Between Ben and Bill, my rehabilitation is progressing nicely! One of my highlights of this week was my trip to the Split Oaks Forrest, where Ralf and I used to go run together. I haven’t been there in a mighty long time, and it felt so good to be outside again and hike the trails.
Was I tempted to jog a little? Absolutely! Did I do it? Nope! I will get permission from Bill first since -I know, I know - “slow and steady wins the race”… BUT I did some step-ups, which I would normally do in the gym or at PT, on a (stable) tree log! No pain, and it gave me hope that I will be able to eventually go back to having outdoor adventures again!
I admit that this outing was also “mental rehab” since I missed being outside in the beautiful woods so much! I felt very positive, motivated, and hopeful for the future to come!
You might wonder how I felt the next day? Sore! Especially in my ankles and thigs, which tells me that I haven’t really used those muscles in a while! Walking on loose sand and wooded trails is definitely more challenging than walking on a treadmill.
During today’s PT session, Bill added some upper-body workouts to get my chicken wings back into shape as well, while strengthening my core. Got to be fit by the end of June!
What else have I been up to? I actually cleaned my home. No, I didn’t mop the floors, nor did I vacuum the carpet. I also omitted cleaning the bath tubs, lifting the mattress to put on fitted sheets, and I didn’t take out the garbage yet, since I am very mindful of the weight restrictions. But I can clean counter tops, fold laundry, and the rest of the bathrooms. That was very liberating, actually. After I was done, I did my prescribed stretches and even though I felt sore and a bit tight the next day, I didn’t feel pain.
On Tuesday, I took one more step toward returning to the professional world of nursing, as I attended the Sigma Theta Tau International Chapter annual meeting at the University of Central Florida (UCF). It’s an honors society for nurses and closely tied to UCF, where I will resume my Graduate studies this coming Fall. Glad I got a picture with Dr. Stephen Heglund before he had to go! He is one of my favorite nursing school instructors, but we usually meet at the Disney races were we both volunteer (well, where I will be volunteering again now since I am fixed).