Soccer Dad: Run the Lines

So to keep readers from thinking Rice Daddies has transformed into a kiddie book circle, I thought I’d update y’all with something scintillating…like my ankle. It’s been five months since that awful day and all medical intervention is finished. I got the screws (pictured) removed a few weeks ago and the staples out last week. The incision is closed and healing well, so I went out for my first real workout. Did some calf raises, squats, leg presses and such. Hit the treadmill and jogged for ten minutes! It felt awkward since it’s still tight but that will change as the muscles build up and my balance comes back. Up until that day, if I had to chase down Maceo, I was doing this Pegleg Pete Pirate Walk (PPP-Walk).

After the gym, I hitched up the dog and went to the local high school where I ran the bleachers. The new turf field looked tempting, so I went down and ran some touchlines. Side to side, backwards, forwards, up and back. My lungs definitely need to get to speed but it was such a relief to work up a real sweat. It rained but I stayed out, enjoying the coolness. Then I soaked the ankle in our pool.

The picture is of the hardware. Remember those two long screws? When the doctor opened me up, he saw that i had broken both of them. The screws were drilled into my fibula and tibia to reduce motion—it was impossible to do the Kimchi Squat™—and breaking them off is a common occurrence with active people who accelerate the healing process. No biggie, he said.

A soccer pal rang me up on Sunday. It’s the same chaos as always at our regular game, he said. Can’t wait to get out there—probably a month and a half.


SD