Yes. I confess. I have not been a faithful blogger. I hope some of you folks are still out there checking in occasionally. thanks. :)
My last entry was early May! A lot has changed since then.
I was happy to be putting weight on the foot with crutches in mid-May. I was doing (and continue to do) therapy exercises sometimes for 4-5 hours a day to try to work it back into shape. but with my new Dr.’s encouragement, I started making some milestones –

I started walking some without crutches by the end of May. I remember walking VERRRRY slowly in the Wheaton, IL Subway on Memorial Day. Good milestone.

And then, finally – first day without crutches was June 4. It was a big day, obviously.

I was called up to walk in front of my church on June 7. That was a powerful moment since so many of those folks had been praying for me for months, and even visited me in the hospital when they weren’t sure if my foot would stay on.

My very matter-of-fact, straight-shooting Physical Therapist was very pleased when I was able to walk well for him, even outside on the grass.

I walked slowly into our uber-exciting annual Ackland family reunion, which felt really great in front of family.

And last Wed. (6/17) – I took a walk that I later measured with our car, 2/3 mile on gravel, a surface that has been very difficult earlier because of the unevenness. I’m very excited to see the progress.

-//- I want to be so grateful to God for what I’ve been able to do, well beyond what the doctors predicted. And yet I get very discouraged sometimes. Like today. There’s still such a long way to go. I would so appreciate your continued prayers for things like these:

- The arch in my injured foot is very stretched, sore, and painful. Hopefully it will continue to rehabilitate, and massage therapy might help the process.
- continued strengthening in my foot, toes, and ankle.
- more motion might be restored in the injured ankle itself
- smoother walking, less limp
- my continuing appeal with the Insurance – thankfully, the disputed amount is now lower than $6000. But since the dr.’s appeal failed, now I have to gather up a lot of documents and try to appeal for more money awarded to cover the surgical costs.
- And, very importantly, my mind and heart and emotions.

So much of this journey now is a battle of thoughts and emotion. I have a hard time sometimes accepting that life is different now. I want to be back to the way life was, the way I was… which is impossible. I need to remember where I was at last Dec. … last February… what I have is truly a blessing. It’s just really difficult not to compare myself with most people I see and want to have their same abilities.

I need to remember – I was off my foot for almost half a year. I’ve only been working on it with therapy for less than 3 months. I’ve only been walking without crutches for less than a month. So there’s certainly reason to hope for further improvement – I believe God’s showing me that the old ways I’ve always thought and lived just aren’t going to cut it now. I have to trust Him, discipline my mind to not allow myself to think discouraging thoughts – and keep moving.

I hope to surprise you with how much God has healed me the next time I see you! Thanks for reading and caring.