YOU ARE CAPABLE // ONE YEAR MINDSET

It’s officially been one year since I went in for the surgery that gave me my hope and life back. On May 12, 2022 I decided to move forward with a surgery called ankle distraction arthroplasty surgery to give my ankle one last hope ….

What is Ankle Distraction Arthroplasty (ADA)?

Ankle distraction arthroplasty is an innovative procedure for treating ankle arthritis in select patients. Unlike ankle fusion and ankle replacement, distraction arthroplasty focuses on joint restoration. These other procedures, while appropriate in many cases, sacrifice the ankle joint in an effort to decrease pain from arthritis. Distraction arthroplasty uses mechanical unloading of the diseased joint to reverse the effects of arthritis and significantly lower pain without damaging the ankle joint. Additionally – and importantly – ankle motion is preserved.
This concept of joint restoration has been embraced by many foot and ankle specialists, including both orthopedic surgeons and podiatrists. Although it is relatively new in the United States, it has been performed successfully in Europe for many years. This surgery is rapidly gaining popularity, but your local orthopedist may not be aware of its benefits or may not know which centers perform this procedure.

Why did I choose ADA?

I chose ADA when I was in the midst of fighting a depressive episode that came following the loss of my mobility. ADA was so much more than a surgery for me, it was my last hope. It was one thing that I could do it continue the fight for my leg.

I remember the first time I met my surgeon, Dr. Robert Rozbruch. I was so nervous I nearly passed out while getting my X-Rays. It was December 2021, and I was in New York City… As I walked into the office, the anxiety overwhelmed my body not knowing if my case was going to be accepted and if I was going to be able to continue my fight. I remember Dr. Rozbruch telling me he would accept my case… “But I needed to prepare.” The surgery in which I was about to have had an 18 month recovery period, and because my case had so many previous complications (compartment syndrome, bacterial infection, ankle contractor and hammertoe).. I was going to need to put all my effort forward to ensure this surgery worked… and now after nearly a year since my day of operation, I can confirm, having ADA was the best decision I could have ever made for myself.

But don’t be fooled… Hitting this one year mark wasnt easy to do. From the constant nights I sat wide awake in bed just wishing the pain would go away, to the days I spent out in public with a “robo foot” being pointed and stared at… Not one thing came easy from this surgery, and although it may have been the hardest thing I have ever had to overcome, it was certainly the most rewarding thing I had ever felt.

Being now one year off from surgery has had me reflecting a lot on what the last few years of my life have been like., What I’ve felt… What I’ve overcome.. And what I have accomplished.

One of the things you hear most with a recovery like this is “I don’t know how you do it”… and the truth is… I don’t know how I did it / continue to do it either. Although my pain level has decreased from before ADA, its still there… each and everyday.

Each and everyday when I roll out of bed, it takes me nearly 10 minutes to even stand up, because I dread the pain that I know is about to follow. I dread knowing that the life I once had is gone, and I dread knowing that this is my forever… But I don’t let it stop me, because if I let it stop me, I might as well have just given up.

When I think of my recovery, I think of every bump I have hit along the way. From the complications, to the constant surgeries, to the doctor and physical therapy appointments all the way to the people who gave up and left my side throughout it. It certainly hasn’t been an easy road, but it was a road that I was willing to take to give myself the future I knew I could reach.

One thing they don’t tell you when you have an injury like this, is how draining it is going to be. From the physical exhaustion to the mental exhaustion you learn to become the strongest version of yourself, and you learn to see the world in a new perspective.

Before this surgery I wasn’t nearly half the person I am today. I wasn’t able to maintain a mindset that kept going, and I defiantly wasn’t able to be confident in myself. I struggled with how I walked and what others thought of it… But today I am proud of my limp, I am proud of my scars, and I am proud of myself, because without those things I wouldn’t have been able to become the person I am. Without these battles I wouldn’t have been able to discover myself in a way I never thought possible.

Sure I wish it didn’t happen. Of course I wish I could live “normally”… But who defines “normal?”

Because when I think of “normal” I think of everything. Every ounce of me is “normal” I just have a new normal, and it’s something that took me a very long time to accept, but its also something that I am proud of myself for accepting.

We can’t change the past, and we have no control over the future.. So why set yourself back? Why give up before its even begun?

Road to Recovery is a platform I created to share my story, and to share with others how strong you can truly be…. Even when you don’t feel like you can.

Your mindset is everything and as someone who had to learn mindset the hard way, the only advice I can seem to offer now adays when people ask me how I overcame it is just that… MINDSET.

When we change our mindset to one that accepts our “new normal” and avoid the mindset of wishing things were different or that they would change, life becomes so much easier. We learn to accept change and grow with it, rather than fighting it…. And in the world of recovery, it makes a heck of a difference,

So as I reflect on my one year, the only thing I can truly say is that I am so thankful. Im thankful for those who helped me back up on my feet (physically and literally) to those that didn’t leave my side when things got hard, and thankful for those who gave me hope for a better future.

Life can be so crazy, one day you’re living a “perfectly normal” life and then next your laying in an operating bed not sure if you’re going to be able to walk again.., But its how we accept those crazy things that we cannot control, and its how we grow with them that allow for us to recover and become whole again.

I refuse to let my life be taken from me because a portion of my mobility has been. I refuse to give up hope, even when the world feels like its against me, and I refuse to stop sharing how I did it… because I know that how I did it will soon become another persons survival guide of how they can do it too.

So here’s to one year of fighting, one year of finding myself, and one year of becoming the best Sarah that I can be despite all the challenges that were thrown my way.

Like I said, life can be crazy, and it can be hard… But why let that take your happiness and your self-worth away… Life is too short and at the end of the day, YOUR opinion is the only one that matters anyway, so keep fighting, keep pushing, and keep going because you are more capable than you ever know <3