Give it a rest, would ya? Giving your body the rest it needs.

RICE:
Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevate

Give your body the rest it requires to heal.

For me, the biggest struggle was slowing down and allowing myself to rest.
I traveled a lot for my job, plus I just have a busy personality. I am always on-the-go, very independent, strive on staying busy. 
There was a moment in my recovery I'll never forget. My nurse had a little chat with me, it was exactly what I needed.
It was the morning after my surgery, I was still in the hospital, headed home in an hour or two. I remember I was getting really frustrated with how long everything was taking to do.
The nurse and I were talking and I told her that sometimes I think I'm invincible and that rules don't apply to me. I told her she needs to give it straight to me. I need to hear it bluntly.

She said, "you want me to be straight forward with you?"
"Yes, that's what I need." I replied.

"Alright, here's the deal. Your body just went through hell," She says in a very stern, matter of fact voice.

Whoa, my sweet, kind, soft spoken nurse just got real with me. 
Ok, she has my attention now. I listen closely.

"You had surgery because you suffered a traumatic injury. You want to know where the word traumatic comes from? TRAUMA. Your body just suffered trauma. You broke a bone and in order to fix it, the surgeon had to put screws into the bone. And in order to do that, he had to cut into your skin, get through some ligaments and muscles. Your body, your ankle is not happy right now. It's going to take a bit to heal. And you know how the body heals? It takes a lot of energy.
So all that energy that you used to have doing your daily run-around, yeah, that's all now channeled towards that ankle, working to heal it. It's going to take a lot of energy, and so, in order to provide it with that energy, you need to rest. Take this seriously. Your body needs it. Give it the rest it deserves."

If "mic drop" would've been a phrase in 2014, I would've given that compliment to her.

And that's all it took.
It was perfect. It was exactly what I needed to hear.

I have shared that with other people, including my mother who just had hip surgery and a friend whose pregnant. You're number one concern during recovery is REST. You shouldn't feel bad for yourself because you're not up running around, cleaning your house, running events at your sons hockey tournament or busy with errands. You eventually will, you'll get frustrated. But I'm reminding you right now, this time set aside after surgery, it's called recovery - and your concentration should be on rest, period.

This ankle injury has been 18x more difficult emotionally and mentally than it has physically. Now that I think about it, I don't think I ever cried from the pain, but I definitely cried from frustration.

It is extremely tough to ask for help. It is extremely tough when tasks take 36x longer to do than normally.
Going to the bathroom, taking a shower - everyday normal tasks can be challenging and they will take longer. 

Finally getting out of the house.
Being pulled on a sled to go ice fishing
because crutches don't do well on ice.

But you have to remember that this is only temporary. You can't keep going like you used to do. A shower isn't going to take you 10 minutes anymore. A shower is now going to be stressful, you're going to worry about slipping and falling, you're going to have to balance that leg outside of the shower, wrapped in that plastic boot. Getting up to go to the bathroom, switch out ice packs, fill your water bottle, take your meds, etc. Do it all in one trip. Right when you get yourself back to the couch, ankle up, elevated and new on ice on it, you realize you forgot your water bottle in the kitchen. Dannnngit! Your first initial thought is, "Why would I ask for someone else to get up when I can?"  You're going to have to get over that - just ask for help. 

This was probably the biggest lesson for me through everything. Giving my body the rest it deserves in order to heal, learning how to ask for help, and learning to slow down and not let the frustration get the best of me.


p.s. Don't ever forget the frustration you go through during this time. Next time you hear about a neighbor or a friend who has a broken leg, ankle or foot and will be going through the same recovery, offer them some help, cook them a meal or shovel their driveway. 


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