Understanding Pain.

A swollen ankle.

It really doesn't seem like a big deal, but somehow, spraining my ankle over a friendly (or not so friendly, rather) game of futsal taught me to appreciate little things that I take for granted all the time. I know, it sounds silly and almost frivolous of me to discount the 4 limbs I was born with, the eyes I can see with, the ears I can hear with but I've lived all my life taking these things for granted.

Ok, maybe not all the years. There was a year I caught a bad bout of pneumonia and was rushed to the hospital at 4am, coughing blood into my tissue. I remember being petrified and thinking I had TB instead.

So what just happened to get my foot all mangled and ugly like it is today? As I sit here with a half-melted ice pack (due to our country's insufferable heat), I try to recall the day's happenings.

But it wasn't the fall that snapped me to realizing how important walking was to me. When the doctor told me no high-impact activities for awhile, I was horrified! What would I do for exercise? Already I can feel the blobs of fat layer themselves on my slowly-getting-weaker body. I can feel myself expand as I lose stamina. Gosh.

Am I like exaggerating a tad or what? Anyway, the picture above is my foot as of today, 4 days after my fall. It's a little uglier in real life and a nasty blue black marks my bad fall. But see below for how it swelled up the first night.

Things I learnt to treat a sprained ankle:

1. Never think it isn't serious, and try to continue running/ walking/ playing the fool. I did that and it worsened.

2. Try get an ankle guard as soon as possible, for stability and support.

3. Ice the swollen area every 3-4 hours, for about 10mins each time. (In our weather, Ice packs don't last very long, so I'd suggest more frequently for shorter timespans).

4. Elevate it whenever possible to keep the blood from clotting around the swollen area.

5. Learn your morphone from your codeine. (just kidding). See a good doctor, who can prescribe a strong painkiller. Remember not to let your productivity slide when you're being distracted by excruciating pain from moving your ankle too much. Also, make sure your doctor knows about any drug allergies (eg - I'm allergic to Aspirin, so well, between getting a tight chest, itching and some wheezing or feeling the pain from a fall I kinda deserved, I'll choose the dull ache in my leg anytime!)

Guess that's about all the tips that Doc Ee feels in the mood to share for today. Also I've got other things to do. Sorry for the boring-est post ever! :) But it's good to show off my souvenirs from a tumble!!!

I can't wait for my foot to feel better. It looks atrocious, but inside, I'm not afraid of the pain. The pain helps to remind me that reality does hurt. That i am not invincible, and that I can be stopped short just when I'm sure of myself. I need to recover, and I want to recover. I will recover by next week, and the threadmill will be my home once more.