Twelve weeks broken

Twelve weeks ago, I broke my ankle whilst walking home from the shops. Twelve long, long weeks ago! And twelve is the magic number because that’s the number of weeks I was told it would take to go through the first bits of the healing process. And that means that today is the last day of Phase II: Learning to walk again. It also means that I am allowed to attempt running tomorrow. (Don’t worry, I’ll be careful!)

I had hoped my ankle would be 100% healed and back to normal by this time. But, sadly, I still have a long way to go towards full recovery. (My most likely final ankle post tomorrow will talk about that.) Although, when I stop to think about how much pain I was in when I first injured myself, and how I was unable to put any weight on my ankle at all for the first four weeks, I suppose I have really healed quite a bit. (But I’m impatient and I’m getting less thin because of the lack of running!)

But, as I said, I am healing. Slowly, but definitely healing. You can read the boring bits about that healing below.

Daily living, balancing life and work

The last three weeks were spent without the use of the walking boot, which is a special joy to me as the tapering was meant to last between two and six weeks, and I managed it in three. The biggest reason I was able to do that was that I was house-sitting for a couple of weeks and was working remotely during that time. That meant that I was able to walk, rest, and exercise when my ankle needed it, rather than when it fits with my schedule for travelling to and from the office. I do acknowledge, however, that I might have been better off tapering in a different manner. But the Croatia trip and house-sitting made that a bit of a challenge. But what’s done is done!

However, living without the boot did make my daily living and chores a bit easier. And by now, there isn’t really much I can’t do. Although I do have to pace myself a bit because my ankle gets quite sore the more I do.

I am finding that I still need to find a bit of balance with everything. I need to remember to elevate my leg a bit more often. And I need to remember that my ankle is still weak and can’t handle a full day’s walking around like it used to. I also have to remember that certain shoes are more (or less) painful than others, especially when worn for more than a couple of hours.

But ultimately, I am managing so much better than I was even two and four weeks ago. So things are getting better!

Pain and swelling

I think what surprises me most is that there is still a bit of pain. And not just when I’m moving my ankle, but also when I’m just lounging around. It’s this odd, dull pain and I don’t know if it’s a normal part of the healing or not. But if it doesn’t improve over the next couple of weeks, I will give my doctor a call.

The swelling is still there, and it still increases as the day goes on. But it’s less now than it was before so at least I can see that there is an improvement. (Even if the improvement is slower than what I would want it to be.)

Up next

Today is the end of Phase II, so I guess that the “up next” bit is Phase III. And that means trying to run again! I will attempt that tomorrow morning (just a wee 2-minute jaunt on the treadmill) to see how well my ankle holds up. It might be painful, but I won’t know until I run.

I will be monitoring my progress over the next few months to ensure that things are getting better. But to be honest, after three months of dealing with a broken ankle, I’m really just ready to get back to normal, whatever that means.

To read more about my progress, follow the links below:
I am broken
Two weeks broken
Four weeks broken
Six weeks broken
Broken ankle, Phase II: Learning to walk again
Eight weeks broken
Ten weeks broken
Twelve weeks broken
Broken ankle, Phase III: Getting back to normal