Walking and more walking ....

All continues to move in the right direction with therapy. My physical therapist has been excited that we can actually exercise and do much more w/rehab now. He thinks we need to do a commercial endorsement for the New Balance shoes. I thought we were working hard on pt before, but I now realize how little was possible. We've met 3x/week for over two hours each session .... have done a lot with strengthening, toe-off and increasing range of motion. I've been able to walk 2-3 miles on the treadmill on off days, did aquatic exercise this week & still doing the other exercises at home. The single limb standing is slowly getting easier .... we need to work on walking faster this coming week. I consciously think about the toe-off motion probably more than I should, but we're going to work on increasing the pace. We took measurements of the foot range of motion at therapy on Friday, and three out of four motions had increased 12-15 degrees in two weeks (in the past it has been 2-4 degrees in three months). We were thrilled that all the exercise is working! I feel like I have toted around more bags of clothing, shoes, socks, and itch cream this entire week …. all part of the process, but it is a wonder that I have the right stuff at the right place.

This will be the most “non-useful” information that you hear all week, but I walked a total of 16 miles or 33,805 steps this week! I wear a little device on my waist that measures my steps, so we can see if I am walking enough. As I am writing this on Sunday afternoon, I have walked almost three miles today.

As for pain, I'm still able to get by w/ two pain pills (one morning and one at night) & some days have done one. Finding shoes that work on both feet seems to be challenging, but thankfully it is still pretty warm in St. Louis & we can do summer shoes for easily for another six weeks. They may never be the same size, but I'll get around that somehow.

We temporarily stopped the anti-inflammatory medicine .... I had some skin/allergic reaction thing that surfaced again this week & our family doctor thought it was from that medicine - not sure if that is the case because I'd been taking it fine for several months. The swelling in the foot is better and although it is a size bigger, I don't think it looks like it. I thought we had the skin deal and itching curbed, but not quite yet … another two weeks of medicine.

I return to the St. Louis orthopod on Wednesday afternoon of this week to have him look at the hardware spot that is nearer the skin surface than we’d like. He put this hardware in, so I’m just seeking his advice at this point. It can be removed …. I want the pain on this spot to go away, although I am hesitant to let them remove it (minor procedure). This surgeon has not seen the foot since late July, so I am sure he will be happy at the positioning.

The Cubs play the Cards on Monday and then next weekend, so I told my Chicago orthopod that the Cubs need to rest up this weekend. She wrote this week and commented that she feels the miracle continues to unfold, as it slowly becomes apparent what the foot is capable of doing. I will return to see her sometime toward the end of October.

Blessings for a magnificent week ahead .... Go Cards!
je