A Few More Steps

From mid-September through early November a big day involved using a walker to take an extra trip from one part of the house to another. That distance was at most a couple of dozen feet. My walking baseline was set firmly at zero.  During this time my right thigh and calf muscles atrophied until they were two full inches smaller in circumference than the left ones.

Today we, Jennifer, Fritzi the dog, and I, went on an actual walk. Our first together since the big break.  Over the course of three-quarters of an hour, we walked about a mile and a half. There were frequent stops for Fritzi to sniff interesting to a dog things. There were other stops for her to add her own scent to the grasses.

The 4,120 steps were not the most I’ve taken in a single day. They are the most I’ve taken in one continuous walk. They are a few more steps on the recovery path.

Step by Step

Journies are composed of many steps. In my case, the journey to return to health will have thousands of literal steps. Today I walked over 5,000 steps for the first time since breaking my leg. The front of my calf has a now familiar soreness to it.  The steps of today and others like it will take me to the place where I can walk at will without adverse side effects.

A few hours after writing the above I meditated. As of this meditation I have four full days of tracked sessions.

Four Days, 96 hours, of time spent meditating.
Total meditation time exceeds four days, as of today.

And the next day I hit a milestone in Spanish study, a 600 day streak.

600 Day Streak in Duolingo
600 Day streak in Duolingo

Breaking Broken Update: Flexibility

This is a personal note, there is probably limited value for the rest of you.

As alluded to in Growing Admiration I broke my leg in September.  Now that we’re over two months from the event my doctor is approving a wider range of activities. I can put weight on the leg when it is encased in the boot cast. If I wish to make short drives, that’s OK too. Most important at this point are weekly visits to a physical therapist.

In today’s visit, the therapist expressed surprise (“I’m surprised by …”) the amount of flexibility in my ankle. A sigh of relief. I’m healing well. I get to walk more.