First, let me excuse the look on my face by saying I was freshly strapped into my cast and had just taken a pain pill with my Snickers bar.
An athlete’s nightmare, a Candy Addict’s dream: a fractured tibia (shin) courtesy of a soccer opponent. Since I’m both an athlete and a Candy Addict, for the last couple of months, I’ve been living a strange mix of both a nightmare and a dream – the inability to move around, and a ready-made excuse to sit around and eat candy.
I try to stay positive, and the doctor actually told me that positive thinking can help the body heal faster, so I decided to turn my unlucky handicap into a sugarfest. I donned my Candy Addict t-shirt and began my sedentary journey with a blessed last Elvis Reese’s Cup that I’d found for 70 cents at a low-end grocery store.
Between icing my leg (thank goodness for removable casts), using a heating pad to stimulate circulation to the bone, and keeping it elevated, I took comfort in candy. Sadly, I had to alter my caloric intake a bit since I could no longer eat a couple of chocolate bars and head out for a long run, but I chose to cut out burritos and pizza and keep the candy. So far, it’s pretty much worked. Nine weeks without running, playing soccer, or doing much of anything, and I’ve been able to eat like a sugar fiend and only gain two pounds.
Don’t get me wrong; I can’t wait to get back to my active, bouncy, hyper life… but it’s been quite nice to lie on the couch and say “yes, thank you, I would like more candy.”
My lesson to all you laid-up candy lovers out there: make the best of your situation. Get someone to wait on you, and have a huge stash of your favorite sweet treats on hand. Your injury may not heal from the magical taste of chocolate, but you’ll feel better, and no one can tell you to get up, get moving, and put down the candy.
I’m a week or so out of my cast now, and am able to swim and rehab a little, which is bringing me back to my regular habit – a sweet snack after a workout. Soldier on, injured Addicts!
Editor’s note: We have Candy Addict t-shirts for sale now (Victoria is wearing one in the picture). You can see a few more pictures of the shirt in the t-shirt gallery. I just haven’t announced them yet officially. Price is $15 shipped to US addresses. Contact me for details on getting one.
Hope you have a continuing “sweet” recovery Victoria! :)
December 12th, 2007 at 11:36 amI just scored 4 – count them, FOUR Elvis Reese’s for $0.25 each at a Flying J near Cincinnati, OH on I-71 (I think it was Jeffersonville). They had a TON of them left.
December 12th, 2007 at 1:45 pmI, too, have suffered a broken tibia! Your accident sounds reasonable while mine occurred from tripping over a speed bump in front of a grocery store—klutz! Think I was carrying a big bag of candy at the time—munching away & not watching where my feet were going–ha! I wish you a speedy recovery & a healthy next year!
December 12th, 2007 at 7:38 pmSpeedy recovery to you, Victoria, and how lucky for you that you had someone to bring you more candy as you lay around recuperating! When I completely blew out my knee (after years of playing rugby, soccer, softball, volleyball, etc., I managed to do it trying to take my seat on an airplane), I had to lay around for 8 weeks in my cast, but nobody lived with me to bring me candy! Dang. (I did get a visit of a box of Thanksgiving meal stuff and a whole pumpkin pie, so that was OK since I’m a pumpkin pie addict, too).
Oh yeah, one more thing, we’ve got a plethora of Elvis bars still on sale dirt cheap here, too…maybe we should start a candy swap deal like on sites like Freecycle! Whatcha got wherever you are? (I want Drake’s Yodels and they don’t sell Drakes out here…)
December 18th, 2007 at 1:27 amThat looks like me on the weekend, but no broken leg, so whats my excuse?:)
June 25th, 2008 at 1:45 pmI don’t need a broken leg to sit down and eat candy… I do that all the time. That is the best way to enjoy chocolate specially if it’s in a 1 pound bag and you only have yourself to enjoy it with…. good luck to diabetes!
December 10th, 2008 at 3:14 pm