The Injury and Recovery

Last April, I fell indoor rock climbing and broke my right fibula (that’s the long, skinny bone that runs along your outer calf) and my left talus (that’s the ankle bone). I spent six glorious days in the trauma center — and by “glorious” I mean gloriously painful and not glorious at all. Now, I have two titanium screws in my ankle.

I guess one positive is that I can listen to Sia’s song “Titanium” and belt “I am TITAAAAANNNNIIIIUMMM” and actually mean it. That about sums up the positives.

I was in a wheelchair for months, and in physical therapy for about a year, re-learning how to walk and strengthening all the muscles that basically withered away to nothing. It. Was. So. Difficult. And on some days, it still is.

Now I’m dealing with life post-injury and the residual chronic pain/arthritis/anxiety that goes with it. I’m finding new ways to deal with pain and work to get mobility back, while also understanding that one some days, I’ll just need to flop on the couch and binge some Netflix guilty pleasures (Gossip Girl, anyone?)

Just like before my injury, I’m constantly chasing overall health, only now with a slight twist.

Here I am a few days after coming home from my week-long stay in the trauma center.

Stuff I Can Stand: Part 1

It’s my first-ever “stuff I can stand” post (AKA random stuff Brielle enjoys maybe a little too much). Here are four products that I have really been loving over the past couple of weeks!

– Natural Calm: This is probably the most popular magnesium supplement on the market, and for good reason. I first tried it a couple of years ago when I was traveling to Spain for work and was really anxious about it. I took a packet with me and sipped on it in the airport, and I’m not sure if it was the placebo effect or what, but I felt a thousand times calmer after drinking it. Now I drink a spoonful of it in water with lemon (or sometimes with collagen, lemon and grated ginger, yum!) about an hour before bed, and it definitely helps me sleep better!

– Everything But Bagel Seasoning: You could put this stuff on a slab of concrete and I’d eat it. Well not actually… but Trader Joe’s EBB seasoning takes EVERYTHING to the next level of deliciousness. My favorite ways of using it? On scrambled eggs and sweet potatoes, or topping of some avocado toast on Ezekiel briead (I know, how millennial of me!)

– “Don’ts for Husbands”: I got this little gem for my fiancé, Mitch, as a funny little stocking stuffer for Christmas. In true 1913 fashion, it is pretty sexist with its tips. “Don’t let your wife become merely a domestic machine. If she doesnt want to broaden her horizon, see that you do it for her.” I obviously don’t agree with these quips (nor do I need Mitch to broaden my horizons for me thankyouverymuch) but reading these ridiculous things make me so thankful to be living in 2018… and earning my own paycheck!

– Great Lakes Collagen: I know that there are some other, more popular (and expensive) collagen products out there. I got this from Trader Joe’s for $9.99 and just purchased my second container of it. I’ve been using it once or twice a day (usually a scoop or two in my morning coffee) with the helps that it will help the joint pain in my left ankle. The pain has been OK for the past few weeks, but it is too soon to tell if I’m just at the bottom of an inflammation cycle or if it’s the collagen. But I can tell you one thing: my hair is growing like crazy! The collagen is colorless and tasteless, so it’s really easy to mix into basically anything. I recommend trying it out — your hair may thank you!

I Went from Hating Running to Dreaming About It

Ever see a child playing with one thing, paying absolutely no mind to the other toy across the room, until you take it away and they start screaming that you took someone away from them that they didn’t really like to begin with?

That’s me with running.

After breaking my left ankle and right leg, landing me wheelchair-bound for a few months, the one physical activity I dreamt about (literally dreamt!) was running. Not walking, power cleans (my favorite lift), swimming, or dancing or anything like that. Running. Stupid, sweaty running.

I was never much of a runner growing up. I swam competitively all through high school, so when you put me on a track I was (you guessed it) like a fish out of water. Then in college I found and fell in love with CrossFit and did some occasional yoga and a few triathlons. My friends once convinced me to do a half marathon once, and thanks to a combination of under-training and over-sweating, the race gave me a pretty mean hangover, leaving me nauseated on my mother’s couch for hours after.

But for the past 16 months, running has been something almost mystical to me. And while I may never run more than 10 miles straight, maybe one day I’ll do a 5k, or run the full 2 miles in the CrossFit WOD Murph again. Just maybe…

And so here we are! Here I’ll document my quest for fitness, continuous recovery and healing and any other random stuff that pops into my mind.

Hello!

I’m Brielle, and love most things health and wellness related. I’ve been doing CrossFit for over five years, work 9 to 5 in health care communications, coach Special Olympics and am pursuing my Master’s in Public Health.

But everything came crashing down (literally) in April of 2017, when I broke my right leg and left ankle. After learning to walk again and over a year of therapy, I’m finally getting back to my old self (though with some limitations) and ready to set some goals. And that’s why I’m here! I’m along this crazy journey of chasing health, staying relatively calm and getting married!