Banned Substance?
I’m pretty sure I couldn’t race on the pain meds. Even if they aren’t banned, the dizziness would certainly cause a crash. How the heck does an athlete get hooked on those… I’ll never know.
Why am I on pain meds ? The bionic ankle saga continues.

So, MRIs do lie. Although I was forewarned by my fabulous doctor (“We won’t really know until I get in there.”), I wasn’t a true believer until now. Monday afternoon, when I woke up from surgery, Dr. Smoot gave me a bit of the lowdown. Although seriously drugged, I was astute enough to get out my notebook and take notes (kind of legible). Also, the ‘air cast’ and couple days of crutches were replaced by a serious cast-like thing and 6 weeks of crutches. I’ll find out more next week at my follow up appointment, but here is the lowdown:

-1 severed ligament
-2 additional damaged ligaments
-Completely jacked cartilage
-Bone edema
-Cyst – decided to leave it in. I bet it’s my lucky cyst.

Medical technology is amazing. He used anchors to re-secure the ligaments. Holes were drilled in my bone to encourage my body to form scar tissue, which will ‘replace’ the cartilage. Think of how well I’ll run with good ligaments and some cartilage. Sweet.

The impact that I’ve not yet gotten my head around is the impact to our daily lives for 6 weeks. Yes, for 6 weeks I am restricted to non-weight bearing activity. That puts a whole new spin on life. How am I going to get Autumn to school (we ride bikes)? How will I get groceries? Here are the changes I’ve made so far:

1. I’ve put myself on Weight Watchers. Seriously. My resting metabolic rate only allows for about 1,200 calories. My habit is more along the lines of thousands.
2. My coach is going to my follow-up visit with me so we can understand how I can best rehab this sweet little bionic ankle.
3. I have begun self-talk about ‘it’s okay to ask for help’.
4. I’m too drugged to make any other life decisions, so check back with me next week.