Summers in Missouri are usually hot and humid, which means we are typically confined to the indoors, not daring to subject ourselves to the natural sauna just outside our walls. So, what better time to have ankle surgery? I figured I would not be missing much in the next three months and that it would give me ample time to recover and be back in full swing by the fall season.
So why ankle surgery? Let me rewind a bit to July 2008. Christian and I had been dating just a little over a year and we decided to set off on a month long climbing trip to Squamish, BC. Not only was this the trip that we sealed the deal to be lifelong belay slaves for each other...
We also ended up with two sprained ankles, opposite ones so we were able to share a set of crutches. Thanks Sheila for capturing this moment for us.
Well, long story short, I ended up in the ER with xrays confirming a bad sprain and no broken bones. Five years go by and a dozen or so minor sprains later on the same ankle, something wasn't right. I continued to have pain after hiking and significant ankle instability. After putting it off for so long, I decided to just "mention it" at my orthopedic appointment, which I actually made to follow up on my ACL repaired knee. One abnormal xray led to an abnormal MRI showing an
osteochondral lesion of my talus, causing a large piece of ankle bone to break off, lodging itself in my ankle joint. It has probably been there for years, possibly after the initial injury, or after all of the subsequent sprains thereafter.
I couldn't believe another bouldering related injury brought me to the operating table yet again.
Surgery was completed on June 7th and everything went smoothly. The surgery was performed using arthroscopy, but the 1.5 cm x 1.5 cm piece of bone was so big that it had to be removed through a separate incision. I was placed in a splint for about 10 days and was told to be non-weight bearing. To my surprise, there was minimal post-op pain and I was back to work after 3 days of "rest". There is never any rest when you have a one year old at home.
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| Checking out Mama's "Owie" |
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| Baking muffins |
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| Celebrating Lao Ye's Birthday |
Summertime also means we try to do as many fun indoor activities as possible. In our pre-baby days that meant a lot of indoor climbing on plastic. Now in our post-baby days, we do things like baby gymnastics. Micah is in the "Waddlers" class at
MyGym. In this very organized and highly demanding class, the 14 month-22 month olds stumble around in the gym where they can climb, swing, slide, and tumble on a variety of concussion-proof equipment that changes from week to week. Micah loves to play there, although you usually can't tell by his seemingly stoic expressions. He usually chooses to sit in the ball pit, climb on stairs or over bridges, or play on the rocking horse. When forced, he will sit in circle time and "participate" in the sing-song activities that all of his counterparts are enthusiastically enjoying. He does, however, usually try to escape from the circle to sit back and watch from a safer, and more observational location.
With a beautiful day of temperatures in the 70s, we took full advantage of the amazing weather and spent an afternoon at
Purina Farms. Aside from just being a billion dollar company producing truckloads of pet food each year, they have also established an amazing visitors center and event center to be enjoyed by children and adults of all ages. The facility has a barn full of fun activities, a petting zoo, and even a cow milking demonstration! Micah loved playing with the tractors and making "Moo" and "Baa" sounds at all the cows and sheep. However, he was not impressed by the Purina Farms Incredible Dog Team Show. In fact, he bawled big tears every time the dogs jumped high for the frisbee or dove into the pool of water. I guess we don't have dog fanatic on our hands. CR is beaming with pride, I'm sure.
Click here for more pictures from our fun month of June!
