May 14, 2017
It has been a week since I’ve started rehabilitation for my ankle. The week was a blurb. A big part of it was having my parents in town for the week, but another major part was getting used to a semi-normal life without a cast after seven weeks.
My first physiotherapy session was the day I got my cast removed. The focus for the next two or three weeks is two-fold: One, to be able to put weight back on the left foot and two, to slowly start to increase the range of motion of the ankle, which was 0% on Monday. The exercises are simple, and I am trying to do them as much as I can. After doing the exercises, I usually have major swelling on the ankle. This is normal at this stage, and it is painless for the most part. Ice packs are the best things in the world for me right now.
After seven days of not having my cast on, I can stand on both legs and put 50% weight on each foot, I can walk while being assisted by both crutches, I have regained I would say 10% of my ankle range of motion, and I can ride the stationary bike for 15 minutes. Solid improvement for a very unfocused week.
May 20, 2017
Now that I am able to focus on rehabilitation, I can see significant improvement. Ankle range of motion has improved to the point that I can somewhat trace the letters of the alphabet with my toes. I can ride the stationary bike for 30 minutes and I have started to take small steps using my right hand on a fixed object like a table edge or a wall for balance.
I was also cleared to start using the pool as part of my rehabilitation. Today I walked the pool focusing on technique taught during physiotherapy. I can see that using the pool daily will help me get back on my feet much quicker.
I am still a long way from walking unassisted, but I will continue to be diligent with my rehabilitation so that I can get there as fast as possible.
So far, I’ve found rehabilitation more mentally exhausting than healing. Not only are some exercises painful, but I have to remind myself consistently that the exercise routine is a part of life. The more I can move, the more I want to do stuff with my friends or outside, but I have to consistently remind myself that rehab is priority. This constant reminder drains me mentally.
May 25, 2017
Ever since I was able to limp unassisted five days ago, I received a boost in energy, morale, and a burning desire to do everything possible to get back to 100%. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, although I am aware that the tunnel is still very long. I don’t think I have ever been this motivated to work on something before.
I am currently spending 2 to 3 hours per day working on my rehabilitation. My routine includes injury specific exercises, upper body exercises such as pull ups, pedaling on the stationary bike for up to an hour per day, and pool exercises.
Every time I go to physiotherapy, I get new exercises added to the routine. Full range of motion is still long ways to go, strength seems to be improving at a fast pace, and I have started working on balance. I am now going to physiotherapy two times a week, and I decided to try out acupuncture.
I am convinced that if I continue being this serious about getting back to 100%, I will finish this blog sooner than expected. I am motivated,happy, and excited to tackle this arduous challenge ahead of me.
June 1, 2017
Today is definitely one of the best days of the year for me. My physiotherapist has allowed me to continue my rehabilitation without crutches. To me, this is confirmation that things are going great. I am also more motivated than ever to continue working hard in my recovery. This is not to say that I can walk like a regular person; I will be using a cane for the next little while to assist me with balance.
Aside from regular physiotherapy and acupuncture, I’ve started massage therapy. My first session was very revealing; the muscles on my left leg are basically rock hard and will require some work. My massage therapist’s theory is that my hamstring muscles are compensating for my lack of balance and range of motion.
The more I improve, the more complicated rehabilitation becomes. This will require more work and accurate tracking to ensure my rehabilitation is efficient. The light at the end of the tunnel is still a long way, but its getting brighter.
June 12, 2017
On June 7, 31 days after my cast was removed, I was cleared to stop using a cane. Both my physiotherapist and I are happy with the progress so far. Despite being cleared, I decided to continue using the cane until after I came back from the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.
Travelling to Montreal meant I would take a break from my self imposed rigorous rehabilitation routine. I did not do any exercises the entire time I was there, but I did put my ankle to work: I walked almost everywhere I went. Over the weekend, I walked close to 15 kilometers.
I definitely felt the walking by the end of Sunday. My ankle was more swollen than usual and it was sore, but both the swell and the pain subdued within 30 minutes.
Now that I am back home, my focus is on continuing my rehabilitation. Walking without any assistance has me motivated to continue working on getting back to 100%.
June 22, 2017
On the three month anniversary of my accident, I was at the fracture clinic bright and early to meet my orthopedic surgeon. I received the wonderful news that my fracture had healed perfectly, and I was cleared to start working on impact activities.
My physiotherapist continues to add exercises as I gain strength, flexibility, range of motion and balance. Two of the ones I am currently working on are lunges and squats, both which are still very hard to do.
Currently, my rehab consists of biking, a number of ankle focused exercises, upper body workouts, numerous exercises on the pool, and hot yoga. I am working hard on balancing work, life, and rehab.
July 1, 2017
Yesterday, after 104 days away, I came back to the climbing gym. It didn’t feel like it was that long of a time for some reason. I am happy because dedication to my rehabilitation paid off: I was not expecting to be capable of climbing by now.
Although I am back to doing my favorite sport, I will not be able to do it 100% for a long time. At the climbing gym, I can do three variations of rock climbing: top rope, lead, and bouldering. Bouldering is out of the question because you jump off the wall onto a mat every route you climb. I don’t think I can sustain that kind of impact yet, and I have to learn how to fall. In lead, there’s also a significant fall factor. because you are bringing the rope up as you go and clipping it to protection, if I fall, the fall can be long and I can potentially impact the wall on the way down. Lead is out of the question. That leaves top rope, which is safe as long as my belayer doesn’t leave too much slack in the system. I will only be doing top rope for the next few weeks, as I gain my strength and confidence back. Eventually, I will be starting to lead some routes. I think going back to bouldering is months away.
July 16, 2017
This weekend I finally made it back to outdoor climbing after exactly four months. I was very psyched about finding out what I could and couldn’t do.
On the first wall I realized that I had 0 confidence on my left foot. I think it was a subliminal, mental crux. I didn’t feel much pain during the weekend, just some discomfort. It felt as if my body didn’t want to respond to what I knew my left foot had to do. I have never dealt with something like this.
This meant that my other muscles had to compensate, leading to quicker fatigue. That being said I jumped on every climb I could and even though I could not finish them all, I gave it my best.
Despite my limitations, I am impressed with the amount of abuse my ankle endured. Some of the hiking to the walls was moderate terrain and I was able to handle it (albeit slower than my partners). The weekend outdoors was overall fantastic and I am excited on continuing my recovery.
September 10, 2017
It has been almost two months since my last entry. My rehabilitation has progressed to include agility and more mobility. Since early July, I would do a full rehab routine before work, then yoga or climbing in the afternoon. My flexibility and dorsiflexion are about 80% from before the accident, which means I begin to start learning how to run in the next few weeks.
The last week of August, I headed to Burning Man for eight days. Back when I had my accident, one of my biggest worries was that I would be limping at the Playa. I am happy to write that I could do almost everything there! I managed to be able to walk and bike the vastness of the Playa for eight straight days without any issues.
Over the next couple of weeks, rehab will continue as usual. The light at the end of the tunnel is becoming brighter.
October 4, 2017
My final entry. Exactly 200 days after my accident, I can finally say I can continue leading a normal life. The rehabilitation is not over: I will continue to do physiotherapy for months to come in order to improve agility, flexibility, and strength on my ankle. I am not 100%, but I am very close and I know I will get there.
A few weeks before my accident, knowing I was going to Europe in late September, I decided on an Alpine goal for the year: To climb the Zugspitze, Germany’s highest mountain. I also decided that I would climb the Alpspitze, Zugspitze sister mountain. Grabbing an idea from an Alpinist book, I printed a photo of the mountains and taped it to my fridge. Little did I know at the time that that photo would become my main motivator to rehabilitate as hard as I could. I would wake up every morning at 5:00 am and look at that picture, and instantly my motivation would go up to work hard in the gym to gain all I needed to be ready for that goal.
My physiotherapist and I were not sure until September that I would be physically able to put my ankle through just gruesome physical test. However on our last check up before the trip, I was given the go ahead.
I arrived at Garmisch-Partenkirchen on Tuesday, September 26 and got a glimpse of the mountains. They were bigger that they looked in any picture and video I studied. Nonetheless, I had a big meal and a good sleep, and the next day I woke up at 6:00 am and headed to the Alpspitze. After taking the cable car to 2,050 meters, I headed to the summit. I reached the summit (2,628 meters) at around 11:30 am, 3 hours after starting.
The ascent was difficult mainly due to hard-packed snow, but I didn’t feel my ankle at any point. During the descent, I did feel my ankle, simply because of the awkward movements and the awful terrain of snow scree. I made it back to the cable car two and half hours later.
On the cable car down, I decided that I was feeling good enough to start my hike up the Zugspitze. After a 5 hour hike through the Reintal valley, I made it to a hut shortly after nightfall. The ankle was slightly swollen but I had to pain. At 6:00 am the next day, I set off to the summit. After climbing 2,000 meters in elevation through scree, snow, and some class III terrain, I reached the summit shortly after 10:30 am. I did it, and my ankle was feeling great!
Shortly after reaching the summit, I took the tram down the mountain then a train to Munich. I was successful in my goals. I put my ankle to the test and it held with little discomfort. As I write this, I still can’t believe I did it. The hard work paid off.
I would like to thank my parents for the enormous emotional support they provided the last 200 days. I would like to thank my physiotherapist Bonnie, my aunt Cuchi, and my massage therapist Melissa for providing me with the advice, feedback, and tracking of my progress. Couldn’t have done it without them. I would like to thank my family and friends that from close and far, assisted me and provide me with positive vibes that I would get back to normal quickly. It was a tough journey, but the end of the tunnel has been reached.
