Week 7 - Taking it step by step

One of the pieces of information I looked for but struggled to find online was what to expect when you walk properly for the first time (i.e getting out of the heel ortho-shoes) - so even though I'm still relatively new to this stepping malarkey - thought I'd put together a list of things to be aware of:

1. First few steps felt as though the ground was rotating infront of me, so felt like I was going to fall over. Had to cling to my husband a bit walking out of the hospital. 
2. The doctor told me I HAVE to learn to walk using my big toe - this is hard given that I'm now used to putting all my weight through my heels. It's also even harder by the fact it hurts a fair bit to put pressure on and if you haven't loosened up the joint it's even worse. 
3. Tip: do your range of motion exercises in the morning before getting up to walk and keep going with them as much as possible as it makes walking easier. 
4. The same above can be said for attempting to walk up and down stairs. 
5. Take the stairs very slowly - they're harder than I was expecting
6. Get a good pair of supportive loose trainers. I have been really pleased with my Skechers GoSteps, they have no seams so are very comfy over my scars and getting them on and off is easy. 
7. For the first few days I found walking barefoot really painful so I wore my trainers as much as possible. 
8. Don't do too much!! I felt a bit too confident on Friday after being able to walk but by mid afternoon I was exhausted and my feet throbbed. Listen to your body and take it easy still. 

This is just an introductory list and by no means expertly written - just a few experiences from my first few days sans boots

The weekend that has just passed has been filled with euphoric, though to some would seem trivial, moments!

I managed to get some housework done on Friday - by myself. Getting round the house on my new toes was painful and uncomfortable, but the freedom to do so just made me so much happier! I went for my first drive in six weeks, just to the local shop which is less than 10 minutes away, but was so liberating. The looks I was getting from people were interesting as I stumbled around on my feet as if I was drunk, but it didn't really bother me.

On Saturday the weather was nice so a friend and I went to a nearby lake, sat on the grass and had tea and cake. I put some music on my phone and just took it all in and got quite emotional - I just loved having my freedom back! I stuck my toes up towards the sky and thought they looked fab!

We then went swimming and again this was just the most brilliant experience. This was the first activity I'd done in nearly seven weeks that involved using all my muscles - I swam down to the bottom of the pool (it's quite a deep pool) and loved it. I then did some pretty full on lengths to get my heart rate going - really can't wait to get back to some proper fitness.

I am now on day four of walking, and it's already getting easier and less painful. I'm finding the stairs are the hardest part, however if I do my range of motion exercises before I walk this seems to make it much easier. Today I've managed to do the stairs without clinging on to the banister. I also am less wobbly when I get up so am seeing improvements.

My main goal is to get up onto my tiptoes which I'm too afraid to try at the moment and is probably quite painful - but am working towards this.

One of the exercises I now have to work on is the "towel scrunch" - this means laying a towel on the floor under my char and scrunching it towards myself with my feet - easier said than done! It's tricky and my toes feel quite stiff and sore doing it, however once you get the hang you can feel it is doing a lot to increase the range of motion further.