A little over a month ago, I told readers about my foot injury. Taking a bad step on the stairs at home, I fractured the talus and navicular bones in my right foot.

As I get ready for my follow up appointment in about a week with the orthopedics folks, I wanted to send along a brief update. It’s mostly good news.

Update on Foot Injury

Frankly, it takes time and patience to recover from a mobility injury or fracture. This is especially true for someone like me who walks 15,000+ steps per day. Let’s just say I haven’t been hitting those numbers in the last month.

But I was lucky in a few ways. I’m relatively young and healthy. It turned out as a non-displaced fracture, meaning the bone stayed aligned. Due to these things, I didn’t need surgery. And my recovery has trended toward the shorter end of standard recovery ranges.

In short, I’ll be up and walking my usual 15,000 or so steps in not too much time. I’m already walking 10,000+ steps with the assistance of a medical boot.

In the meantime, I’ve tried to put my extra time around the house to good use. There’s always something to write. I’ve gotten well ahead on both the blog and my Medium page. I’ve also taken some time for journaling. And on top of all that, I took a writing course this past weekend with the founder of Current Affairs magazine.

Next Steps

No pun intended with the title of this section.

As I finish my recovery over the coming weeks, I’ve started to reflect on what I can take away from this experience.

For one, society makes everyday life difficult for people with mobility issues. I’ve encountered inadequate curb-cuts, cluttered sidewalks, rude drivers, infrequent bus routes, and even one bus I missed because the bus arrived at the stop 5 minutes early.

I’m not complaining here about Iowa City. In fact, Iowa City punches well above its weight on pedestrian infrastructure and transit. Things have got to be even tougher for older people, people living in rural areas, and people living in cities that aren’t as good as Iowa City.

I’ve also found myself living a slower and more thoughtful daily life. Honestly, I was already doing OK on all these grounds. But there’s always room for improvement.

For readers, I hope you haven’t had any fractures. I wouldn’t recommend it. But if you do, there’s always a positive or two you can take from the experience.