I went to Jamaica in October and at that point walking around an airport was painful. I had to get a wheelchair and I think on the way back from Jamaica they thought I was trying to conceal something by going handicap because I got searched three times, even when I was supposed to have early boarding. They stopped me getting on the plane and let everyone else pass as they searched me again. I explained to them that that defeats the purpose of early boarding and now I have to stand around in the aisle waiting for everyone to get situated before I can take a seat. I was so so very angry. Not to mention through all the searches, a piece of jewelry was lost out of my bag. Nothing valuable, but it is to my face as it was my continuous nose ring. They just shouldn't have singled me out so much. There's nothing unusual about me except for the fact that I was flying handicap and I look perfectly normal if you don't know what happened to me. So you single out handicap? That's beyond f'd up. Anyway, I wasn't really able to enjoy Jamaica or my brother's wedding due to the injury, but I can at least say that I went. After all, you only get married once, right?
At this point I was going to physical therapy 2-3 times a week. It really seemed like a big hassle. I had to leave early, unpaid, cause I didn't have time off due to the medical leave and then I had to pay all my co-pays. The hot and cold treatments made me feel like I was constantly getting a cold. I stopped going once my ortho said I could walk without the boot before I left the country.
The sick feeling didn't stop though. For three months, I went every day feeling feverish and tired. I was completely wiped out. I finally decided to see an endocrinologist thinking I had a thyroid problem. After the blood tests, it turned out I have a severe Vitamin D deficiency. Something like this can cause osteomalacia in adults. There's no knowing if that was why I was so severely injured. I think it's possible, but then again I did roll my ankle completely. I saw it bend. How could there not be damage from something like that? Surprisingly, is the fact that I was healing so well with this deficiency. I had to start taking 5000 IU of D3 daily. After the first week I noticed myself feeling a lot more awake. I still go through periods of feeling feverish and sick and I'm not sure why. It has been suggested that my immune system has been weakened due to the amount of stress I've had. The only thing I can do about that is to try and limit my stress, but really it's like I reached my cap and now every little thing bothers me. I'm still a very strong person, but my patience has been whittled down to nothing.
Physically, I walk practically without a limp now, but I have to wear good sneakers. If I wear flats or anything else, I will be limping. This isn't very fashionable. I still don't think I'll ever be able to wear heals again. I can walk my dogs down the street and back and go shopping for about an hour without trouble. My only real obstacle is stairs. I'm capable of going up and down them slowly, but they scare me because I feel like I'm going to trip all the time. I don't want to go up more than one flight and I need to have my hands free for the railings. Needless to say, I avoid them at all costs. The range of my ankle hasn't changed. It's still at about 5 degrees bent upward and my ortho thinks that will probably be as good as it gets. I really hope not. I have 4 more months before it's been a year.
And now, here is an updated photo of my scar. It looks pretty good now!
