“Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. It is far better to take things as they come along with patience and equanimity.” – Carl Jung
Just as this gorgeous great blue heron sits behind a bramble of thorny branches, I’m hoping for the silver lining behind my sprained ankle. — Photo by Pat Bean
I Hate Whiners, and Now I Am One
My sprained ankle is not one bit better. In fact, I think it is worse, perhaps because of the three flights of stairs I have to go up and down daily to walk Pepper. I’m thinking of getting a dog walker for a few days in hopes if I let my foot rest, it will begin healing. When I’m on it for more than a few minutes it swells up like a grapefruit.
I did finally go to the doctor, and X-rays showed nothing broken. They gave me a gel brace to wear, which sometimes helps and sometimes doesn’t. Meanwhile I am not getting much writing done, mostly just my weekly three blogs for American Profile magazine in which I get to write about this country’s many sight-seeing opportunities. http://blogs.americanprofile.com/
I’m simply not one of those people who can work through a painful distraction, perhaps because I have been blessed to have had very few sick or painful days in my life. Even now I feel ashamed for whining.
Perhaps this incident will help me more patient of those who do. I mean there’s got to be a silver lining somewhere. I’ve always found it before.
The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.
Bean’s Pat: http://tinyurl.com/b5gdsy9 Angel’s Rest, where unwanted animals find sanctuary. If you’re ever in this awesome area of Southern Utah, you should drop by.
Pat Bean's blog 
I have sprained an ankle and getting off of it is the best for healing – Good Luck:)
Which is the one thing I haven’t done. Going to have to try it.
You’re allowed to whine occasionally, Pat. I hope you ankle is back to 100 percent soon.
Thanks Bob.
Pat – So sorry to hear you’re in pain and a state of aggrevation. There probably will be a bright side to this injury, but it’s hard to seek it when you’re hurting. As an armchair wanderer and writer who is also on the mature side of life, I look forward to reading your blog even though I’ve never emailed before to tell you so. Hope you get to feeling better soon! Best, Elaine Thomas, La Grange, TX
Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2013 16:25:14 +0000 To: callacomm@hotmail.com
Thanks for your very kind words. Elaine. And thanks for following my journeys, which hopefully will soon see a brighter side.
If there is a health food store or vitamin shop around near you, get some arnica gel or cream. There are carrying it in regular drugstores too. This is my go to medicine for bruises and sprains and keep it in the med chest and even the glove box of the car. I have very “racehorse” ankles and am always spraining them. I even used it on a broken arm before I went to the ER a few years ago, and it never swelled. Sending you lots of healing energy.
I’m really sorry your ankle is giving you so much trouble, Pat. Sprains are the pits. If you break something, they can put a cast on it but that’s not done for sprains. If you want to help reduce the swelling, you might learn how to put on an ACE bandage. The pressure will keep the swelling down, and it will support the ankle, too. But you can’t just wrap it any ol’ which way, you need to learn how to use the “angles” properly and get the pressure right, etc. It worked for me, but I still got a couple of weeks behind on my running. I kept the ACE bandage on for several months, though, because working the ankle called for the support. Good luck, Dearie!
I guess I’ve never had a sprain before, not even a broken bone, well except for my nose which I broke diving for a tennis ball back when I was on a city team. The nose didn’t hurt at all, but this sure does.
Pat, so sorry you’re laid up. It’s a doggone shame to have something like a sprained ankle slow you down. Since you’ve time on your hands, you might enjoy watching these two live bird cams with chicks
http://www.ustream.tv/hummingbirdnestcam
http://dickpritchettrealestate.com/eagle-feed.html
Hope they keep your mind off the pain and provides some healing relaxation.
Take care, Barbara
Thanks Barbara. I just hired a dog walker for a week, so I can rest the foot as the doctor ordered.
Get well soon~ it is okay to whine sometimes…so don’t feel so bad about it.
Cheers~ 😀
Feeling better, Pat. Hugs across the airwaves to you.
Thanks Len.
Hope you’re up and at ’em soon, Pat. I took a nasty fall last week on an icy deck and I’m still sore. Santa Barbara got cold: It was in the low 30s when I got to work one morning. But we’re back to the seventies today!
Thanks Darla Hope you’re better now. It got down to freezing in Tucson, but it’s back up to the 70s here, too.
I hope you’re feeling better, Pat. I’m not very patient with my own pain or illness either, yet I’m always the first to tell others to take it easy. So… take it easy, Pat. 🙂