When Injury Meets Determination: Balancing School and Healing

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Ever wondered what recovery from a serious leg injury actually looks like? Spoiler alert: it's not the relaxing downtime people imagine! After taking a fall on my birthday, I've been navigating the strange new world of limited mobility, specialized medical equipment, and the frustrating gap between what I want to accomplish and what my body currently allows.

My newest companion is something called a Dynasplint—a massive metal contraption with pulleys designed to gradually stretch my injured leg back to normal. For someone barely five feet tall, this imposing device feels like strapping a small car to my limb! The physical therapists want me wearing it six hours daily, which seems nearly impossible when I can barely manage one hour now. Between hopping on one leg, keeping the other elevated, and trying to build tolerance for this medieval-looking stretching device, each day brings new challenges and small victories.

Despite these obstacles, life doesn't pause for recovery. I'm preparing to start online classes at Grand Canyon University on September 18th, which means scrambling to submit transcripts and coordinate with the Office of Disabilities while managing my physical therapy regimen. My podcast "She Is Her" about mental disabilities continues, though I've had to adjust my publishing schedule to accommodate my new limitations. Recovery has taught me that adaptation isn't optional—it's essential.

The journey of healing rarely follows a straight line, but I'm determined to make progress on multiple fronts simultaneously. Maybe I'll write essays while wearing my Dynasplint—killing two birds with one stone! Have you faced similar challenges balancing recovery with life's ongoing demands? I'd love to hear your stories and strategies for turning obstacles into opportunities. Subscribe to follow my recovery journey and upcoming interviews that promise plenty of the "mess beyond mess" that makes life interesting!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to a winning hunt, you guys.
First of all, I have my cameraturned off because I look like
awful, awful.
This is what you get when youhave like injury and you're
semi-bed bound you get awful,you get awful, you get awful.

(00:27):
So it's easier.
It's also truly easier oninternet wise to turn cameras
off and just speak.
So for those of you wanting tobe podcast guests, sometimes the
podcast guests require camerason or require cameras off.

(00:53):
It's your winning heart.
And when I start interviewingpeople on she Is Her talking
about mental disabilities, whichgo check that out.

(01:14):
I only have one episode out,but please go check that out and
just listen to that.
I need to do my second episode.
Maybe that would be a projectfor small, because I said
Tuesdays and Thursdays and I'vealready failed at that, so I may

(01:35):
switch it to Tuesdays andSundays.
That's when I'll probably doswitch it to Tuesdays and
Sundays, because that's theeasiest.
You would think being bed-boundwas interesting.
You would think I have all thistime on my hands, but I truly

(01:59):
don't, and I have a huge projectthat needs to get done by the
18th actually two of them by the18th, which will be my project
for next week, because I need toget my transcripts in and into

(02:21):
college believe it or not andget myself set up with that
before the 18s.
And then I need to get myselfset up with Office of
Disabilities at Grand CanyonUniversity and do all that.

(02:42):
So, yeah, that's fun, but youwould think me being bedbound.
I would have all this time onmy hands.
No, but to give you an updateon how I'm doing, I'm actually
progressing.
Believe it or not, I actuallyhave a splint that goes on my

(03:08):
leg.
As bent as my leg is.
A splint goes on my leg andit's called the Dynasplint, dino
sprint, and what it?
What it does if I only got whatit does is there's pulleys in

(03:33):
the dino Dagen Dynasprint, whichactually stretched my leg out.
So I put the sprint on.
I should do it today.
Actually, I put the sprint onand my aides I can't do it
myself, I wish I could my aideshelped me set it to a certain

(04:01):
number and it actually stretchesmy leg out.
So that's been a fun andinteresting challenge.
Just that, because I didn'tknow that my leg couldn't
completely collapse number oneon itself, and I did not know

(04:27):
that there was such a thing as adino sprint.
So, yeah, that's been a fun one.
I mean, this big and heavy andmetal sprint unwindled me and
for those who know me, in theepisode of my chair, for those

(04:49):
who know me and for those whoknow me publicly and privately
know that I'm only five feet, soa big, huge monster of a dino
sprint and ugh, it's okay, I'llget through this.
I'll get through this.

(05:10):
A big, huge monster of a dinosprint goes little old me and
I'm like, really, and I'msupposed to be wearing this
thing thing six hours a daywould look at it.
Trust me, we're getting thereand it's not easy.

(05:32):
It's not easy dealing with aleg that doesn't want to
cooperate, it's not easy.
Nopping on one leg is not easy,and having legs up in the air
is not easy, but I manage itsomehow because that's what I

(06:00):
have to do and I will manageeverything else along with this,
and now I have to put homeworkin, along with PT exercises.
That's going to be fun, yeahright.
So that's going to be, that'sgonna be fun.

(06:20):
Yeah right, that's gonna be,that's gonna be fun.
Maybe I'll write my essays withthe Dynasprint on, I don't know.
I don't know, probably BecauseKilltubers with one stone start
on speech, taking an essay andhaving the dinosaur on, I don't

(06:44):
know, because that's the onlyway I can think of doing it,
because I well, I don't spendthe majority of my time in bed.
I try to sit up at the edge ofthe bed with PT.

(07:04):
But, yeah, the splint isactually helpful, don't get me
wrong.
As I said, it has a pulleymechanism built into it and it
literally stretches my leg down.
But don't know how I'm going towear this thing six hours a day

(07:29):
.
Well, we'll soon see.
I'm up to one hour, but I needa couple more.
But six hours a day.
We chose to sing and Dan theYellow's saying yes and Dan the
Yellow's thinking oh my God,what did the wind get itself
into?
And I got myself into thisinjury of falling on my birthday

(07:55):
, and that's how this wholeinjury started.
And we're recovering from thisinjury.
So, as of September 18th, I amgoing back to school online.
I couldn't do it in the otherway.
I thought about going in person, but it's too much.

(08:17):
Too much to go in person, muchto go in person.
And so I, yeah, as of September18th, we'll just see where we

(08:39):
are with my exercises and, as Isaid, maybe I'll put the
diagnosis band on and carry onwith essays.
I don't know, because it's theonly way I can think of Two
challenges at once.
I love it, but we'll make itwork and we'll just see where it
goes.

(08:59):
And so, with that, I'm going tolet Danielle need us out and
then we'll see where it goes.
Oh, one more thing before weleave Danielle, when are you

(09:21):
leaving for your vacation At theend of October, and how long
will you be gone?
I leave a chat, tell you moreand be back on the show.

(09:54):
Okay, so during that time,don't contact Dan the Yell, do
not.
Do not because Dan the Ye Donot.
Do not Because Danielle'shaving too much fun.
Do not have any desire tocontact Danielle.

(10:15):
If you need to contact someone,contact me, Contact me.
And if you just Danielle's goingto be having too much fun in
Disney Cruise, which maybe whenshe gets back she'll want to
talk about that publicly and tosee how, to see how the Disney

(10:38):
Cruise is.
I don't know.
But yeah, do not contactDanielle at the end of October
because she'll be dancing thenight away with Mickey Mouse.
I know it, I know it, I know itand I know it, and she's going
to have a lot of fun.

(10:59):
Apparently, I've been toldthose Disney well, any cruise is
a blast, but those Disneycruises, I've been told, are fun
.
So, yep, so that's it, you guys,and I need to post an interview
for you guys and then we'll seewhat other mess we can get into

(11:23):
.
Mess beyond mess, beyond mess,mess we can get into, mess
beyond mess, beyond mess is whatwe get into.
Yes, we do, oh, yes, we do.
Don't say that, don't say that,bff, yes, we do.
And so I will see you guys nextweek, I will post that

(11:44):
interview and then we'll figureout what messes we should get
into, and I hope you enjoyed andthank you for following us.
Bye, you guys, Bye.