Cue the confetti, cue the marching band, cue the tiny dance party in my living room — it’s been 100 days since my surgery! One hundred. I can’t quite believe it. Some days, it felt like I was crawling through treacle, glued ankle and all, imagining myself walking on water like Lazarus… or at least strolling confidently without sounding like a toddler learning to walk. Spoiler alert: that didn’t happen.
In these 100 days, I’ve measured progress by sticky sensations at the back of my ankle, tiny treacle-paced steps, and the occasional “oh-my-god-I-can-barely-walk” mornings. Expectations? I had them in droves for 10 days, 20 days, 30 days — thinking I’d suddenly be walking marathons and conquering Everest. Reality? Let’s just say I’m still working on the Everest part. Lesson learned: you don’t have to be amazing at everything at once. You just have to keep going.
Somewhere along the way, I think I may have bitten off more than I could chew. Between talking on the radio, getting things in the paper, advocating for injured people, and even setting up my own Instagram (something I’d never done before), I realized that, right now, it might just be a bit too much for me — especially while juggling a big rehab program. Don’t get me wrong, I haven’t given up on it. I’m still super passionate about helping others and getting things done. But the past four weeks of ringing department after department at the CUH, St Mary’s Gurranabraher and the Mercy— only to be bounced from one person to another, sent back to voicemail, or told “you need to speak to someone else” — has taught me a very important lesson: I need a timeout. So, for the next few weeks, I’m hitting pause on the full-scale “save-the-world-for-injured-people” operation and putting my energy where it needs to matters also: on my rehab. After all, if I want to walk properly again, treacle-style cardio just isn’t going to cut it. Maybe down the line I’ll get some extra hands on deck, but for now, it’s me, my sticky shoes, and my slow-but-steady progress.I’ll still be advocating through these blogs and a bit on Insta but trying to do everything at once right now is like carrying too many shopping bags at once-it looks doable,but your bound to drop something,and that CANT be at the expense of me walking properly again.
And just when I thought I was mastering patience (or at least improving in treacle-walking), life threw me a weekend of flying solo with the kids while my husband was away. Enter: my daughter’s Cork junior trials. Now, while I’ve been busy building my little advocacy empire and slowly saving the world one phone call at a time, she’s been quietly doing her own thing: training, competing, and absolutely crushing it while I missed most of the development program. But I am here today .
So here we are, hundred days later — me wobbling, sticky-footed, and learning the fine art of self-care, and my daughter, confident, brave, and absolutely giving 100% at the trials, as did all the girls. Watching her take on this challenge reminded me that milestones come in all shapes and sizes. Mine might be measured in steps and sticky shoes. Hers in medals, trials, and personal bests. Both are triumphs. Both are hard-won. Both make me ridiculously proud.
And let’s be honest — there’s something hilarious about a parent and child hitting “hundred days milestones” in such wildly different ways. One of us is literally crawling through treacle, the other is sprinting across the field like she’s on a mission from the sports gods. Both journeys deserve a little celebration.
So here’s to 100 days: of sticky shoes, slow victories, treacle walking, and Cork junior trials. Here’s to doing our best, laughing at the absurdity, and celebrating every single win, however small… or ridiculously huge. And here’s to the next 100 days, whatever they bring — maybe slightly faster walking, maybe slightly better Instagram content, and definitely plenty more moments to make us laugh.
The lesson? Keep walking, keep cheering, keep advocating — but don’t forget to save a little energy for yourself. And if all else fails, just remember: treacle walking counts as cardio too.
