I ruptured two ligaments in my ankle and created a small fracture on November 22nd, 2021. It was weeks later when had surgery on my ankle December 15. Since then, it’s been a bit of a battle. I couldn’t walk for the first month at all and was on crutches. My camera was tucked away in my bag and didn’t get touched at all while in Australia and still not for the first few weeks once I traveled to Oahu.
Arriving to Oahu, I could walk but not very far and my ankle had limited range of motion. It was weak. Over the next few weeks I would slowly build it up by riding a bike I purchased on the island. I rode 400km over the next month. I did a few small walks and easy hiking trails. The ankle still wasn’t perfect and would swell up after most activities or long days of standing upright.
I put in a ton of work on the blog but was spending lots of time inside, letting the ankle rest. It was pretty boring and I felt a little trapped. My body and mind were used to much more stimulation and adventure.
Over the last seven days, I finally got to test out the ankle. I slowly stepped it up by adding in a sunrise trail hike on the Kuliouou Ridge Trail, which is 8km and 400m of incline. I then went and hit an even longer hike on the Nuuanu Trail at 500m of incline over 10km. The final test was the Koko Head Stairs, which I was able to climb in just over fourteen minutes with little soreness in my ankle.
While it’s not full recovered, it feels like a huge relief to be able to hike again. I know it will only improve from here as long as I give it the rest it needs after each strenuous effort. A weight has been lifted from my shoulders.
Injuries aren’t easy and they can really test you mentally. This is my sixth long term injury and fifth major surgery. I know the drill by now. Do what you can, when you can and workout the rest of your body when the inuryed part is immobilised. You will thank yourself for keeping your work capacity rolling during the injury rather than rebuilding from ground zero when you can get back into action.
I have one week left in Hawaii before heading to Nepal. Without overdroing it, I’ll be heading off on a few moderate hikes over the next week to make up for lost time on this beautiful island. These are some of my photos from the last few hikes on Oahu.
