Tax Day– And 15 days till Surgery

Today, I’m starting to freak out. Tax day is tomorrow, and while I’ve already calculated and extended our return to give me more time to review it, that’s not the reason. In 15 days, I’m having surgery on my left ankle. My decision was to go through this, as I want to be running pain-free soon. I’ve never had surgery before and I’m unsure about what to expect for rest and recovery. My doctor explained it, but I won’t really know until I go through it. Is it too late to back out?

A friend from our local triathlon club recommended Dr. Ebert from the Orthopedic Surgeons of Austin. I looked him up, and he seems like a good doctor. My friend had both her ankles done by him, and she fully recovered and finished a full Ironman. So, I just have to trust the procedure. My surgery isn’t even that bad—there’s a 2 cm gap between the bone and cartilage, and the doctor said he’ll fill it like a pothole with just two small incisions for the arthroscopic surgery. But the recovery is six weeks of no weight-bearing—two weeks in a cast, then four more weeks of not putting weight on my left ankle. That means no running. My husband bought me a knee scooter, so maybe I can still scoot around and walk the dog with him.  Patience will be my new friend.  The first day of training after all this is over, will be June 15th.

For now, I need to prepare myself mentally for this process.