I’m doing two sessions of physical therapy a week now, mostly strength and mobility stuff. One-leg presses to redevelop and retrain the damage to the big muscles. Balancing on only my injured ankle on a squishy foam block while throwing and catching a medicine ball to force the little stabilizer muscles to earn their keep. Toe raises. Ankle alphabets. Theraband pulls from every angle. Heelcord stretchs a dozen different ways, morning, noon, and night. And now tai chi.

If you’ve ever done any tai chi, you know how much ankle flexing, turning, and pulling is involved. My therapist signed off on it and I’m happy to get any kind of practice at all. Plus it really shows me where I am in my recovery.

I have about three weeks of therapy left. I may be able to return to class after that, I dunno. It feels like I’m palpably better every day. Yesterday I still had a little trouble with stairs. Today the stairs at work were pain-free. One of my friends at kung fu was surprised to see how quickly I’m bouncing back. “You sure heal fast,” he said.

“I get lots of practice.”