56 days post op

Today is day 56 since my surgery.  I’ve gone from walking into a surgery center and reading a book prior to surgery, to hobbling out high on Percocet (which didn’t do much for my pain).  Since then I’ve progressed from getting around on crutches with a splint, which turned into a hard cast, which is now finally a boot.

The boot is a huge step forward, as my doctor gave me the go ahead for 50% weight bearing, and gave me the OK to ride a stationary bike while wearing the boot.  That prompted me to swipe a platform pedal off of Mary’s mountain bike.  Since than I’ve been doing an easy spin 5 times a week, 30 minutes each.

This Wednesday marks two weeks in the boot, with at least one more to go.  Prior to surgery my “goal” was to be able to return to full activity 10 weeks after surgery, although somehow in the initial weeks of recovery that turned into full activity after the hard cast came off.  Funny how our expectations shift as we get impatient…

I think the prospects of full activity at 10 weeks is currently 40/60 against – while the fracture is healing, its frustratingly slow and I’m really paranoid of it not healing as that could have terrible consequences that extend beyond just this triathlon season.

For the time being I’m content with my easy spinning, and I remain hopeful that next week things will look good enough that I can begin a transition to full activity – as it will be a long path.  My right calf is tiny, flabby, and soft; it’s pathetic.

Another interesting thing I’ve noticed about my time off is that my attitude about returning to activity has shifted from one of “I need to get back into activity ASAP to minimize my fitness loss” to something more along the lines of “I miss swimming/biking/running; I just want to be able to do it again.”  I don’t really care about the fitness, I just want to swim/run/ride my bike.  And the thought of additional complications of my fracture, and what that could mean for my athletic future (from a doing it/enjoyment perspective, not a competitive perspective) really terrifies me.

I hope that 6 weeks, 6 months, 6 years after I am able to return to full activity, I am able to maintain this shift in perspective because I really think I will enjoy athletics more, and ultimately be more sucessful with the shift in focus.