My Gimpy Ankle
Posted by Bob Barcus on April 1st, 2013
I’ve had to walk funny since I woke up at 3 am last Monday with this pain in my right ankle. For the first few days, I could barely walk and when I did it was at a very slow pace. All week long, people have been asking me, “What happened to your foot?” Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to give them an answer, because I honestly don’t know. I have to assume that I did something I shouldn’t have done during the day last Sunday, but its only speculation.
Last summer, the same thing happened during the height of growing season. My garden was looking wonderful and I was out there every day weeding and tending to my crop – that was until I somehow hurt my ankle. For three weeks, I could barely walk and all I could do was stand by the garden’s edge and watch a wave of weeds take over. By the end of the third week, there was nothing I could do to stop the influx of weeds. I was devastated.
I could tell that things weren’t as bad as they were last summer. I was confident that I would be fully recovered by the weekend and I needed to be. Things were definitely looking better by the time the weekend arrived. Saturday, the railroad museum held its annual Easter Train. As it turns out, we had more than 600 passengers and I ended up running the depot pretty much by myself for the bulk of the day.
After the last train left, I decided that I better check the restrooms since I had been manning the cash register for hours. As I was walking out of the lady’s restroom, my foot caught the edge of the hat rack on my way around the corner. What a clumsy move! The pain was immediate and extremely sharp. I stumbled forward, catching myself of the shirt rack immediately to my left. Thankfully, the depot was devoid of life, because I let out a few choice words. No tears, but I definitely let the hat rack know that I was unhappy with the way it jumped out in front of me.
Yesterday, I went to the park in Rochester with my cousin Donny and his family. The littlest member of his clan proclaimed in all of her sweetness, “You’re as slow as molasses!” I had to laugh since she was telling the truth. I did my best to play tag and basketball with them, but I was definitely not up to snuff and I felt disappointed. They were having so much fun and I couldn’t really enjoy the beautiful day.
This morning, my ankle is still being lame, but it’s definitely feeling better. I just hope that I fully recover from this latest episode of the gimpy ankle saga and can get outside and do some gardening. Spring-like weather is expected in the second half of the week and I’m ready to start tilling.