You wouldn’t believe how excited I felt last Friday.
Genuinely giddy.
After seven weeks, the cast finally came off my ankle. I’d been counting down to it. Not just because I wanted it gone, but because it’s a milestone. Moving from the passive and patient stage of recovery into the active and agency-driven side.
Gimme gimme!
Enough of this patience.
I was READY.
I had prepared myself for what I was about to see. Everyone had warned me it would be gross. When I’d seen the scar when the cast had been changed briefly four weeks earlier, it was a full shark-bite horror show. This time was less horrific, more of a freak show!
That evolved into a comedy show as I got home.
Over the next day or two, the skin really started to shed. Snake-like. Layer after layer. It got pretty grim. But also funny. Ciara was away, which was fortunate. She might not have been able to ever look at me the same again. But the kids and I had a great laugh at it.
When I sat up in bed and looked at both legs side by side, the contrast was mad.
On the left, everything works. You can see the tendons, the bones, the structure. I can spread my toes.
On the right, not much definition at all. The calf has all but disappeared. Seven weeks and it’s just… gone. From calf and ankle to a full-blown cankle. Humbling!
I doubled down on my commitment there and then to heal and strengthen like never before. I knew I’d have to balance the excitement with patience.
That’s what the focus is now.
The pool every day.
- Range of movement before load.
- Gradual progression.
- No shortcuts.
On Saturday, Nico and I were watching a rugby match.
He noticed ‘Big Joe’ McCarthy running a diagonal line and asked, “Why do you always tell me to run straight?”
It turned into a really good chat about basics. For him, right now, the basics are running straight, holding his line and the defender, trusting the pattern, creating space for others.
Once you earn that foundation, you get to adapt. But not before.
And by the way, Nico played brilliantly on Sunday. His best game yet by all accounts. Not because he tried anything fancy, but because he nailed the fundamentals. He was delighted with himself.
That’s the parallel I keep coming back to.
For Nico, it’s straight lines before diagonal ones.
For me, it’s step-by-step rehab before anything else.
So, what about you? As you get motoring ahead into 2026…
- What are the basics you might be skipping past right now?
- Where are you trying to sprint when a few steady steps would serve you better?
- What would benefit from being simplified, stripped back, and done properly?
And if these reflections ever stop being useful, you can unsubscribe at any time. No offence taken. These only matter if they earn their place.
Step by step.