Day 63 - Went to Physical Therapy without my crutch for the first time!

Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013 - Week 17

I woke up feeling great today! I feel my ankle getting stronger! It started to rain today, boo... I went to class without a crutch for the first time! I also didn't wear my brace the entire day! Colleen congratulated me for finishing my last Pool Class I had this past friday! This was my 14th Physical Therapy session and she had prescribed for 20. She mentioned depending how well I do, she may have me join in on the exercise classes. Starting this week, I've also gone down to going to Physical Therapy once a week now! I can't believe how fast this has gone by and how much I have progressed. I am so happy to hear this news =).

Colleen did the usual ankle flexing measurements and so far it's improving and looking well. I told her about how my ankle scar feels tight when I lay a certain way in bed. It's like a tight pinching feeling where the skin on the scar area feels like it's pulling. It's hard to explain really. She does notice the upper half of my scar area on the leg is a bit stiff with less movement on and around the scar area. Then she suggested cupping. I didn't know they had that there. She said that it would help pull and loosen the tightness on the scar area. So I went for it and gave it a try. This was exactly what the cupping material she used looked like. She first put vaseline on top of the scar area near the top of my ankle where it was tight, and suctioned the air and then my skin raised and looked like a red bruise. She then moved the cup up and down the scar. So our individual rooms has an open ceiling which means people can hear our conversations. My sentences during the cupping session was, "ow, ahh. haha, ticklish but not really. Too much!" Haha! This one specific part of my ankle was very tender, clearly the part where it is tight. She did this a few times and it felt uncomfortably good. Colleen said this should help to loosen up the tissue underneath the scar. It was really red after the few cupping sessions. So far it hasn't bruised up.

Afterwards, Colleen had me walk from one end of the room the the next. She wanted to see how my balance was. I still clearly have a limp and can see that I am taking a smaller step with my right injured foot and not fulling stepping off and rolling my ankle. The then tested me on walking a line from toe to heel forward and backwards. I always seem to lean to the right, still unbalanced. Then she had me stand on my right injured foot to see if I can hold my weight. I still am not able to fully do it more then about 6 seconds before I need support. Then we went to the leg press machine and did some heel lifts. I was starting to feel more sore then. I realize my right calf is still not as strong as I need it to be along with the bottom of my right foot. I am still not able to put my entire body weight on it quite comfortably yet. She prescribed me to continue these toe heel balancing exercises at home along with the single foot balancing to build up my strength to hold my body weight.

Here is an image of what my ankle looks like from the top view. As you can see my right calf is still smaller then the left. You can also see my right ankle is bigger because of the metal inside. The darker skin area on my right ankle side is from the dead skin scabs I got from wearing the cast for so long. Colleen said that the skin in that area heals a bit slower so the discoloration may stay forever but will fade in time. I'll see her again in a week!