Someone hit me with a baseball bat...

OK, so nobody actually hit me with a baseball bat -- it just felt like someone had. I tore my Achilles tendon Thursday night while playing volleyball. Totally a freak accident. I was just playing as usual - nothing out of the ordinary - but when I made an approach for a kill, I heard a shotgun blast go off. At least that's how it sounded to my ears. It might not have been quite that loud, but I think if you stood on a chair and dropped a phone book on the floor, that's about how loud it was.

It is so crazy to realize how quickly your mind works: before I even hit the ground, I remember thinking, "Someone must have just jumped on the back of my ankle," and, "Why would someone do that?" and, "My leg must be broken." Then when I hit the ground, I realized there was no one near me. With a few more seconds, I started to piece things together. I've heard other horror stories of loud pops and baseball bats to the back of the heel. When one of my teammates asked me if it was my ankle, my first response was, "I think it's my Achilles."

Sure enough, the doctor confirmed the next day that I had ruptured my Achilles. For those not versed in medical terminology, that means that my calf muscle was no longer attached to my heel (via the Achilles tendon). It was a bit freaky to watch as the doctor made his diagnosis (this is something you could even play along with at home). He had me lay on my stomach and dangle my feet off the edge of the exam table. If you squeeze your own calf, you should see your foot point slightly. My left foot pointed a little, as it should, but my right foot didn't budge.

I was very glad to get the doctor's appointment the same day I called, and I was also happy to get the surgery set for this morning. I figured, the sooner I can get recovery started, the better. I started my morning at 6:15, got to the hospital at 7, and made it onto the operating table just before 9 (not that I was awake by then). Apparently, the surgery went well. It only lasted about an hour, but I didn't find consciousness again until just after noon. I'm feeling pretty good now, but I've been fairly groggy most of the afternoon. Jill, of course, has been great. She's doing her usual best with the girls and doing great with another really big kid. One positive for the day (besides a loving and caring wife) is that I get to watch some great basketball on a comfortable couch, sipping Ginger Ale. That's pretty sweet.

The road to recovery is going to take several months. I'm definitely pretty bummed about that. I'll be on crutches for the first month, and then I'll have a boot on for a while after that. The good news is that the prognosis for recovery is very good over the long term. I should be able to get back playing sports again with a very small chance of reinjury. And at least I made it through the ski season with a great trip to Utah before this happened.

Thanks for all the well wishes from family and friends. I'll try to keep you posted on progress or at least try to post gross-out pics of the staples and scar.

I didn't get my injury on tape, but you can watch Misty May-Treanor snap her Achilles on Dancing With The Stars. Try to listen for the pop (or turn down the volume if that makes you squeamish).

Bum Deal

Poor Drew ruptured his achilles tendon last night and has to have surgery on it tomorrow morning and then wear a cast (regular, then walking) for MONTHS.

The Reason

This is part of the reason Andrew doesn't like excursions. Crowds, lots of noise, and crazy hyper kids.

April Fool's Day

We didn't do much to celebrate yesterday. I had Liz dump a cup of cold water on Drew while he was showering and that's about it. Liz LOVED it. She laughed so hard.

Some days, when Lizzie is wearing really crazy, unmatched clothes I think, well at least people can see Alaina and I dressed normal and know that Liz dressed herself. They couldn't think that on Tuesday when I pretty much wore dirty sweat pants and a t-shirt all day (dirty cause Laina spit up on me) and Lainey wore super crazy, mismatched prints.

Peace Out Fairfax County Rec

Yesterday, while I was on my way to drop Alaina off at a babysitter's house, I got a call from a manager at Lee Rec Center informing me, 25 minutes before it was scheduled to start, that my pilates class was cancelled due to low enrollment. The same thing happened in January only I got the call two days earlier. So frustrating.

I asked the guy to sign me up for another pilates class and he said he would. Then, this morning I decided to go the Gold's Gym route instead so I called to cancelled the new pilates class only to discover that the guy never signed me up for it anyway. I took that as confirmation that I made the correct decision. Lizzie's gymnastics class just ended Monday (they went through four different teachers--come on!) and for the time being, I'm taking a break from these fickle rec centers.

Happy moments from our last couple gymnastic classes (a.k.a. an excuse to post cute pictures of my girls in an otherwise ornery post):

Walks

I LOVE to go on walks. Drew, not so much.

This means it's even sweeter that he went on on a walk with me last Saturday while Liz was at her friend, Avery's birthday party (she loved it). It was a little windy and chilly and when we pulled up in the parking lot I said, "I don't think I'll last that long in this weather." Drew smiled and said, "That's what I like to hear." We lasted an hour.

I tried to get a shot of the two of us together "to preserve the memories." Andrew kept saying, "I'm not in the picture Jill. You're cutting off my head." I was like, no I'm not. Anyway, I have lots of pictures like this.

SUCCESS! Speaking of success, I got Andrew to go walk around the tidal basin with me yesterday after work. Loved it. It was cold, a little windy, the kids each had crying moments, but overall it was fun and the blossoms were BEAUTIFUL. And even though Drew suggested that the view from the car was even better than the view on foot, I think he secretly had fun.

At one point I tried to change Lainey's diaper while she was still in her stroller. It didn't work too well. We lost a bit of orange poo in the seat. Yuck. We eventually found it mushed into the seat belt. We took turns digging out the mess. It was pretty gross, but funny (or so I thought).
I held Alaina while Andrew cleaned the seat and then she didn't want to go back in.
We let her cry for awhile, then we took turns carrying Lainey and pushing Liz in the baby stroller.

VIDEOS:

Last week Liz got her costume for the upcoming dance recital (striped tights not included). Super cute.

Since I don't have family in the area to attend her performance I'm posting these little snippets for them (mostly for Nana and Papa since they are the mot likely to watch them):