Stay tuned, folks

Coming soon to a theater near you, "Back to Boot Camp"!  Yes, after almost 6 months of not going to Pure Power Boot Camp, I am going back on July 7th.  What happened, you ask?  The worst ankle injury I have ever sustained.  Back in mid January (shortly after my last post), I was at my friends' wedding, and was overjoyed to see that DJ Magic Mike himself was DJing the wedding.  A bit of a back story - this man represented the alpha and the omega of bhangra fusion mixes; his songs make up a good part of my college party soundtracks, and not to mention most notably, my group dance performance my sophomore year, when Club Zamana (Columbia University's South Asian Students' Association) put on its annual Tamasha.  We danced to "Jugni", a popular song at the time.  It held very fond memories for me.  

Well, after the wedding reception, a couple of friends hosted an after party in their suite.  As the party got under way, who should show up but Magic Mike and his dhol player.  He opened up his laptop, and put on his playlist.  My star-struck gaze must have been palpable; after mustering up some courage, I went up to him, told him how much of an impact his music had on my life, and followed up with "Dude, you've got to do me a HUGE favor and play Jugni for me."  Of course, he does!  I was practically salivating as the familiar drums rang out.  But within the first 15 seconds of the song, I leapt up, rolled my left ankle, and both felt and heard a crunch.  Yes, I am a train wreck.  

Despite my best efforts to ice it copiously, the next morning, I woke up unable to put any weight on my left foot (but for a small section of the outer part of my big toe), and with my ankle swollen to twice its normal size.  I literally had to be rolled out of the hotel on the luggage cart, surrounded by suitcases and garment bags, hiding behind my sunglasses and attempting to maintain a sliver of dignity.  For two days, I was laid up.  When I returned to work, I made no effort to see a doctor, after all, I had sprained my ankle before, and it was just a matter of time before the swelling and the bruising (which had traveled halfway up my calf) would go away.  Or so I thought.  

3 weeks passed, and no signs of marked improvement.  Concerned that it might be a fracture, I finally went to see an orthopedist.  After x-rays and mobility tests, he asked me "Do you really need to go skiing?"  (I was off to Switzerland for a much anticipated ski vacation in the Alps).  I told him I had to, because the trip was already paid for and it was something I just HAD to do.  He told me that I had a high ankle sprain with soft tissue/tibular tendon damage.  It wouldn't prevent me from skiing, due to the confining nature of the boot, but all other physical activity would have to be put on hold until further notice.  And at all times, I was to wear a soft brace, called a Swede-O (you can imagine what kind of a field day my friends had with that one - I got numerous Speedo references via email).  

Managed to ski 4 out of the 6 days in Switzerland, helped by my traveling companion's advice to layer Aleve and Tylenol (she's a doctor).  And with regular visits, continued physical therapy (at home), I recovered slowly, and managed to take another ski trip to California in April.  That actually sped up my recovery, because of the long hours in the jacuzzi after a day of skiing (note to self:  add water jets to tub when re-doing bathroom).  A couple of cortisone shots here and there, and I was set.  Finally, back in May, the doc gave me the go-ahead to start light activity again.  Happily, I was able to wear normal shoes again, and started actually thinking about when I was going back.  I decided on July 7th.

But light physical activity?  Truth time, folks.  I haven't really done anything of the sort, and I am a little scared of what's going to happen on Monday.  

More after Monday...if I can still type after all the push-ups and squat thrusts and the like.