The plate is there, sure. I can feel it and seeing the x-ray yesterday for the first time was a little disturbing. However, I have been training to be a ninja for over 6mths and in that short space of time I have learnt a great deal about the connection between body and mind (the Matrix and philosophical discussions with my fellow students and shidoshi helped, too). No doubt the anti-religious, absolute-scientific-fact-only mafia will dismiss or ridicule this, but hey. Consider the following:

"Take a cocoon. There is a butterfly inside it. For the butterly to appear, you need the chrysalis. If someone from the outside helps the butterfly to leave his chrysalis, he may facilitate its coming out of it but doesn’t help him. There are some movements that he needs to do for himself to help strengthen his muscles that he would not have had to do if someone had helped him out of his cocoon. Therefore he would be out but would have no strength to take off or live a productive and full life.

You need to let the butterfly make his own progress. These movements are necessary for him to allow him to fly with his own wings, otherwise he will stay on the ground and will not be able to live by himself without assistance."

For our ankles, this means that the pain is necessary. It's an important part of rebuilding the joint and making it stronger than before. I intend to rebuild my joint and when 18mths have passed, I intend to have the metal removed and rebuild the joint again! Is this a daunting process and time frame? Absolutely. Am I ready for it? Absolutely. Whilst there have been lots of downs accompanying this period of my life and there will continue to be some for years to come, I consider it to be an essential part of who I am and who I want to be.

The mind and body are linked, if you focus on how good your ankle is feeling, it will feel good. If you work hard to exercise it in a beneficial manner and stay positive, you will feel better. On the running front, I would say short sharp bursts are better than jogging for extended periods. Try some parkour, surfing makes a lot of sense and on a connected note, certain martial arts (and I don't mean mindless fighting) are excellent for development of both the mind and body. My soke (or grandmaster) is 80 odd years old and still actively training everyday.

I'll keep you informed on how I get on and I hope you'll do the same

Angelic, I have a 47yr old friend who has been surfing for over 20yrs and despite losing his marriage and everything he ever wanted 5yrs ago, still finds something in the ocean. I'm not ignorant to that and you're absolutely right that I shouldn't waste living in Cornwall. I also plan on not wasting living at all, from now on. So I shall be asking me friend to take me out this year. I went out for the first time ever last September with him and had a blast, the board was not a beginners one and I struggled, but it was an incredible feeling. Surfing is much like martial arts, or yoga in terms of feeling grounded and connected. I hope to regain that feeling in the coming weeks.

(8+0

Mark

Hang on a mo, do you need them first class, or would you like some sent second class so that you can open them next week?

All the best for a speedy return to full operation.

The X-Ray is always disconcerting.. when i saw it i was like ".... okaaaay", especially when you see how deep the pins actually go into the bone .

I do kind of understand what you're saying about the pain... i assume that it hurts because it's being worked etc. and not just because it feels like hurting lol.

With regards to excercise the main thing i did here at uni was row relatively regularly and i managed to actually get back into it near the end of the first term however an increased workload and some other issues during the second term meant i stopped going. Exams are on this term so i've not been either however once they finish i do plan to get back into it since it's a really nice feeling when boating across a calm stretch of river.

As for martial arts, i'm definitely considering it next year since it just so happens one of my mates managed to get captain of the judo squad and is living with me in the apartment next year so that's something i'm looking forward to. Also both looking at Brazillian Jujitsu and maybe Aikido or Muay Thai (and i like to lean towards kendo lol).... maybe they aren't the most spiritual but either way it would still be excercise.

You also mentioned getting the plate removed at a later date ? Is this a personal choice or did they tell/ask you ? I was told that there was no "need" to remove the plate unless it either got infected or caused other issues however i can see how if given the choice i might opt to remove it, however half of me does think it could be too much hassle.

Either or is good Thanks.

vdb, make sure you do some walking everyday. That should be something everyone does. I get that when you're busy things fall behind. That's the problem with this lifestyle we lead, it's easy to loose focus because there are so many distractions. The best exercise is something you enjoy doing that also happens to get you fit. Martial arts is a great example, so is dance, swimming, cycling, surfing. Unless you're one of these fitness freaks, exercise for it's own sake is boring to most of us. This is a basic philosophy that can be applied to many things in life.

I would definitely recommend Brazilian Jujitsu for it's fluidity of movement (great for your ankle and improvisation of technique) and Aikido for it's ethos and spiritual component. If you're interested, search for Bujinkan, near you. Or Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu, or ninjutsu. The focus on bio-mechanics makes it something anyone of any size, shape or strength can become effective at. Good luck with your search. It took me 2mths to find the right dojo for me.

As for the plate, I'm not comfortable with the idea of having metallurgic intervention in my body forever, so I asked them when I could have it removed. They told me the same as you, "no need". I insisted, and the consultant told me it would be 18mths before it could be removed and then it would have to be because it was "causing discomfort". I'm a lot newer at this than you, so I'll see how I go, but at this point I feel I would prefer to have it removed.

Come back from my first physio this morning and she said she was impressed with my range of motion already. She has said that martial arts is great and that I have a head start as a result. I've been given plenty of exercises to do and will be going back in a week. She's hopeful I'll be able to walk unaided within a week and consequently drive, which is something I've really missed.

Looking forward to the challenge...