cause one injury isn't enough.

Maybe I am just having a super terrible string of bad luck.  First there was the foot injury and subsequent surgery.  The surgeon told me it would be 6 months to a year for the foot to be back to normal.  I am at 7 months at this point, and it still really hurts.. and now, all of a sudden, my foot cramps up ALL THE TIME.  It's so obnoxious, so random, and so painful.  Doctor did not warn me of this! 

Stages of post-surgery; the center is at 6 weeks out (still looks about the same).

But then... just as I think I will be able to ease back into running......

Live Out Loud Yoga Studio
La Plata, MD

my back starts acting up again.  It started in my yoga class, during final savasana, I laid on the floor for and could not get up!!  Couldn't move.  I struggled to collect my things and drive home, and it was awhile before I could walk around like a normal person.  A fluke?  Maybe...

Nope.

That next weekend, Cindy was opening her very own yoga studio!!!  I went down for the occasion and to lend a hand.  She was providing a sampling of classes that weekend and I decided to sit in on a meditation class.  All you do is lie on your back.  That is seriously ALL YOU DO.  Twenty minutes later, I could not get up.  It took half a bottle of wine and a Vicodin to be able to stand up straight.  Perhaps I should visit a doctor.

Fast forward a month later and some obnoxious insurance company battles to find out an MRI shows a degenerative *and* herniated disc at L4/L5... at this point, my back seems to hurt all the time, not just after lying down (although that's still the only time it really locks up on me).

I don't think you can see anything in this shot?

so there's that. //sigh//

Steriods, pain killers (Naproxen), physical therapy and an epidural steriod injection is the treatment plan.  Swimming and biking were fine, but no running!  Well..

• The steriods did nothing..
  
• The pain killers were only semi-effective (and not as effective as the Vicodin I'd had to use a few times)
• The physical therapy was OBNOXIOUS.  There were a few certain things that helped - but why did they have me doing bicep curls to help my back???  Most of the therapists were super obnoxious as well with high squeaky voices, condescending attitudes, no thanks.
  
• The ESI was... well let's just say it didn't feel like a massage :-)  But, I do think it helped.. my back stopped hurting for the most part of day-to-day activities... until, I went to a different yoga instructor who did an extra long savasana and BAM, locked up again, couldn't move, needed ice, heat and medication..UGH. (oh, and did I mention I was traveling to Florida the next day -- now THAT was a fun flight!)

Wine and beach helped relieve some of the pain :-)

Where are we now?

I had my follow-up doctor appointment this morning and was told to go see a pain management specialist, so I suppose that's the next step.  As long as I don't lie on my back, it really only hurts after sitting or standing for a long period of time, driving on super bumpy roads, etc.  Swimming and biking are still fine, and I'm hoping to be able to incorporate some running back into my life with the proper medication (and sticking to softer surfaces like dirt trails).

I'd like to say I'm on the mend, but I'm really not positive about that.  Seems a pain management specialist's job is just to mask the pain until it's bad enough to think about a more serious procedure? 

New Years Day 5K

It was chilly when I parked the jeep in the garage at Reston Town Center at 8:30, fashionably early for a 10:00 race start.  That's how determined I was to start the new year off on a good note!  It took a total of 5 minutes for me to walk to the store, pick up my packet and get back to the jeep. 

In the first 20 seconds, some b*tch stepped right on my bad foot.  Not happy.

The rest of the event was pretty uneventful.  3.1 miles seemed like a long ways to go, but it was out and back on the W&OD trail, which I was oh-so familiar with, meaning no surprises.  There was a little teaser on the last part as they made us loop around the back end of the town center instead of taking the most direct route.  Logically, I knew that based upon my Garmin that we had a little more to do, but for some reason, my head kept thinking "almost there".

OMG - awful race photo :-/

The end was a slight downhill... I finished, grabbed a water and walked back to the jeep as my cool down.  It was a no-thrills race, but I was happy to start the year off well.  I also really like this race shirt -- so comfy!!

42:08.  We'll call that a starting off point for the year..... considering I'm only 3 months out from surgery though, whatevs.

under the knife

The dreaded foot surgery, a year in the making... almost literally -- original injury happened on Oct 20, 2012 (a week before Cori and Marcello's wedding in Punta Cana), and surgery was scheduled for Sep 25, 2013 (the day after returning home from Ragnar Relay in California).  I'm sick of this stupid injury and ready to be fixed already!  The procedure was scheduled for 7AM which meant arriving at the surgical outpatient center by 6AM.  It was close to midnight that we finally made it home from the airport (I wasn't kidding when I said it was the day after!) so we were both still pretty tired when we had to leave the house at 5:30 that morning.  I wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything, which was fine, I was looking forward to Chick Fil A breakfast after the operation. 

Lots of prep work, fitting my crutches, taking my vitals, hooking up the IV, making marks on my foot to ensure they operated on the correct one!  The next thing I knew, the nurse was asking me if I'd like something to drink - sprite please - and I kept staring at my foot trying to figure out if they'd already done the procedure.  I didn't remember being rolled into an operating room??  I guess they knocked me out before that part b/c indeed, they were finished and it was time to go home!  I didn't get Chick Fil A for breakfast (I don't really remember why?) but Jon did stop at Subway and got me a breakfast sandwich, and then it was to the couch to be hooked up to my ice therapy machine for the next 48 hours.

Day 1

My surgery was on a Wednesday and the plan was to take the rest of the week off, returning to work the following Monday.  As the weekend came, however, the pain had started (I was taking 2 percocets at a time) and I wasn't sure how that was going to work.  I couldn't even shower yet!!  I contemplated taking additional time, but the threat of a government shutdown gave me the desire to get to the office and see what was happening and get in some hours.  I lasted a whole 40 minutes.  Luckily Chad was around and nice enough to drive me right back home.  I did end up getting that extra time off, with the shutdown lasting over 2 weeks!

Normally, I'd give anything for a day or two on the couch, but I was bored out of my mind!  Joann and Cori were also furloughed and they took turns coming to get me for some day drinking, which I so appreciate!  In retrospect, I didn't take enough advantage of that time off, but I could not wait to get back to work.  Getting a paycheck again also contributed to that feeling...  The crutches sucked, as did not being able to drive, there is no question abut that.  I dropped down to using only one crutch, and eventually just hobbled around in my fancy medical shoe.  Traveling was the worst, though getting pushed around in a wheelchair through airport security does have its perks.

On the way to Boston!

The doctor gave me an initial assessment of 4-6 weeks and I was really hopeful and optimistic that it would be closer to the 4 week mark.  Not so much.  Six weeks is a long time to be completely dependent upon other people.... Jon was awesome though, and I definitely wouldn't have survived without him!  Finally, the doctor gave me the good word.  I still couldn't really exercise for another month at least, but I could walk and I could drive.  I will take it.  I spent that month looking at swim and bike races to focus on for next summer and I'll confess that I did go out on a couple walks (shh.. don't tell!).  After that month though, the doctor gave me the green light to increase my level of activity!  It still hurts to run the 30 second intervals I've attempted twice now, but I know it will get better.  Apparently the swelling and soreness will be the last to go away and it could take awhile.  At least I'm on the mend.