A Few Steps Closer To Normal

These will serve me until I can get back into lace-up shoes again!

Sunday was a significant day in my recovery from a broken leg: I reoccupied the lower level of my home. I had been restricting myself to the upper level, living as much as possible without going up and down stairs. My dining room served as a temporary home office. My living room turned into something of a track where I did a little walking to rebuild strength and mobility. Going up and down the stairs was rare. I allowed myself the occasional trip to the mailbox or to the basement for laundry.

Stairs aren’t a challenge anymore. My home office isn’t just open for business again; it’s open for business with a big new monitor that I’m sure will make my job easier. And I’ve dusted off the home gym. On Sunday, I did a 30-minute treadmill walk. My speed was deliberately much slower than normal, and that’s OK. For a while, my treadmill walks will be little more than a replacement for all the pacing I did in the living room! But Sunday’s walk felt more like rehab. It was a very intentional act with very clear objectives. There wasn’t anything athletic about it. I’m not there yet. (I’m just two weeks removed from using a walker.) But I think mindset matters. The darkest days are behind me and I’m rebuilding instead of only compensating. Treadmill walks are quantifiable. I can do a certain number of a certain duration, speed, and incline. I can set target dates for higher efforts as I get stronger. We’ll see how this goes. There’s no reason to rush the process.