Notes from a small basement

Thanks to those of you who continue to visit despite my sporadic posting. I'm doing much better now. Thanks for your prayers and encouragement.

I still have a cough; I tend to get one every year around this time. I' managing it with Triaminc, which tastes awful, but is effective.

The essential oils I've been using on my Achilles tendon has worked marvelously. I've changed now to a clove oil, which is still an anti-inflammatory, but it smells much better than what I was using.

Because my leg is not in as much pain, I can do more extensive therapy. Today I marched in place on a trampoline and then balanced on my broken foot for one minute at a time. I also did some other balancing exercises and stair stepping. I had to use a small bench because my feet don't fit on their steps. So while I'm thrilled to not be in pain, my leg muscles are exhausted.

I have my next doctor's appointment on April 5th (which is my brother's birthday). If all is well, my doctor will release me to return to work. Woo-hoo! I am so frickin' lonely. I can't wait to be able to socialize more.

This weekend Christine will present a paper on the Victorian ideal of womanhood at an NIU literary conference that I will attend with her. I'm looking forward to it.

I'm still alive (barely)

Sorry I've been incommunicado for a while. I've had a cold since last Thursday, and while I am able to walk, therapy has been incredibly painful this past week. That tends to stem the flow of creative juices.

Christine had a cold last week, and I could tell I was fighting it off. Last Thursday it finally got me. While Christine tends to get colds in her head and sinuses, I tend to get them in my chest/lungs. I've been coughing for ten days straight now. Tea and Vaporub help some, and I'm popping DayQuil pills like candy. They're pretty effective, but I can tell the exact moment when it's been four hours since I took them.

My achilles tendon on my left leg is inflamed and very painful. My therapist said it could be because I don't have my full range of motion back yet, so the tendon snaps back before it extends all the way, which irritates it. At therapy on Thursday, they hooked me up to four pads that gave a small electrical current that was meant to loosen up the tissue. When it wasn't any better on Friday, they took a different pad, put cortizone on it, and stuck it to my tendon. Then they put another pad on top of my foot at the ankle line. Finally, they took what looked like (and pretty much was) a car battery charger and hooked that up to the pads. This was much, much more than the slight tingling sensation of the previous day. Four fifteen minutes, tiny jumper cables sent electricity into my foot, which drove the cortizone into the deep tissue. Today I've been icing it, and I'm wearing Ted Hose (basically panty-hose on one leg). I guess it's helping.

I'm going to hobble up the stairs for more tea. Later.

I Can Walk!

Isn't it greeeeeaaaaaat?
That I perambulate!
Isn't it graaaaaaaaand?
That I can even stand!

I don't crawl!
I don't creep!
I don't even trip or balk
When I want to go get something
I stand right up and walk
Walk Walk Walk
Waaaaaaaaalk!

I can walk!

If you haven't seen the animated Charlotte's Web, that may just seem weird. But all of you who celebrate when Wilbur discovers he can talk, sing with me!

I had a doctor's appointment today. Everything looked great, and he told me I can start to wean myself off the boot. For me, that meant ripping it off, throwing it across the room, and putting on normal shoes.

My first couple of steps felt so weird. It was like walking when your foot's asleep. But I was walking!

Woo hoo!