Oops I got a boo boo. (Insert very sad face here.)

So...after going the past 5 years without comprehensive medical insurance and not getting sick or injured in any way...I went and ruptured my Achilles tendon on March 30th. Technically we were playing soccer but I was actually down at the other end of the field standing still all by myself awaiting a pass (which I totally would have dribbled in for a goal) when I pushed off to run and ka pow! I snapped my Achilles.

Yes, it was extremely painful.

No, none of us heard the tell tale "POP".

After this I  remained in Jamaica until April 5th when I was flown to DC on "medevac". I had surgery Friday, April 6th and am currently here in DC until who knows when. I had a follow up appt Wed. April 18th with my orthopedist, Dr. Lutton, to remove the cast that was put on in the hospital and place me in a hard cast. I have another doctors appt on Wed. April 25th where they will remove the hard cast and my sutures and place me in final hard cast until around May 3rd. At that time I will begin physical therapy and be placed in a walking boot for hopefully only two weeks taking us to May 18th (our swearing in date). Physical therapy should last for around 4 weeks total.  The first 2, while I'm in the walking boot and hopefully the last 2 can be done on my own doing exercises at home (hopefully at home in Jamaica!).

However, everything remains uncertain because each person heals differently. Furthermore, medevac only lasts 45 days from when you arrive in DC so that is May 20th and the official end of my physical therapy would be around June 1st if all goes well. So this would mean that I may get "Medically Separated" from PC and be sent back to my home of record, which is either Missoula or Absarokee....Tom and I can't remember what we put on the form. From here I would have to be re-instated as a trainee to depart for Jamaica once the Office of Medical Services (OMS) has declared me physically sound for return.

Frankly its all a big mess and I am having digestive issues and extreme teeth grinding because of the stress. Tom is still in Jamaica and will continue with training and be sworn in with the rest of the group which hopefully bodes well for my swift return but really no one can tell. It all depends on my healing and how my Country Director and her staff feel about my missing 6 out of 9 weeks of training. I have been keeping up on training in my own time but its easily recognized that it is not the same as being in country so we'll shall have to wait and see what comes of all of this.

I am of course doing everything I can to advocate for myself and know that my Program Manager, Dan, is doing the same on my behalf. (He really is an awesome guy! I feel like we really lucked out with our training team, Dan and Anika! Kudos to them!) But all in all, we will just have to see how my recovery goes and try to stay positive that I will return to Jamaica when the time is right.


First cast from when I returned from the George Washington University Hospital

Second cast put on Wed. April 18th, slated to come off April 25th when they remove my sutures.


~Chelsea

Next up...a synopsis of Tom's recent trip to St. Thomas in search of some delicious mangoes!