I've now had three physical therapy sessions, have continued my home stretching and massage and have been working the outside area at the zoo rather than constantly on concrete for two weeks. The difference in my pain level is indescribable. I'm in shock. When I get home from work I no longer have to strategize how to accomplish everything I need to do before bed in as few steps as possible. I no longer need to wear crocs in the shower. I nearly had a panic attack the other morning when I forgot to take my pain pill before work because last time I forgot I was in agony the entire day. This time I didn't even notice. I haven't taken another pill since.
My feet are still really stiff when I get up after sitting or sleeping and there is still some pain, but it's not ruling my entire life. When I press on the areas of my feet and calf that a few weeks ago would have had me jumping to the ceiling, it now feels like pressing on an old bruise- it hurts a little, but no big deal.
The physical therapy sessions are long and painful, but I think they are helping a lot. I've had two different therapists describe my left foot as "crunchy". That makes me gag. They do painful massage of my calves and then massage my super-ticklish feet while I laugh and shake. My calves are covered in small bruises, but I sure can feel the difference in tightness. After hearing my story about moving from concrete to multiple substrates, the PT said switching was probably the best thing I could have done because working on unstable surfaces breaks up scar tissue and strengthens your feet. One of my major homework exercises is balancing on one foot while standing on a couch cushion because of the instability. Okay, enough about my boring feet, but I'm really, REALLY excited to see this much improvement in such a short time! Hooray!
Otherwise, things are pretty normal. The kids just finished a week of state achievement tests. Logan took them for the first time and was taken in by the created drama from the teachers. He was incredibly nervous about "not doing well enough" and then last Sunday tried to go to bed at 7:30pm to get plenty of sleep. I told him he should try his hardest and that would be good enough. I told him to try not to stress over the tests because they don't matter much to him personally, the teachers are worked up because the overall scores affect how much money the school gets. He actually understood that concept and was disgusted at how worried he had been. He also was disgusted that he couldn't fall asleep at 7:30 and then realized he could go to bed and wake up at his normal times and be fine. If nothing else, I suppose the stupid achievement tests are a good life lesson to always question authority- it is often wrong. In the case of achievement tests and No Child Left Behind, there is nothing right.
Logan has his first football game (indoor flag football at the Y gym) today. He's really excited and hopes his team wins at least one game this year. Last year's team was 0-6. He made several touchdowns last year, but this year he completely understands the game and I imagine he'll do well. This year he's playing for the Eagles. Cool.
Gene built a really nice money collection box for my zoo keeper group's "Vote For Your Favorite Animal" fundraiser. Starting in April, look for the box in the main zoo hallway and after you ooh and ahh over the box itself, drop a few coins (or bucks) into one of the collection tubes and vote for your favorite animal. All money collected will go to conservation. Thanks, Gene!
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