Getting Back to Movement

I am now 12 weeks post op and thought I would take a little time to share about my progress. While I dreaded being “stuck home” for the summer, as I transitioned to movement I think perhaps the sitting at home for 9 weeks was the easy part. I started physical therapy on September 2nd and WOW–it’s amazing how quickly the muscles in a body can atrophy! Since my first PT session 3 weeks ago I have been sore ALL OVER.

I checked in with my Doctor after the 8-week mark and x-rays verified that the bone bridging (fusing) had begun. He released me to begin physical therapy and to graduate from using a walker and knee scooter to using a CAM walker boot and crutches (featured image at the top shows these together on a recent trip to Chios for a special event with friends). I literally walked into his office with a walker, and left in the CAM walker boot and with crutches. It was a bit overwhelming, to be honest. I was surprised, and relieved, to experience no pain when I stood on my foot (in the boot).

My doctor was able to connect me with a physical therapist that lived near me and was willing to come to my apartment for our sessions. Merve has been wonderful. We sometimes have to use Google translate to communicate, but she uses the English she has and I get to use the Turkish I have. Our sessions together run about an hour and cost 2,500 TL (just over 50 USD) per session. We completed 6 sessions and afterwards I had a routine written out to follow twice a day. I did that program until this past week when I “graduated” out of the boot.

I took a taxi this past Wednesday from my apartment building to Dr. Burak’s office in Alsancak so that I could return to him the Walker he had loaned me. He inspected the ankle and told me I was done with the boot. He recommended I purchase what are known as “rocker bottom” shoes and schedule another few sessions with Merve to help me adapt to my new gait and this style of shoe. Rocker bottom shoes, by design, help provide some of the range of motion that I have lost because of the fused joint.

I walked out of his office in my regular Skecher shoes, walked to the Tram Station, and rode to the end at Istinye Park Mall. I purchased two pairs of Skechers with a rocker bottom. I immediately felt the difference–moving from a traditional skecher sneaker to the rocker bottom. I purchased two pairs–the two models they had available in my size.

Now it is the weekend and I went hunting for a HOKA Bondi 9 in my size. Sadly the store here did not have my size in a Bondi 9, but I did purchase a Clifton 10 in my size (39 in Turkiye) and was able to go online and purchase a pair of Bondi 9’s to be delivered to me. And also a rocker bottom house shoe as well. 😊

What can I tell you after four days of wearing shoes on both feet and moving around?

That this is going to take some time!! I will see Merve this week for her to assist me in learning to walk with my “new ankle.” In these few days I have soreness in my hips and behind my left knee (left ankle is the one that had surgery). According to my conversations with Gemini, this is very normal as I adjust to walking post-CAM walker boot and bearing full weight, and moving with all parts of both of my legs.

According to Gemini these first 1-2 weeks (post boot) include a heavy adjustment with a lot of soreness and the feeling of a mechanical gait. I cannot move quickly–and it feels stiff, for sure. Gemini tells me that 3-6 weeks post-boot will offer a noticeable shift–that my muscle fatigue will lessen, that my stamina and balance will improve. I should be able to expand my walking distance and wean past any limp. Weeks 7-12 post-boot is the final stage and moves me to functional independence with my gait becoming second nature and the surrounding joints adapting fully. I will then be able to return to normal daily activities to include light exercise and longer walks.

I have to remind myself that this is a process–and that I have to continue to take each stage as it comes. I had 3 months to get to this point and it looks like I have another 3 months to go before I will understand fully what my “new normal” is going to be. That said, I know that the swelling in my ankle can continue for up 9-12 months post-op. Elevating my leg helps as does applying ice at the end of the day when I get home.

I think I can say that I have been living out my “year to be DELIBERATE” with many deliberate actions. It was the right word for the year–even though I did not plan to have my ankle fusion this year (had hoped to delay to 2027). My word of the year often ends up showing up for me in both predictable AND unexpected ways.

I would like to take a moment to reflect on HOW I spent the nine weeks in my apartment post surgery. I did my best to live out my word–to BE Deliberate with my time and energy, despite my lack of mobility.

What did I do with my time? I read. I wrote. I watched Netflix/Disney/HBO Max. I communicated with many friends and family members. I spent quality time with Ziggy and Jinx. I appreciated friends and neighbors who visited to chat as well as to assist me with tasks that I could not complete myself.

I have to say that it has been a number of years since I spent HOURS reading. What a joy it was to rediscover this very much enjoyable pastime. If you are keeping up with the news these days you have have heard about an article in the Atlantic this past July entitled “The End of Reading is Here” by Rose Horowitch. If you haven’t read it, I do recommend it. It discusses many developments in recent years, one of which being our shortened attention spans and inability to read anything long form. I confess I had fallen prey to these myself. While I do not have Tik Tok, I probably waste up to 30 minutes a day on Instagram or Facebook. In the grand scheme of things, and compared to others, that is not so much time, but during my rehabilitation period I found myself on one afternoon opening up a book at 3 PM and not putting it down until I finished it at 8 PM. Wow–what a delight that was! Reading has become, once again, something I want to do, something I experience intrinsic joy in doing. I am happy to cross if off my SHOULD LIST since I now do it with ease and joy.

I took a Memoir I writing class through Gotham Writer’s Workshop. This was my first experience with them and I can say it was good. Not as rigorous as I had hoped (compared with my previous experiences with Creative Nonfiction Classes). I was disappointed by the lack of engagement from about half of my classmates (16 ppl in the course). But I liked the weekly lectures and homework assignments and enjoyed the opportunity to have two longer pieces “workshopped” by the students and instructor. I did also rediscover the joy of writing my stories and have since enrolled in a second class that will carry me through this fall (Essay & Opinion Writing I).

I also participated in a few online events offered by the International Association of Journal Writing, an organization that I joined just before the summer started. I had been subscribing to their newsletter for a while and decided to give membership a go to see if I liked it. And I have. I don’t know if I will always be a member, but for now it’s enjoyable.

Lastly, I participated in a Round Table discussion organized by AllSides.com. I have been teaching students to use AllSides as a tool to assist in recognizing media bias. But this was my first time to participate in an event. The topic of our discussion was the “American Dream.” You logged in at your assigned time and were put into a breakout room with up to six other people and over the course of 90 minutes we worked our way through a series of guided discussion prompts. It was enlightening and engaging. I am waiting to read the post roundtable report that AllSides will publish in partnership with Newsweek.

Now I am back to work for the new school year. I had a delayed start, but have since worked my way up to full days at school. It feels good to be back on campus. I always love the feel of a school campus at the start of a new academic year.

This past week I did a presentation for our Grade 11 IB students about conducting research in the Age of AI and specifically demonstrated for them how they could utilize Gemini Notebook for their Extended Essay work. This coming week I will teach four double-lessons with grade 12 students. Yes, it’s good to be getting my “teacher legs and voice” back. The legs part is different this year and will continue to require effort and care for some more months–but that’s okay. I am up for the challenge.

I thank you for following along with me as I journey this life change. I’ll leave with this picture which captured my first night out at the Pub with friends after 9 weeks spent homebound.