Today, I finished knitting a scarf and, then, I dressed up a stuffie. Yes, that is what having too much time off has done to me.
On Tuesday, I was diagnosed with a calcaneofibular ligament sprain and tenosynovitis of the peroneus brevis and peroneus longus, which is basically inflammation of the sheaths surrounding those tendons. I really wasn’t surprised as those are the areas where there is quite a bit of pain and swelling, but there is even more pain on the ankle bone itself and still a lot of swelling behind it.
That night, my physiotherapist cautioned me. “You need to stay off your feet. We still don’t know if there is a stress fracture.” I thought a stress fracture would have shown up in an ultrasound but I was wrong; I need a bone scan or another x-ray.
“So, I can’t ride my bike yet?” He shook his head no. “And I still can’t go to yoga?”
“You need to be very careful.” My physiotherapist, who has always advocated active recovery does not want me to put any weight on my left foot, which means I am back on crutches. And, in case you haven’t figured it out, I am on rest until further notice.
So what is a girl to do when she can’t do the things she loves? Ironically, my 2021 goals of reading and knitting have become my main outlets. As I sit thinking “knit 3, purl 3, knit 3…,” I can’t help but feel that these new hobbies have spent the last three months preparing me for this injury and they are giving me a look into my golden years – when my 80 year old self will want to keep busy and be productive. Time away from fitness has also let me put more energy in my blog again. I’m also playing around with photography – while holding a real camera! – and am even thinking about ideas for our garden, which is taking me into a whole new territory (get it?).
While I find it extremely frustrating that, just a few weeks ago, I was in the best shape that I had been in years and felt ready to start training to race, only to be set back with a strain and likely a stress fracture, I know that injuries heal; they just take time. I just wish I knew how much longer I need to wait before I can start chasing my dreams again.
