oh the pain! oh the frustration!

So yesterday was my first day back to work since I hurt my ankle. I wrapped it, took some Ibuprofen, and wore supportive shoes. The first half of the day seem to go by just fine, very little limping was going on. At some point I took a moment to sit down and look at my ankle, an area of my heel wasn't wrapped and I noticed that it started to bruise. When lunch time came around I asked one of the chiropractors I work with if he could look at my ankle and give me his professional opinion. When I unwrapped it, I was shocked by how much bruising had occurred in the few hours I had worked! He palpated my ankle and foot, and we discovered that I had pitted edema (a form of swelling), and that my ROM has decreased quite a bit. The majority of the area doesn't hurt to the touch, but in certain areas I could gauge eyes out! He determined that the likeliness that anything is broken is slim, especially since I'm moving about just fine. But he's afraid that I may have a dislocation or two, not the ankle bone itself (the joint where the leg and foot connect) but among the little bones in my foot. He can't do any adjustments until the swelling goes down, and because he's afraid he may loose a limb or two- LOL. So in the meantime, he said that I need to ice it often, keep it elevated as often as I can (and when I sleep) and try not to be on it all that much. He proceeded to adjust my lower back (as that is a whole other mess) and I went home for lunch, iced my ankle, elevated it, and took some Ibuprofen. (I'm blessed with a 2 hour lunch break) After lunch, he had the other CA do therapy on my ankle, she electric/ultrasound therapy, it helps with swelling. This was the first time I had this done and it was quite interesting, the tingling feeling tickled at first but after a while it just numbed the area. My foot felt great for a few hours, but by the end of the day all I wanted to do was get off of my feet. By the end of the any day, my ankle/foot aches, throbs, and my hips are just flat out tired. This is how my foot looked this afternoon:

It's hard to see in the photo, but it's my right ankle, you can barely see the lateral malleolus (ankle bone that sticks out), and what's left of the bruising in the lower part of my foot. There is some swelling still in the medial (inside) part of my foot too but that has decreased quite a bit too. I can wiggle my toes with no problems now, and move my foot around (slowly) with barely any discomfort. Standing for a few minutes is fine, but prolonged weight on that foot is no good. Walking is possible, but with a limp and becomes quite tiresome. As of right now the throbbing has begun, I will need to ice it again before heading to bed. 

So what does all of this mean for my running? Well, I'm told that I should wait at least 2 weeks before attempting it. I think it's silly to even think I would even try at this moment. But once the swelling is gone, and we've adjusted (if need be) the joints that may be dislocated, I can begin walking/running. I will probably need to keep it wrapped for support for about 4 weeks, but afterwards I will need to not keep it wrapped to help strengthen the ligaments again. Thats about 6 to 8 weeks before I'll be back in the game, ugh, far too long for my liking, but I will do what I have to. I will keep you all posted on the progress of my healing. If anyone got any tips, feel free to throw them my way...