wanna see it?

For some reason I think you might be interested in seeing the wreckage of my ankle and what it looks like. Because I'm weird like that. I took these photos myself, so he angles are limited. This first one is of both feet so you can compare the swollen to the regular one. I'm kind of amazed at how the entire foot has swollen, not just around the ankle. My toes look like five little sausages, and it's all so red and purpleish.

And here you can see my ankle on the unbroken side, how that dark purple bruise wraps right around my ankle and goes all the way under the Cat in the Hat's foot. Please try to ignore the bad tattoo. I was going to get it redone this year - seriously - but now I'm afraid to let anything near that ankle for awhile. It looks like even my entire heel is bruised, which doesn't surprise me, because that's what it feels like, too.

And then here we have the break itself. Note the giant swollen area, the bruise that because of the tattoo is hard to see is completely yellow now (good, means it's healing). That large bit of dark purple on the bottom there is where the wraparound bruise begins. Difficult to tell, but again, it wraps all the way around my ankle. Don't mind the scar through Pooh's face, that was from a car accident when I was about to turn 18.

And last but not least we have my view of the ankle. That yellow you see? That's the bruise. It goes fairly far up the leg. Lovely, no?

The pain comes and goes, and every day is different in my healing. Some days are great, and I'm able to keep my leg down most of the day, allowing it to swell a bit and get the blood flowing to it. Other days are just painful no matter what, and I have to keep it elevated more, which means more time on the sofa, which means Kiernen spends lots of time watching videos on the computer. He thinks he likes that, but it's making him stir crazy, and it really is getting to him. Too much screen time affects the brain, it really does. He won't go outside with anyone but me or his Daddy, so until Daddy gets home, he is all cooped up in here with me. 

It is a very stressful time for all of us right now - I couldn't have picked a worse time to injure myself this way - what with the garden wanting to be planted and the bees coming and the hives needing building and there actually being sunshine outside and us needing that sun and fresh air so desperately after winter. 

Universe, what message are you sending me? Because I'm not getting it.

as the ankle heals

Well, you'd think that being laid up with a broken ankle would give me plenty of time to update, but somehow it is not so. Why? Because I have a wheelchair, and as such, am fairly ambulatory. I can roll over to my neighbours' house, or to the common house (with help down the ramp and through the doors). Because I am in pain and have to keep my ankle elevated and immobile, however, everything I do is much much slower than it used to be. So each little task takes a long long time. So taking a shower + resting and elevating my ankle on the sofa + meals + a bit of internet = a day. And then it's time to go to bed.

But! Today after we had brunch with our neighbours in the common house, I got to do some real socializing - that was really nice, since my socializing has been confined to my house and my direct next door neighbours' house since "that fateful evening". And after socializing, I actually puttered (wheeled) my way around my kitchen (which mind you, is not much bigger than my wheelchair, and I have gotten stuck in there more than once in the chair - something like this).

Where was I? Oh, right - in the kitchen. So today I was able to out together a pot of stock, get a chicken cooking in the crockpot (seasoned and with beets), and roast some more beets in the oven. This is big, believe me - I am so proud of myself!

I'm becoming pretty adept at this whole wheelchair/crutches thing. I cannot spend too much time on the crutches on account of my leg not being strong enough to hold my weight without the BURNING sensation after a few minutes. But they're awesome for getting myself to the bathroom quickly. And that is a good thing. I rather like the wheelchair, too - it's pretty comfortable and I can get myself anywhere. As long as someone is willing to be my driver, hefting the wheelchair in and out of the car and open doors for me, I can even go OUT of the house at some point with this bad boy.

Neighbours continue to be helpful and check in on me, and I continue to completely appreciate where I live. My garden is being a bit neglected, but we'll get to it. My seedlings are growing nicely. My hives are being built by my hubby. We are clothed, we are fed, we have friends, we have clean water and we have HEALTH CARE. Life is good.