Back to…..Skiing!!!

I did it, I made come back number 2!

Tuesday I went skiing for the first time since my ankle surgery, not the first time since I broke my ankle… But that’s a totally different story.

I was wondering when do you stop saying “I have a broken ankle” and start saying “I had a broken ankle”, well I guess that moment is here now I can ski again.

So back to Tuesday, I was nervous, wasn’t sure how I would do, I knew I was ready but still… The muscles in my lower calf (those are the ones that still work) are still tres petite, I’m working hard to make them strong again but they don’t seem to react that much. The doc suggested electro stimulation especially since a lot of exercises won’t work for me, I’ll see if that works. 
My first run was a bit insecure but after that I got my confindence back and I started to ski. I was quite happy with how I skied, the trainer (from my skiclub) said that I skied pretty good considering it was my first time back. Best of all my ankle was totally fine, it didn’t hurt and it didn’t swell that much, not more than normal. The only problem was the metal plate on my fibula, it’s superficial, you can actually see it through my skin. That isn’t a very nice feeling and my skin was red afterwards. Hopefully me skin will adjust, and I’m getting new ski boots and they’ll be adjusted so they don’t give too much pressure on my plate. I needed new boots for my ski-orthosis anyways.

Today I had my 6 week post cast check up with doctor Kerkhofs, he was happy with my progress. He was very pleased that my ankle didn’t react to the skiing. He told me that the swelling (my ankle still is very swollen) is normal and will stay at least a year if not for ever, oh joy….

On the other hand he wasn’t too happy that the plate is bothering me that much (not just while skiing, it bothers me a lot more) he said that I needed to make sure that it doesn’t break through my skin. He can’t take my plate out right away the bone isn’t strong enough. So I probably get another surgery in a couple of months, bummer.

Monday I went to the orthopedic technician because I broke my orthosis… the thing is made out of carbon but I still managed to break it. I’m really good with breaking stuff. Luckily they were able to fix it right away, I can walk on a broken tibia and fibula but I can’t walk on a broken orthosis, weird. I'm not allowed to jump anymore, because my orthosis will break again if I do. But they don't want hold me back from pushing myself so they are thinking of an solution. Unfortunately, still no news on the skiing-orthosis.