Thankful Thursday

Today I'm thankful for...

• webcams (I got to see my niece and nephew--I mean sister and brother-in-law--tonight!
• my heating pad (feels great on a muscle that won't move because it's so tight)
• physical therapy being done for the week (I had a 90 minute workout today...painful!)
• weekends (tomorrow is Friday already!)
• anticipation of girl movie night Saturday ("Love Comes Softly" here we come!)

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

This is not going to be a Not Me! post filled with injury-related incidents. My activities this week have not been limited by the fact that I can't walk (very well, anyway). If you missed the complete story, read here.

I did not take a pain pill right before going to bed, only to read the instructions the following day... do not lie down for 30 minutes after taking this medication. OOPS!

This week, I was not known to hop out of the shower and put on a high heel... nope, not me! That would be an incredibly awful fashion statement.

I did not postpone trips to the bathroom because I knew my leg would hurt if I got up. I also did not calculate how long it would take me to get there.

A student at my school did not see my mom at church and say, "Did you know Miss Lutterman broke her intestine?" to which my mom replied, "No, it wasn't her intestine. It was a tendon."

Because I could not walk, I did not go to Wal-Mart with my mom have her escort me through the store in a wheelchair. It wasn't me who hoped I wouldn't see anyone I knew as we were shopping. (As it turns out, I only saw one person I knew.) Normally, I would not have gone under those circumstances, but I had to buy birthday presents. After all, an auntie can't show up at a party for her nieces and nephew without presents, right?

Since I'm only allowed 1-3 hours of walking or standing per day, I did not take my life into my hands and allow students with no driving skills to push me in the wheelchair. I was not pushed into the wall more than once.

We did not successfully pull off a surprise birthday party for my sister Becky on her "29th" birthday.

I am not totally excited for Dancing with the Stars tonight, especially since my sister Erin told me Melissa from The Bachelor would be on the show!

Hopefully I'll have a week filled with activities other than injury-related stories, but I'm afraid that will be my life for a while. Physical therapy starts tomorrow... YIKES!

9/52 Photo Challenge

The topic for this week's photo challenge is objects that tell something about you.

I love to play piano, just wish I had more time for it.

I collect teddy bears.

Not sure about the #1, but I am a teacher.

I like to sew and do crafts.

I am a Minnesota girl.

I love to read.

"Mylo" is one of my closest companions.

Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful for some things that I probably have never been thankful for in my life....

Based on things that have happened this week (read here), today I am thankful for:

• the fact that I don't need surgery.
• friends who offered me my first wheelchair ride (I might still have been walking back to my car)
• two days off to help me rest
• high heels... wearing them is the only way I can walk/hobble/shuffle right now.
• wheelchairs... at school, it makes trips to the bathroom much quicker
• students who are willing (although at times too eager) to push me in the wheelchair
• the weekend... which I coming tomorrow. (I have been thankful for that in the past.)

Anatomy 101

As you may know after reading my Not Me! post this morning, I injured my leg yesterday while walking at church. I ended the post saying I was counting the hours until I went to the orthopedic clinic to see what really happened. Well, I'm back and I have a diagnosis, so I thought I'd give you an update. And since I didn't get to teach today, I thought I'd use you as my students to tell you what I've learned. No really, it will be fun! :)

At my appointment, it was determined that I didn't injure my Achilles tendon and I don't have fluid on my knee (a good thing). I didn't need x-rays because they wouldn't show anything, and I don't need surgery.

In medical terms, I tore my plantaris tendon and medial gastrocnemius muscle in the calf of my left leg. What in the world is the plantaris tendon and medial gastrocnemius muscle? you wonder. I'm so glad you asked! Allow me to present you with your Anatomy 101 lesson for the day. This information is borrowed from a website, which I have become quite familiar with...

The plantaris muscle is a pencil-sized structure tapering down to a fine tendon which runs beneath the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles to attach to the Achilles tendon or to the medial side of the tubercle of the calcaneus. The function of the muscle is of little importance and, with rupture of either the muscle or the tendon, the transient disability is due only to the pain of the torn fibers or swelling from the hemorrhage. Clinical differentiation from complete rupture of the Achilles tendon is sometimes difficult to make. The greater the initial pain and swelling, the longer one can expect the disability to last.

Now, allow me to explain in terms that "normal" people understand. I even found a picture! And a picture is worth a thousand words, as they say. Anyway, this tendon really doesn't have much of a purpose, although it is involved in locking the knee, I guess. The doctor said it's one of those body parts that we don't really need (like appendix). Even 7%-10% of people don't have one. I kinda wish I didn't! But then I wouldn't have learned this part of anatomy, so I guess it's okay. He explained what happened this way... While walking, as I put my heel down, it may have been off balance because I was walking up an incline, and the force of it caused my tendon to snap. It's like a rubber band was stretched to the max and someone cut it with a scissors. The intense, instant pain was from the tendon hitting the other muscles (rubber band hitting your finger). It's funny, because that's exactly how I explained it to my parents. Maybe I should be a doctor??? No, I don't think so.

Because the tendon/muscle tore, I have internal bleeding which may show up in a bruise in 7-10 days. He said don't be surprised if it goes to your ankle. I kind of hope it does. Battle wounds, I guess you'd call them. Wouldn't that make a cool picture? At least I'd have something to show for it all!

Treatment: I have a 9/16 inch lift I have to put under the insole of my shoe. As you read earlier, I have been known to walk around with a robe and high heeled shoe. That is because I can't put my foot flat and put any weight on it, so walking "normal" is out of the question for 6 weeks. After trying this lift, I realized it's not high enough, so I have to go get another one today. Hopefully that will help, although I'm sure the fashion statement I was making with my pajamas and heels would be magazine-worthy! I would have fit into the 50s well! Heels in the kitchen. I am restricted in walking/standing 1-3 hours a day, and knowing how long it takes me to get from one place to another, that's not too long. No climbing ladders (bummer), bending, stooping, squating, crouching, crawling, or kneeling. So pretty much I can sit.

I start physical therapy next week, 2 or 3 times a week for a month. Should be interesting. I am going to attempt to do preschool tomorrow, with the help of a wheeled desk chair. Hopefully the kids will be patient with me.

So there you have it, your anatomy lesson for the day. Your homework assignment??? Don't tear your plantaris tendon or gastrognemius muscle. It really hurts! THE FINAL EXAM IS A KILLER!

Not Me! Monday

This blog carnival was created by MckMama. Head on over to her blog to join in on the fun and read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week!

This week I definitely did not take off 2 days from school so I could go to a ladies craft retreat for 3 days. And at this retreat that I did not go to, I for sure would not have been the one to stay up until 3:00 a.m. to finish 3 quilts (which were Christmas presents from 2007).

It definitely was not me who was planning to stay at church for 12 hours on Sunday, first for church, then worship team practice, then planning for preschool. It could not have been me who, while walking (only walking, people!), heard a terrible ripping/tearing/snapping sound and realized I can't walk. Nope, I did not have knife-stabbing pain searing through my left calf, causing me not to be able to walk. And I for sure did not almost faint from the pain. Since all of this did not happen to me, I'm wondering why I'm sitting here in the recliner at 11:11 a.m. on a Monday, with the pain in my leg almost more than I can bear. It must be a bad dream or something.

Yesterday I did not have my first wheelchair ride.

It for sure wasn't me who crawled around the house when needing to get to the bathroom. And I did not realize that I would probably lose a crawing contest with my nephews. How do they do it? Hurts the knees like crazy!

After a few agonizing minutes in the shower this morning, I absolutely for sure did not put on a 2 inch heeled shoe, because I can't stand flat on my left foot. I was not limping around the house in a bathrobe and one heeled shoe. How's that for a fashion statement?

I did not contemplate the Bible verse that says something to the effect that if your leg offends you, cut it off. Hmmmmmm.... what kind of knife would I use for that?

Well, that's about all for this Monday. I am not counting the hours till I go to the orthopedic clinic to see what in the world is wrong with my leg. I'll keep you posted. (I just realized that is kind of a pun... and I'm not even on painkillers-yet!)

8/52 Photo Challenge

Well, I must admit that I didn't get this week's photo challenge completed. From Thursday through Saturday, I was at a ladies craft retreat and didn't get the time to take pictures. I was actually going to do it last night, but I was so tired, and it was starting to get dark also.

Right now, my challenge is walking, because while at church this afternoon, I tore/ripped/snapped something in the back of my calf and now I can't walk. I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure I've never heard anything like that before... the tearing/ripping/snapping. I actually heard it. Yes, my trying to walk is probably a funny sight, but the pain is overwhelming, to the point that I almost fainted at church. Thankfully I remembered something from my first aid class years ago. I sat down in the pew and put my head down as low as I could. After numbing my leg with ice (thanks Joel!), I got my first ever wheelchair ride (thanks Tiffani and Christina!) and gathered my stuff from school and headed home, where I've been sitting for the past 6 hours. So... I hope you'll forgive me if I take pictures later in the week and post them as last week's photo challenge. :)

I'm still puzzled about next week's challenge... objects that tell something about you. Should be interesting.