Since January, I’ve repeated my story a gazillion times a lot about how I injured my knee and ankle in toddler gymnastics. (Dislocated knee, tore 2 ligaments, sprained some muscles including hamstring, and sprained my ankle.) It’s been difficult trying to maintain a “normal” life while dealing with the discomfort of not being able to do much physically besides chasing Charlie around. (Which is quite a workout, actually.)
I finally decided that it was taking too long for me to feel better. Plus, I really didn’t like the first orthopaedic surgeon I saw. Besides not giving me much information about my injuries, he pushed surgery and thought physical therapy was going to be a waste of time. I am NOT going to have surgery if I can help it. So I started physical therapy and enjoyed getting some one-on-one treatment and some strengthening exercises. I loved physical therapy – it was so much fun!
Now it’s June, and I’m no better than I was back in February once some of the pain had subsided. I decided to find another orthopaedic surgeon and try again. This new guy was great! Other than the ego coming out with his displeasure at being the second doctor to examine me, he showed me everything he could see on my MRI films and explained exactly what was happening with my knee and ankle. (Kneecap is popping out of place every time I step. Ankle is still pitiful.) He also said that physical therapy was going to be the best way to heal. Whew!
I’m going to the physical therapist with his practice, and they are KICKING MY BUTT! Physical therapy is apparently not all fun and games. I hate how much time I wasted earlier this year. Ugh. I know dwelling on things you can’t change is a waste of time, but I can’t help but think about how much Charlie had to miss out on while I hobbled around and did so many things that were actually exacerbating the problem.
The positive side is that I am now doing everything right to heal and have a normal leg again. And my upper legs might be a lot sexier after all this strength building and stretching!
This should be a warning to everyone that toddler gymnastics can be a dangerous sport for the parent. (I’m semi-serious. It’s not unreasonable to say that I might be the only person that something this weird could happen to. Well, I could see it happen to Amanda E. and Kelley L. too, my random injury friends!)
