine) and they were considering surgery, but they wanted to run another test and then we will find out this week what they suggest. The initial suggestion involved cutting away the bad part of the vertebra and inserting a cage which would leave him "not stable" for two months--no working, etc. So it kind of has to wait until I can drive again. Right now he is being careful in his activities, head motion, etc. and walking a lot to keep in shape.
All the older kids seem to be fine. I will let them fill you all in on any details. Suffice to say that we like our son and daughters in law and we think all our grandkids are amazingly cute and clever.
Hope all is well with all of you and look forward hearing about any interesting things going on in your lives.
Sheryl