The Last Month

The last month has been a good one, but with a few unexpected twists. The first was a quick trip back to Boston for work. I got my first glimpse of the Atlantic Ocean, and spent some quality time admiring the beautiful scenery between research visits. The second day we were there, we finished up right in downtown and walked the Freedom Trail on our way to dinner.

Pretty, isn't it!! I was so grateful for the chance to get to see a little bit of one of the cities central in the founding of this country.

One of the places I got to visit was ESPN. It had me wishing (just a tiny little bit) that I was more into sports, because I think I would have had a better appreciation. However, that didn't stop me from jumping at the opportunity to sit behind one of the broadcast desks when given the chance!

We decided we make a pretty dynamic duo. I'll provide the sarcasm and he can provide the actual sports commentary. Seems feasible.

Did I mention a cute little kid had a birthday right before I left? Look at that face!

So back to Boston...on the night of the Freedom Trail, fate (and my inherent sense of grace) intervened to change my holiday season. One of the cobblestones and I had a little disagreement. Since it had been there longer, I decided it to let it win the argument. My ankle paid the price. **WARNING: Images may not be suitable for people who don't like seeing big bruises and other stuff. These are probably the same people who leave bruises alone. Then there are the rest of us who poke them every 5 minutes and say, "Yup! Still hurts!"

Here is the big beauty on the night I "sprained" it. I can't figure out if I am stubborn, stupid, or just have a high tolerance for pain. I walked on it for a couple miles and a couple more hours that night. Honestly? Looking at this takes me back to the pain...and it hurt!! Luckily I found out one of my co-workers had some sports medicine experience, and he can wrap a mean ankle. We picked up a bandage at a cute little pharmacy in the Italian district. This little old man with a mustache was behind the counter and he was arguing with another old man. I loved the charm of the situation.

By the time I got home, the foot had swollen up pretty good, and check out the bruising!!! This is injury heaven for a bruise-poker like me.

The second coolest part of the injury was watching the progression of the bruise. Every day I couldn't wait to see where it was going to show up next! It made it all the way to my stubby little toes and turned them purple. This is when I learned that orange nail polish does not go well with a bruised foot. The color combo freaked me out and I took it right off after I put it on. At this point, I decided to get a professional opinion. Guess what? My sprained ankle was done broke!

The first doctor was good to me, and decided to put me in a walking boot. The second doctor (specialist) wasn't as nice, and decided that I needed to be in a hard cast. And on crutches. No weight on the foot for a full month!! Yeah, right. I pretty much suck at that, but I am trying. But as a bonus, I got to fulfill one of my silly elementary school wishes and have people sign my cast.

Of all of them, this one might be my favorite. My niece drew a picture of me. With my cast. :)

And since I have to wear FrankenBoot everywhere I go, I decided to glam it up a bit and add some sparkle. This was the concession I made because I decided to be conservative and go with a black cast instead of some crazy color. I do conservative so well. As long as it has some sparkle!

Crutches are kind of hard to use. I was lucky enough during week 2 to get a hook-up for this sweet ride. And then my co-workers thought it needed to be tricked up, so now it has a headlight, tail light, and some sweet green downlight. And sparkly Christmas balls!!

Not that I am counting, but I have a week and five days left until the visit when I hope to have the cast removed. Just in time to go skiing for Christmas! Just kidding.