Tuesday, March 31, 2015

#DailyFortuneCookie 15-0331

Your respect for others will be
your ticket to success.

Lucky Numbers
1  8  9  16  17  32




Monday, March 30, 2015

#DailyFortuneCookie 15-0330

You find you know things
without being told.

Lucky Numbers
10  39  31  24  30  1




Sunday, March 29, 2015

#DailyFortuneCookie 15-0329

Do not let what you cannot do
interfere with what you can do

Lucky Numbers
50  41  33  29  15  32




Saturday, March 28, 2015

#DailyFortuneCookie 15-0328

You will attract cultured and 
artistic people to your home.

Lucky Numbers
2  3  16  29  33  45





Friday, March 27, 2015

#DailyFortuneCookie 15-0327

A change to a more healthy 
lifestyle will benefit you 
tremendously.

#DailyFortuneCookie

While I was tidying my office I discovered the overflowing jar of Fortune Cookie Fortunes (just the slips of paper, not the cookies!) behind a pile of Girl Scout cookies that had taken residence on my desk during this last years crack confection sale.

I have no idea how many years back they go - but they are certainly from a wide variety of locations - you can tell by the difference in paper sizes, fonts and ink coloring as well as what's printed 'on the back'.

In spite of their obvious designation as clutter  I can not just brush them into the recycling bin. They were held onto for some reason, be it that the tiny phrase meant something at the time, or that the minions took up collecting them for me - I'm not certain.

I've been attempting to return to blogging - life has devolved into a busy work-focused schedule again. I don't want to lose all of the benefits of P2 - one of which was blogging. With the idea of starting with baby-steps and a few words at a time, I'll be sharing the wisdom of these tiny fortunes, one slip at a time.

It will be interesting to see how many there are.







Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Torn

There are days when I wonder if it was worth it. But then I shake my head clear of those doubts and realize all that I’ve learned and all that I’ve gained in my P2 Journey.

Moments of doubt are really moments of weakness and frustration with the pain in my joints, my calf and frustration in not being able to move freely.

It wasn’t tendinitis, bursitis or a pulled muscle that plagued my heel for the last several months of Project Purpose.

The x-ray of my heel showing the calcified tear
in my 
Achilles tendon.
It’s a tear.

A tear of my Achilles heel.

I suspect that it was brought on by pushing myself too much, too hard, too fast, and as a byproduct of aging and being overweight for so long.

P2 finished in January and in spite of my injury and an ever-changing schedule I’ve worked to continue the path of better health - both in mind and body - but it hasn’t been easy.

Some nights I would wake up with sharp pain and cramping in my lower leg, other days I wouldn’t be able to walk very easily for a couple of hours until my bones ‘warmed up’.

I made an appointment with a podiatrist and began the wait to see him.

The initial examination was a bit comical - while manipulating my ankle and heel, he located the pressure point of my injury and with it I recoiled with such pain that in lurching up and off the chair I nearly judo-kicked him in the face.

“I think we found where it hurts.”

It could have been any of the suspected injuries - tendinitis, bursitis, a tear, a stress fracture, or even a full on break - where the stress in the tendon literally tears bone away from the heel.

An X-ray and several moments provided the answers: a tear, a pretty sizable one that fortunately was small enough that surgery wasn’t required.  Instead I need to wear a specialized compression sock and a brace for the next 8 to 10 weeks… possibly 12 if things progress slowly.
My 'sock' for the next 2 or 3 months

At some point I'll begin physical therapy and begin the transition from brace and sock to nothing at all.

Walking is weird as my ankle is prevented from doing certain motions - motions that place tension on my Achilles causing further injury. Getting into the car is an adventure - as are all sorts of motions that you never realize require a bendy-joint at the end of your leg.

Working out has taken a back seat (frustratingly) until this heals. I can really only work out on the stationary bike and do weights. Michelle has been fabulous in our sessions at helping me reach the limits of my other parts - my arms are growing stronger as is my core.

As with all things in life, this is a new experience. One I’m curious to see and anxious to finish.