Almost three years after my broken leg injury http://bit.ly/2Ut6DyC, I decided to go back to physical therapy.  The truth is, up to now, I’ve been lazy.  I didn’t continue with physical therapy or daily exercises, I was just hoping that everything would get better in time.  
 
Unfortunately, my lack of dedication weakened my left leg - to the point that activities that were previously simple, were now almost impossible to do – running, hiking, etc.  My range of motion (ROM) in my foot and leg was abysmal.  The constant ache that I had gradually grown accustomed to as the new norm was ongoing.  
 
In December, I went to my orthopedic surgeon to get a prescription for physical therapy.  I made an appointment at the nearest clinic to work.  It was a disaster.  I felt like I was in some sort of factory.  There was no personalized treatment.  They used a checklist.  I hated it.

I have the good luck of having a younger brother who has a Doctorate in Physical Therapy and has his own clinic.  I might be biased, but he is the best PT in the world!  Unfortunately, he lives in another state so I knew I could not see him regularly. (Shameless plug -  If you’re in Phoenix, go see him at Synergy PT, https://www.synergyptph.com – you won’t be sorry!)

I scheduled a “session” during my holiday visit – and boy was it telling.  While my body had been telling me that my left leg was weak, now there was validation with a professional who wasn’t going to indulge (what little brother does!) As it turns out, the angle measurements for my dorsiflexion (the backward bending and contracting of your foot by drawing your toes back toward you) and plantarflexion (the bending of the foot or toes toward the sole of the foot) were off.  My ankles and muscles on my left leg were WEAK.
 
       
 
I left the clinic with a list daily exercises, including heel raises and standing on one leg at a time.  I intended to stick to it (six weeks later and I still do them every day!)   
 
     
 
So what are the life lessons here?:
 
·      If you want change, you have to work for it.  Things don’t just happen.  My leg was not going to get better without me taking action.
·      If something isn’t working for you, change it.  I immediately knew that I did not like the physical therapy place I originally went to.  If I didn’t like it, I wasn’t going to go.
·      Practice consistency and dedication to reach your goal.  In order for my leg to get better, I’m going to have to spend time on it each and every day.

While I would never call myself an active person, I did enjoy being outdoors, loved to jog through the neighborhood, go for the occasional run, and play tennis sporadically. I had made a silent resolution to become more active and spend quality time doing fun outdoor things with my family, knowing it was a great way to bring us closer. On one of these occasions, I ventured out with my husband and stepsons for a leisurely Saturday bike ride- destination: the beach. That fate filled ride was three years ago. We got about a mile from home, where, while walking my bike across a tricky piece of sidewalk, I fell, bike and body, off of a 16-inch curb. As these things sometimes go, I fell in a way that defied physics, and my leg became entangled and stuck in the spokes of my bike wheel, and there was a sound I’m really sure none of us will forget, “snap”. In the blink of an eye – I had a spiral compound fracture of my left leg. 
 
I have the utmost respect for the machine that is the human body.  It’s fragile while mighty.  Yes, I now had broken bones that were newly re-arranged in a way I’ll spare you from visualizing, but, because of shock that had set in, my defense mechanisms prevented me from feeling pain.  Fragile, yet mighty.
 
Kind passerby’s helped us, and I was taken directly to the hospital where immediate emergency surgery included the installation of a rod and four pins to repair my leg.  I was ordered to severly limit my mobility to only the necessities for at minimum the next several months. All in all, I began to walk with some normalcy about five months after the fall. 
 
There were many lessons learned throughout this experience.  Some wonderful, some surprising, some, soul searching. 
 
Gratitude.
First, the kindness of complete strangers who helped me initially, and restored my faith in the goodness of people.  People truly do want to help and want the best for others.  I am grateful to my family for their quick thinking and aid, as well as to the strangers who pulled over to the side of the road to help us.  I have gratitude for the knowledge and compassion of the emergency medical team who calmed me and initially treated me. 
 
Loved ones
I found out who in my life really means “I’m there for you when you need me”. People showed up. People helped and cared and it warmed me to no end.
 
Emotions
Now, surprisingly, while many of my friends would say “enjoy the time off and forced relaxation! Read! Write! Watch crap TV! The reality was – I found myself falling into a depression, with bouts of anxiety and a rain cloud of isolation wrapped in helplessness. Rationally, I knew my situation was temporary, however, my emotional side refused to listen to my logical side.  I found online forums, and learned I was far from alone in this feeling, it’s fairly common actually. Knowing I wasn’t alone and reading what others in my similar situation had done, helped greatly.
    
The Body
On the physical side, my bone repaired well – the surgeons did a great job. My muscles were a different story.  Because once I was mobile again, and rejoined my work and home routine, I neglected to continue with physical therapy, which I now recognize as a mistake. My muscles have not regained the strength they once had, to the contrary. My right leg overcompensates for the weakness in my left leg, and the range of motion in that leg is very limited. At times, I confess, I feel like my limb is a peg leg – not a sexy feeling to be sure.  The silver lining - knowing I could find work as a local meteorologist, because I can often predict rain better than they can. I used to think that was an old wives tale – but I’m here to tell you it’s true. Incoming rain causes quite a bit of discomfort. Fortunately, we live in Southern California, where it’s not that frequent.   
 
It’s up to me
In the back of my mind, I always thought that someday, it would all go back to ‘normal’ (i.e. my physical well being prior to the accident).  Somehow, I skimmed over the part that it would take effort from “me” to get there.   Not the surgeons, not the forums, but me. When I finally came to the realization that “this is where the tire meets the road” I made an appointment with my orthopedic surgeon and got a prescription for physical therapy.  I know it will take hard work, tenacity, and I know there will be days when the proverbial devil on my shoulder will try to get me to skip a class, but I now know the angel on my other shoulder is emboldened with the vision of my goal, how I want to feel and the physical condition I want to achieve. 
I have daily exercises to do and about ten more sessions of PT to do.  
 
I am motivated and focused on my goal of losing the 15 pounds that have crept on since the accident, getting into shape, and being able to do cardio again.  I am unbroken and back on track.

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While I didn’t plan on having any New Year’s resolutions this year, I woke up on January 1st with a deep sense of dread about my lifestyle choices (not to mention a hangover.)  Even with running a weight loss app that embraces a healthy lifestyle, I’ve been lazy about my own personal choices.  I use the typical excuses “I’m too tired,” “I woke up too late” or “I’ll start tomorrow.”  

It’s led me to a place where I’m not happy with myself.  I’ve gained 20 pounds in five years, none of my clothes fit, I’ve been drinking like a fish, I’ve done the bare minimum to promote Compete2Beat.  

So I’d like to use this blog to talk about the challenges I face in life, physically, emotionally, professionally.  Most of them,  I’ve created myself.  

I’d love to hear your feedback.  Because I get THOUSANDS of spam sign ups every day, I end up deleting forum activations.  If you have problems signing up, email me at forum@compete2beat.com.

Anna
Founder
Compete2Beat

I just discovered ginger shots and love them!

https://www.popsugar.com/fitness/Benefit...kTb37ED584


   

Even if you don’t have a Fitbit, you can use your smartphone to track your activities. For example, here is a user with an Android phone using the Google Fit app. If you haven’t entered your daily activities on your Google Fit app, Compete2Beat will use your weight and height to calculate your calories burned throughout the day (pic 1) Once you do add activities in Google Fit, Compete2Beat will add those calories burned (pic 2.) 

       

It’s Monday morning! I need my dose of caffeine - but which is healthier? Coffee or tea?

https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/news/...ter-health

You can create your own personal challenge to monitor your weight loss progress. 1. Go to home page and top the trophy icon 2. Select “Create Challenge” and fill in the fields 3. Under “Competition Type”, select “Personal” and check your stats! 

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It's easy to input a healthy meal on your calorie counter so that your teammates think you are eating well!  But that defeats the purpose!  Input accurate calorie totals so that your teammates can help support and encourage you!

   

Check your notifications for team invites, challenge invites, weigh in reminders and other daily notifications!