Therapy Update

It feels that all I have been doing lately on the blog is talking about my Achilles and to be honest, sometimes I wish there were more exciting things to talk about. But, this is a huge part of what is going on in our lives at the moment, so I feel it's only appropriate to write about it.

I had my first "official" PT session today. I say "official" because I actually met with a physio (that's what Aussies call Physical Therapists) today. When I first got the cast off, I met with one for a few minutes and was given some exercises to do, was given the boot, told to take my shoe to the orthodic guy and have them insert a rise into the sole and then was told to come back in a couple weeks with the shoe and having done the exercises. So...a couple weeks have gone by and I was back.

I have been to PT before and so I pretty much knew what to expect. I crutched into the PT room and sat down on a table. Was told to take off my boot, and socks so that they could measure me to see what degree I was at with my ankle. When the PT measured me she got a strange look on her face, I asked if something was wrong, she just simply smiled and said, "Nope, you're at 90 degrees." I asked if that was good or bad, because I couldn't tell by her facial expression and she said that it was actually great, and was a bit surprised that I was that far along. I guess you have to be at 90 degrees to be full weight baring. But since I am only 3 months into this thing, I can't be full weight baring at least for another 10 weeks. I need to continue to give the tendon time to heal and get stronger.

I next got a nice little massage while she checked the tendon and looked at the scar. She wanted to see if there were any lumps, which there weren't and she commented on how great the scar was looking (Thanks Pam for the Vitamin E creme) but did comment that my scar was a little off center. She said that most of the scars she has seen go right up the back of your leg up the Achilles tendon. Mine however is a little off and to the inside of my leg. I just always have to be different!:)

She next wanted to check my movement, so I showed her my point and flex and my side to side motion (the exercises I have been working on for the past two weeks) She was very impressed, then made the comment that the first few times in therapy are really boring because we just do stretches and go over some new things. It isn't until about 2 months in where the PT starts pushing and pulling and "hurting" you. Great!!! Looking forward to that! hehe

We then put on my modified running shoe. It was the first time in 10 weeks that I had a shoe on my foot, and it was strange but really a good feeling. And then we were up and walking. My gait was a bit funny at first, and I was doing more of a hobble until I got used to my foot in the shoe. Then it was off to the races. I was walking so well that they told me to drop one crutch and only walk with one crutch. I even got so bold to walk without the crutches, which the PT said I could do at home, but not out and about. She said that the last thing that I wanted to do was sprain my ankle or re-rupture the tendon, so I needed to use the crutch at least until I saw the doctor next in July.

As I kept practicing my walking the physio went to find a PT closer to home. When she came back she had appointment set up for me here in Wonthaggi (5 minutes from our house), which was super nice. That means that I don't have to go back to Dandenong (an hour from our house) for therapy any more. So after that she gave me a review of the stretches and exercises I am to be doing at home and sent me on my way.

Dropping one crutch has given me a feeling of independence...which is good, but also bad. I need to be mindful that I am still recovering and not push it too much, like I did when I got home. It's the small and simple steps that will get me back to where I was before this happened. As a friend told me it's like training for a marathon...you can't just go out and run the 26 miles the first day, you have to work up to it. So that is what I am going to try to remember...I have to work up to walking again!

Season One - It's a wrap!

Today is the day that Darran's last episode for "The Surfers Life" season one goes to air! I can't begin to even describe how excited I am for him! I am so proud of his achievement with the show! It has been a lot of blood, sweat and tears (okay maybe not tears, but it sounded dramatic!)...but it has been a whole lot of time and hard work to get this series done, but he did it and it is fantastic! He has gotten great feed back and reviews from the people at the TV station as well as viewers, which is wonderful! It has been such a popular show that the TV station wants him to do another series next season. How cool is that?!?!? Well, I think it is pretty cool! Every time I sit and watch Darran's show it just amazes me how talented he is. He loves what he does and does what he loves and you can tell! This has been my first time "behind the scenes" of a TV show production, and I have nothing but admiration and awe for what goes into making TV shows possible! The other great thing is that there are stations overseas that are interested in buying the rights to the show to show it in their countries...how exciting is that? Anyway, I just wanted everyone to know how proud I am of my great hubby and that I am married to one of the most talented people on the planet and I couldn't be more happy for him! Here's to many more great shows! I love you sweetheart!

Things I love

So today is the day! The day that I got the plaster cast off, the day that starts the next step in this journey of healing, the day that I got to actually shave my right leg for the first time in 8 weeks! Yep, I know, it's a gross thought, but it's true...8 weeks...girls think of what your legs look like just after 7-10 days without shaving...need I say more? Okay moving on to more pleasant thoughts! :) Can you tell I'm excited?!?!?!

We got up early and headed down to the hospital for my appointment. Last time we were there, it took me over 2 hours to be seen, so I came ready with a book and my ipod just in case. We got there a bit early...walked in, took a number and within 20 minutes I was being seen! I even got to be seen by the surgeon who did my surgery. No med student! :) He looked at me, read my chart, told me that I had to be extremely careful the next year because when they went to do surgery on me there was a big hole where my Achilles should have been...we are talking full blown rupture people! He said that I need to give it time to heal correctly or I would be back in seeing him again. Anyway, he took me down to the plaster room, where Tanya was waiting (she is the darling plasterer who put on my cast) to take off my cast. She was darling! She was so bubbly and cute and talkative, it was a pleasure seeing her today!

After the cast came off, and the shock of seeing my leg in all it's glory (side note...I didn't want to take a picture of it, as I looked like Sasquatch and who needs to see that??!?!?!?). We waited for Dr. Chatter to come check out the wound and see about my movement...but he never came, and either did the PT who was supposed to come up and fit me for my boot, give me my PT exercises and set me up for PT appointments...but since they were both MIA, Tanya took me to find them. Dr. Chatter was with a patient and we hurried and had him check out the wound, which he says is doing really well and looks really nice and will fade over time. And then he checked my motion and said that it looked good. So off to PT I went, I got fitted for my boot, met with the PT. Set up appointments and then was given exercises I am supposed to do until my next PT appointment. And hopefully at that appointment I will be moved from the boot to my own pair of tennis shoes or runners as they call them here, with a 3 cm wedge built in the sole of my shoe, that will be then moved down to 1 cm over time.

So now I am home, and you better believe that the first thing I did was race to the bathtub to take care of my flaky, pealing leg and give my leg the proper attention that it has been missing out on the past 8 weeks. As I was taking care of my leg I couldn't help but think of my pedicure buddies...boy how I need one badly, and boy how I wish I was there with you all right now to get one. However, I think poor Kim Lee would about faint at the work that would need to go into getting my foot back to pedicure form! We would have had a lot of laughs as she worked on this poor foot of mine...and I am sure that she would have had a very long talk to her side kick in Chinese about how gross my foot was. So I guess it was a good thing that I took care of if the best I could! But believe me...when I'm home next...I am going to get a pedicure!!! So that leads me to the things I love....
These are all the things that I used today to get my leg and foot "back in shape". Coconut and Lime Verbena Body Butter from Bath and Body works, Mary Kay's shaving gel, The Body shops Peppermint foot crystals (I knew there was a good reason I was saving this!), my Body Shop foot scrubber...and least I forget...2 yes count them 2 disposable razors! All very important and very much loved and appreciated today!
And the other thing that I love...my new boot...you've all seen them, my brother swept my sister in law off her feet while wearing 2 of these after he had surgery on his feet. They are not the most stylish, but...it is better and lighter than a plaster cast. Inside this beauty is a 4 cm rise, to keep my tendon from stretching too much. It makes me feel like I am wearing heals...a strange feeling when I look down and see this massive moon boot! The other great thing is that I get to be weight baring...and start to walk on this, while using the crutches. In a couple of weeks when I go back for PT they are going to see if I can drop the crutches all together or move to just one of those arm crutches. It will be interesting to see how this all works, but baby after being in a cast for 8 weeks, it's nice to know that I can take this boot off, shower and sleep without it! It a positive step on my road to recovery, that's for sure! Here's to a continued speedy recovery!

My mom is the greatest!

Where does one begin to describe the greatness and grandeur of one's mother? I have been wrestling with these thoughts ever since I started posting all the fun adventures I had with my mom when she was here last month. And now that it's Mother's Day, I guess it's the perfect time to tell you all about my wonderful mom.

My mom is one of my best friends. She is always there for me and any of her kids however far away we may be. She will not hesitate to drop everything and come running, including taking a long flight over the ocean while being scared of being stuck between two smelly people on the plane to get here. She will do anything and has done just about everything for her children, grandchildren, husband, extended family members and friends. She is a great listener, a true confidant. She will laugh with you, cry with you, hurt with you and celebrate with you. She is an amazing woman.

She is a survivor. Her life experiences, and personal battles with breast cancer have been an inspiration to all who know her, and those of you who may not. She has tremendous faith. She kept commenting about my faith and attitude about my injury, surgery, and recovery while she was here, and was amazed by it. Which made me laugh as she wondered where my faith and positive attitude came from. When I tried to explain to her that it was from her example, she just simply giggled. "How could it be from me?" Well, hello, one of the many wonderful memories I have of my mom is while she battled breast cancer the first time. She always had a positive attitude. She was always looking for the positive and keeping positive. She instilled in me the value of being positive, even on the darkest days. And now today, that example still rings true in every aspect of her life.

Her family is the most important thing in her life. She has done a fantastic job rearing three kids and teaching and training them into the people we have become. It is because of those values and morals she taught us that we are half the people we are today. And boy raising us wasn't always easy. Her children have never doubted how much love she has for each of us...even though my brother will give her a hard time about my sister and me being her favorites. He knows that he is her favorite son. The love, patience and support she has shown over the years raising us, being a coaches wife (among everything else) is something that we all appreciate so very much.

She makes the world a far better place for being in it! This entry doesn't do my mom justice...but I did want to let her know just how much I love and appreciate everything she does for me. And hope that one day when I become a mom I am half the mom that she has been to me! Mom, happy mother's day!!! I love you!!!

Can't Wait!!!

So for as long as I can remember Indiana Jones has been one of my favorite movies of all times! And Last year when I heard that they were making another Indiana Jones movie, I could hardly wait to see it. Well, that wait is getting shorter by the minute. As I just read on the offical site...there are only like 14 days left until it comes to theatres around the globe! And don't worry, Darran and I will be in attendance! How can you not just love this music! And Harrison is not ugly at any age! :)

David turns 4

So you have all heard about David...my cute nephew who lives in Washington and always wants me to take pictures of things to show him in Australia. Well, he turns 4 today, and so I wanted to put together a little slide show for him. David is one of the funniest, smartest and sweetest 4 year olds I know. (I'm not just saying that because I am his Aunt - it really is true). He loves books, collects match box cars, loves big words, is a great helper around the house, loves the color green, can't wait to come to Australia to visit Jen Jen and Mr. Wiggle, he loves church and going to primary, loves going to the park and being with his family and he loves Tim Tams from Australia. Davey, thanks for making our world a better place by being in it! Happy Birthday to you! We love you!!!

My Secret Life.....

Okay, well Jen is always at me to add stuff to the blog, but really it's her domain. All of you would know how shy, quiet and introverted I am!!!!!!!!!

But lately I have had a secret job...well not really secret.....but it has been a fun one none the less. This new gig I have (among others), I 'present' job advertisements on Video, kind of like a news reader who reads job ads. It pays well for the little time I actually spend doing them. They really love what I do which excites me almost as much as Jen doing her "noodie midnight mating dance"!! And it's a for a company in New Zealand so hopefully there'll be a little travel over to there in the near future for us as well.

I do feel guilty that I have not been able to take Jen on my jet boating trips to NSW and QLD, as some of the places I have been to recently I would have liked to have shown her, from the touristy high rises of the Gold Coast, right down to a 150 year old town in the middle of the Outback called Temora!

Anyway, the company I do these video jobs for also entered themselves into the NZ "humour in Business Awards" and asked me to create a video about the lady that organises them. Her name is Pat Armistead and runs a consultant company called "Joyology" and actually refers to herself as a "Joyologist". So this video required me to dress up as a woman. I did draw the line however, at wearing bras and other icky stuff! Although I must admit I kind of enjoyed putting the lippy on!

Anyway, I tried to upload my creative creation, complete with very bad NZ accent and all but it wouldn't allow it.....so if you'd like to see it please click on the link below to take you to You Tube.
So yes children!! This is what daddy does for a living, he's a drag queen!!!!!!...........
Perhaps we won't show my Bishop this video!!!!!

Enjoy..............

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3aVpfzBncQ

If this link doesn't work then go to You Tube and search for Joyology The Musical!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOOTSIE ROLL!

Today is my nieces birthday. Emily or Tootsie Roll (which I call her) turns 7 today. So what better way to let her know how much we love her than to post all these fun pictures of her on our blog? :) Tootsie Roll is a crack up! She loves a good laugh and to have a good time! She is the animal, bug, snake, spider lover in our family. It started at a young age...picking up ants in Paga and Maga's front yard when she was around 2...and it hasn't stopped! She currently is into horses and love taking riding lessons and taking good care of all the farm animals at her Uncle John's house. She loves to fish with her dad, and already has some pretty great fishing stories. We have had some great fishing trips up at the cabin in her "lucky fishing pants". She is a joy to be around and I sure wish we could be there with her to help her celebrate her special day. I hope she knows just how much I love and miss her! Happy Birthday Tootsie Roll! I love you a bushel and a peck and a HUG around the neck!