After the 10K Classic race, I finally went to see the podiatrist for my ankle pain.  He discovered I had a whole bunch of problems with my left foot.  So, February 22nd, I had surgery to correct everything.  I had plantar fasciitis, heel spur, pain in my great toe, bunion, bone chip, arthritis, and a weak ankle. 

I was in three different casts, for about 6 weeks total.  I couldn't bear any weight on my foot at all.  I fell numerous times.  The guys would spill water or ice cubes, and leave it, then I'd come along with my crutches and down I'd fall.  It was just terrible.  Then, just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, it does.  Firstly, Ringo threw up all over my foot that had the surgery on.  Then, I pulled a rib muscle.  i was prescribed a knee walker, but they never got back with me about it, and I ended up having to wear knee pads and walk around the house on my knees.

With only a week to go before I got my last cast off, I could finally tenativly walk with my crutches, and of course, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, I fell, because of water on the kitchen floor.  Friday was the worst, my ankle hurt so bad again, and now my low back where I broke it last year began to hurt again too.

When they took off my cast, you could tell that I had bled, a lot, because of the falls.  They were very jolting, even though I didn't land on my foot, but rather my knee.  I just fell like a "slam!" to the ground.

It's been 3 weeks wearing the walking boot.  I have to say, putting weight on the bottom of my foot, was amazingly painful!  I don't know how babies do it.  I was so unused to feeling weight on my foot.  And I still hadn't gotten the feeling back totally in my foot either.  Sometimes, it would feel a bit like when you had your foot asleep, and now the blood was rushing back into it, that tingly needles feeling, but instead of relief, I'd then feel like my foot was on fire, like I had it on a burner on the stove, tears would fill my eyes, as I just waited for that to go away, and once it did, then I'd have a little more sensation back into my foot.

Several times during this time frame since surgery, I'd ask myself "Why!  Why did I do this to myself!?"  But I guess surgery is sort of like having a baby, there is really no "good" time for it, and it hurts like crazy, you swear you'll NEVER do it again, but soon the bad memories fade away, and you think back "It wasn't so bad."

I've got a couple of more weeks with the walking boot, and I can basically walk without crutches, but my foot hurts after awhile if I walk without crutches, sit a while, then get up, that's when my foot will hurt.  So, I use the crutches to keep a bit of my weight off my foot, but little by little each day, I try to apply a bit more weight to my foot.  I also go stocking footed with crutches.  Just to get used to the feel of the ground on my foot.  It feels really weird.  That's why I wear sox, cuz bare foot, cold on my foot feels like I"m walking on ice.

I've worked out a couple of days a week, either with weights or my stability ball.  I've been doing that since my last cast, well, before I pulled a rib muscle.  Then, got back into it again after I got the boot on.  Today, I actually went for a walk, outside.  I went about 400 meters round trip.  It was exhilarating, but tiring.  And I loved it!

I would really love it if I could walk 2 miles in say like 2 weeks.  Probably a dream.  But seriously, I have begun my training, such as it is for right now.  I want to be ready for the U.S. 10K Classic.   SOS 5K by Scan Foundation is at the end of the month.  THat's why I want to be able to walk 2 miles in two weeks, cuz then I want to be able to run 3 miles in three weeks, lol.  My sons really want us to all run in that race in May. 

I watched the London Marathon and the Boston Marathon on TV this week.  Oh how I want to run in a marathon.  It was my dream when I was a kid.  I used to watch it, with my mom, the New York and the Boston ones.  And I'd imagine myself in the race.  I'd fall asleep at night dreaming about running in a marathon.  My husband says that if I want to run a marathon, then I should think about ING, because it's in our own backyard, and not have fancy thoughts about flying to London.  But first, I have to be able to walk.