Two Steps Back

 During the weekend my ankle was getting sore again so I figured I was pushing too hard too soon with trying to get back into the treadmill swing of things. By Monday it was in serious pain, which quickly developed into excruciating as the day went on. I was able to drive and get mom and baby sis to the hospital for surgery by 7:38am (oops, since when do we do things earlier than expected?!) but I already knew I did not have the stamina or threshold for pain to wander around anywhere. So I went home to rest for a bit -- it was too early to get my other errands done.  Actually...let's see if my doctor could fit me in for a checkup. 3:30pm? Perfect.

While I sat on the chaise willing the ankle to stop throbbing I decided to order a case for my iPad. Looking back I should have made it a curbside pickup. When I went to Best Buy to pick up the order I decided to go in and look for a new phone case...there were none of interest. This also meant I had to walk the loop to the back to pick up my online purchase and then all the way back to my car. Each step just got worse and worse.

I thought I'd finally give Beirut Street Food a try for lunch...I took maybe 15 steps but it was enough to make me curse the wasted effort since they were closed for Easter Monday. Drove over to the property management office to drop some mail and I just did not have it in me to try walking in anywhere else to grab a lunch. So drive-thru DQ it is.

As I pulled up at my good old DQ mom called. They were ready to be discharged but she knew about my appointment (it was now almost 2:30) so they were allowed to wait in recovery until I was able to get them. It was probably for the best. They had packed prepared to spend the night but their early dismissal was a great sign but also one filled with worry about how they would manage back at home.

My doctor looked at my healing finger and then my foot. He sent me for an xray -- normally the xray would be an easy walk from the doctor's office but who are we kidding? In the state I was in driving was the only way I would get there. And then I was off to get my family,. Scooped them up pretty easy peasy, grabbed some Tim Hortons for them on the way home, and then back at my house to (finally) whip on mom's aircast. Thank goodness I had not given it back yet.

But Tuesday showed me that I had no idea what excruciating feels like. My foot did not want to be in the aircast, it did not want to be out of the aircast, it did not want to be elevated on a pillow, it did not want to be on the floor...it did not want to be ANYWHERE. Every move I made to try and get comfortable failed and had me wincing and ready to cry. Eventually Butch called it and said we needed to go to bed...something I was dreading because I could not figure out how that was going to work for me. I took some Tylenol, forced myself to sleep with the aircast on and had my leg propped up on a pillow. I had to sit up several times adjusting the setup because my toes started killing me, we had strapped the aircast on too tight. But I managed to fall asleep and barely moved.

Yesterday was looking up. I wasn't in absolute discomfort. Actually, yesterday was a blessing because almost all the pain was gone. But I did not want to risk anything so I still kept the aircast on when possible, and again in bed. But my toes this morning still felt sore. I realized that when I lie down my leg wants to slip out of the cast throughout the night and my toes (and poor ingrowns) keep pushing against the top of the cast no matter how I try to position myself as I sleep.

How could my ankle get worse so fast and then "heal" back just as quickly? Butch and I wonder if maybe I had something akin to a gout attack and instead of my usual toe it struck in a joint that was already in a compromised state. I sure hope that I can get it back to full strength so that never happens again! Gout in the toe is one thing but gout in the ankle pretty much incapacitated me!

So I think tonight I feel confident enough to sleep without the aircast but I will still wear it during the day as a precaution. Luckily I have the day off. I'm going to call my doctor, because I still have not heard the results of the xray, and Daisy and her little girl are going to pop by for a porch visit. Daisy is on Spring break right now and on Monday I had thought of seeing if they wanted to do an outdoor gathering but with my ankle I was not able to drive anywhere (although things have turned around so quickly I wonder if I could?) It will be so nice to see them.