Das Boot

Yeah, I know it means The Boat . . . not the cast . . . but frankly it feels about as big as a damn u-boat!

Sure, I laugh about it with friends and colleagues, but to tell the truth, it's driving me crazy. It's big and clumsy and is throwing my alignment completely out of whack. I wear a shoe that's as close as possible to the same size heel on my other foot, but of course it's not perfect and by the end of each day my back is sore and I'm exhausted. True, I am on my feet nearly the entire day, but it never use to make me feel like this.

Every day somebody asks me how much longer and the real answer is I just don't know, but I usually say, "Hopefully by October." The good news is, by tomorrow I may just have a definitive answer for them.

Tomorrow, I go in for a follow up x-ray and consultation with the orthopedist. They are going to take an x-ray to see if it's healing (apparently, calcification from healing shows up on x-rays unlike the fracture itself) and I get to chat with Dr. W. I am hoping for the best and that I WILL be completely free of this boat, I mean boot, by October.

As healing goes, I appreciate I have it pretty easy. I don't have to use crutches, I can take the cast off at night and sleep well, I haven't needed any pins or screws put into my leg, and as it's my left leg I can still drive. So I am deeply grateful for all that I can still do.

On the other hand, it's funny what we take for granted as healthy people. Right now, my entire leg and foot is immobilized. I lead warm-ups for my classes and I can't rotate my left ankle. Stairs are HARD WORK. Today, I nearly fell over just trying to demonstrate something in class as I can't balance very well. And I have a limited number of choices in my wardrobe that I can wear with this thing on my leg.

So I must remind myself daily of all that is good about Das Boot. And be grateful it isn't permanent. Cause as of today, I have "unofficially" chosen Alaska as my next race!