Another Ankle Update

I am slowly but surely making progress toward my ankle recovery and my return to the basketball court. It has been a long and frustrating process but I think that the worst is over. I went to Paris on February 16 to see a specialist to get another opinion on what the correct plan of action should be. The Doctor suggested another injection into the joint to try and relieve the inflammation and to regain the range of motion within the joint.

After discussing the plan with my agent, American doctor and my family we decided to move forward. Unfortunately the plan didn't move as fast as we wanted it too. I was growing frustrated very quickly but the team told me that the French medical system is slow and things don't move quickly. I had to wait a few weeks but I finally had my injection on March 9.

I had already had an injection in my ankle back in December and it went very smoothly without any pain. I wish the same could be said about the most recent injection. The doctor was nice and spoke excellent English but when he put the needle into my ankle it hurt like crazy. The needle has to go in about 2 inches to make sure that the fluid is absorbed into the articulation. Maybe I wasn't ready for it but it was not the most comfortable thing in the world.

I spent the next couple of days on crutches. Not because of pain but because it is best for the fluid to be absorbed into the ankle and I am doing great for the time being. It takes 3-5 days for the injection to work so I shouldn't feel a whole lot better until then.

We are going forward with my return to activity and therapy. We do not need to rush it like last time so we are going slowly. On Monday I will be back on a bike but only at 50%. The goal is to not put too much pressure on the ankle joint and to make sure the medicine is still working. I can resume shooting on Tuesday but not too hard and only taking spot up jumpers. The goal is to try running and jogging on Friday. I can do this right now but we want to try it and see if there is pain after the injection. I am very excited for this day because I have not run in over a month. It's crazy because I hate running but I want to do it again.

So, that is the ankle update for now. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this is the last injection and things will be on the up and up from here on out.