Building A Better Bumblebee

nkrichards wrote: Sounds like a movie I'll be crossing off my list!

I hope you and Alita get back on your feet soon...I enjoy hearing about your outings much more than your movie choices...

Take care and don't rush it.

Your wish is my command!

Walk: 2.2 miles

Weather: Sunny and warm. Shade was nice. 74° Gear: Topos

Alita finally passed the 1-week mark after her ear surgery, so she was allowed to go for a walk. I was happy to join her. We agreed to hold it at about 2 miles. I don't want to push it too much, and Alita was fine with that.

It was a pretty day, through the sun was already pretty hot at 11 a.m. It's supposed to get close to 90 later today.

Like last time, I could perceive the injured part of my body. Whatever I did on that root, I definitely injured myself. I made a point of slowly stretching out my calf and ankle afterward, which ought to help, too.

###

Glad we could steer you away from that movie! Definitely on the naughty side. We'd planned to watch it without Alec, but never figured out a way to sneak it.

Mark B wrote:

nkrichards wrote: Sounds like a movie I'll be crossing off my list!

I hope you and Alita get back on your feet soon...I enjoy hearing about your outings much more than your movie choices...

Take care and don't rush it.

Your wish is my command!

Walk: 2.2 miles

Weather: Sunny and warm. Shade was nice. 74° Gear: Topos

Alita finally passed the 1-week mark after her ear surgery, so she was allowed to go for a walk. I was happy to join her. We agreed to hold it at about 2 miles. I don't want to push it too much, and Alita was fine with that.

It was a pretty day, through the sun was already pretty hot at 11 a.m. It's supposed to get close to 90 later today.

Like last time, I could perceive the injured part of my body. Whatever I did on that root, I definitely injured myself. I made a point of slowly stretching out my calf and ankle afterward, which ought to help, too.

###

Glad we could steer you away from that movie! Definitely on the naughty side. We'd planned to watch it without Alec, but never figured out a way to sneak it.

Has the patient acquired raceus interruptus?  Is it transmitted like the Zika virus?  How is the patient's hearing on the affected ear? 

So, do you think it's like a deep bruise?  With my slamming my right knee to the ground back in April, it still gets stiff when I've been sitting for 30+ minutes, like when I get out of a car.  That's the only remaining step to get it back to baseline.  It doesn't affect at any other time.

At 10 a.m., we were at 90 at the big airport (called IAH or Bush--take your pick).

Good job on the walk.  How are the Topos working?

I liked "Deadpool" because it was a parody on superhero movies.

ounce wrote:Has the patient acquired raceus interruptus?  Is it transmitted like the Zika virus?  How is the patient's hearing on the affected ear? 

So, do you think it's like a deep bruise?  With my slamming my right knee to the ground back in April, it still gets stiff when I've been sitting for 30+ minutes, like when I get out of a car.  That's the only remaining step to get it back to baseline.  It doesn't affect at any other time.

At 10 a.m., we were at 90 at the big airport (called IAH or Bush--take your pick).

Good job on the walk.  How are the Topos working?

I liked "Deadpool" because it was a parody on superhero movies.

The patient most definitely is suffering from activity interruptus, at least. (She finished her race, and RI isn't contagious, thank heavens.) She says the last week has lasted a month. I don't blame her.

We won't know about her hearing until after her next office visit in a few weeks. Her ear is packed right now, so she can't hear a thing out of it. They say she should know between her first and second post-operative visit. They have no reason to believe it won't be successful, however.

I don't think it's a deep bruise. There was no discoloration anywhere, and you'd think it would have showed up at some point. It never did.

I'd wondered if it might be a bone bruise, but I think bone marrow edema would have shown up on the X-ray. The X-ray was clear. If I were guessing, I think I either did tendon damage or ligament damage, or maybe damage to the flexor retinaculum. That's the main area where it hurt, well, other than shooting pain up my leg and around my foot, that is.



Heck, I could have ticked off a bursa, too. Or whacked out my posterior tibial nerve? But none of that is visible on an X-ray, and my doc isn't the sort who'd order an MRI. He's of the opinion that everything pretty much heals the same over time, with the same therapies, so why waste time finding out? Sigh. (Yes, I have considered getting another doctor.) He also said MRIs have a hard time sussing out problems in the ankle (not sure if that's true) so it's often not very helpful.

As far as weather goes, I'll take the Pacific Northwest, thank you very much.

The Topos are ... okay. They don't fit quite as well as I'd hoped (they irritate my mid foot slightly, because they're not quite curved enough), but I'll still wear them. It's tough to get something that really fits my feet. These are better than a lot of the other options.

I've been checking the calendar, and I see that I'm not almost exactly four weeks out from my injury. My ankle is still grumpy with me (I tried a few heel raises and now it's sore) so I'm still at relatively short walks. Running would be wonderful, but not yet. Wish I knew what I injured...

Anyway, I wanted to revisit the race and touch on a couple of takeaways that'll guide my training once I can actually, you know, train again.

1. Don't stop training. (Irony much?) I'll be trying to aim for at least 30 miles per week or more one I get back going, all the way through the fall and winter and into the spring, the building from there. I need more miles in my legs.

2. Keep mixing it up. I enjoyed doing more intense work (hills, faster repeats) in addition to the low, and extra-low HR work I did. It did a good job of preparing me for the race. And it made me feel faster.

3. Don't spend all the time on roads or buffed out trails. I was out of practice for rocks and roots, and I'm still paying for it. Luckily, there are LOTS of places where I can find more technical terrain within an hour's drive of here.

4. More hills. Lots more hills. Both running and hiking.

5. Eat better and drop some weight. I was pushing 190 pounds (or a little more) a month ago. I'm already working on that.

So that's my plan. It's exciting to me because it's so straightforward.

Mark B wrote:I've been checking the calendar, and I see that I'm not almost exactly four weeks out from my injury. My ankle is still grumpy with me (I tried a few heel raises and now it's sore) so I'm still at relatively short walks. Running would be wonderful, but not yet. Wish I knew what I injured...

Anyway, I wanted to revisit the race and touch on a couple of takeaways that'll guide my training once I can actually, you know, train again.

1. Don't stop training. (Irony much?) I'll be trying to aim for at least 30 miles per week or more one I get back going, all the way through the fall and winter and into the spring, the building from there. I need more miles in my legs.

2. Keep mixing it up. I enjoyed doing more intense work (hills, faster repeats) in addition to the low, and extra-low HR work I did. It did a good job of preparing me for the race. And it made me feel faster.

3. Don't spend all the time on roads or buffed out trails. I was out of practice for rocks and roots, and I'm still paying for it. Luckily, there are LOTS of places where I can find more technical terrain within an hour's drive of here.

4. More hills. Lots more hills. Both running and hiking.

5. Eat better and drop some weight. I was pushing 190 pounds (or a little more) a month ago. I'm already working on that.

So that's my plan. It's exciting to me because it's so straightforward.

I'll pass along something that I've never done, after an injury, but was suggested by the PT a couple of years ago.  Ride a bike.  I don't have a bike and am not motivated to buy a new one.

Or practice now for Fall sherpa duties.

+1 on the biking.  I was told that biking would help develop my leg muscles and build cadence.  I was amazed at how quickly I was able to progress with my running after I switched from primarily biking to concentrating more on running earlier this year!

Take care.

Oh...hope Alita's appointment goes well.

Biking...



... ugh.

Besides, I don't think I'm in the proper income range to enjoy that particular sport. #parentofteenager

Okay, okay.. I'll be nice.

I actually have a bike, but I hate it. I had a great Schwinn Le Tour from back in the day, and it felt like an extension of my body. Alas, I foolishly got rid of it years ago. The replacement bike is one of those hybrid road/trail bikes, and it is decidedly NOT an extension of my body. Any bike that'd work for me would require a lot of this:



If I had no choice, I could ride it, I suppose, but I'm not there yet.

Going to take a walk at lunch, hoping it feels good.

Oh, and Nancy: Thanks for the wishes on the appointment! It's on the 18th. We're hoping the surgery was as success.

Walk: 3 miles

Weather: Overcast, mild. 66°

It's now more than a month post-injury, so I decided to see if I could push the walk a little farther out today. I made a point of not pushing off with my foot or over flexing my ankle. That seemed to help. I could feel a bit of discomfort as the walk progressed, but it didn't progress beyond that. Hoping that's a good sign.

Mark B wrote:Okay, okay.. I'll be nice.

I actually have a bike, but I hate it. I had a great Schwinn Le Tour from back in the day, and it felt like an extension of my body. Alas, I foolishly got rid of it years ago. The replacement bike is one of those hybrid road/trail bikes, and it is decidedly NOT an extension of my body. Any bike that'd work for me would require a lot of this:



If I had no choice, I could ride it, I suppose, but I'm not there yet.

Going to take a walk at lunch, hoping it feels good.

Oh, and Nancy: Thanks for the wishes on the appointment! It's on the 18th. We're hoping the surgery was as success.

purchase a lost or stolen bike that is at a municipal facility.

ounce wrote:running warehouse.com

Buy 4 Injinji socks, get 25% off! Sale ends 8/22/16.

Thanks!

Walk: 3.1 miles

Weather: Sunny and warm. 77-80° Gera: Altra Instincts

Out with Alita for a walk before work. I felt some discomfort in my right foot after a while, but it faded as we kept going. It also didn't give me any trouble afterward. I'm hoping that's a good sign.

Walk: 4.1 miles

Weather: Sunny and warm, getting warmer fast. 73-78° Gear: Topos

My longest distance since my ankle injury, and it held up pretty well. I could perceive some irritation after three miles, my previous distance "record," but it didn't get any worse and it doesn't feel bad now that I'm done. I've also cracked 10 miles for the week, which is pretty good for rehabbing. Progress!

Alita and I went out early, taking advantage of the relative cool. It's been hot the past couple of days (97° yesterday) and it's supposed to be pretty hot today, too. We saw a lot of people out doing the same thing.

One of these days, I'm going to try a run, but I don't think I'm quite there yet. I did a little barefoot trot a few days ago with no ill effect, but I'm probably going to wait a bit longer just to be safe. I'd rather be healthy and ready to go than nursing some lingering problem.

Progress!!

ounce wrote:Progress!!

For me, yes. For Alita?



Not so much. She missed a step in the garage and broke her fifth metatarsal. She's on crutches now, and has to wait until Aug. 25 (NINE DAYS?!?) to see somebody in the fracture clinic and get it treated.

Nine days? Really?

Guilty walk: 2.6 miles

Lunchtime walk, and I decided to push the pace a little on the return trip, I could feel the strain, but only a little.

Disappointed that my progress comes just as Alita's on the DL. We'd both been looking forward to resuming running together.

Mark B wrote:

ounce wrote:Progress!!

For me, yes. For Alita?



Not so much. She missed a step in the garage and broke her fifth metatarsal. She's on crutches now, and has to wait until Aug. 25 (NINE DAYS?!?) to see somebody in the fracture clinic and get it treated.

Nine days? Really?

I understand that is what medicine in UK is like.  That's not a political statement, just what I understand. 

So, what did her foot look like that convinced you to take her to the clinic?  A big bump?  No swelling on the pinky toe, initially?  A bad reaction when you started "This little piggy went to market..."?  Incessant, loud, and blood curdling screams?

ounce wrote:I understand that is what medicine in UK is like.  That's not a political statement, just what I understand. 

So, what did her foot look like that convinced you to take her to the clinic?  A big bump?  No swelling on the pinky toe, initially?  A bad reaction when you started "This little piggy went to market..."?  Incessant, loud, and blood curdling screams?

Well, we're in Kaiser Permanente, which is as close as you can get to the UK system, but I think it's more a sign of an overburdened system in general. When we lived in SoCal, in a high growth area with services that hadn't kept pace with the population growth, it was a lot worse.

How'd I know? Well, her pinky toe wasn't pointing in the direction is normally points -- in fact, it seemed longer than the toe next to it. I wiggled and tested the toe itself, and it was fine. She had a pain reaction trying to flex it. I felt around the area and got a pain reaction just behind the metatarsal head. When I moved up the shaft toward the heel, she went from, "Yeah, that hurts" to "Don't do that again!"

The next morning, it was swollen and discolored in that exact spot, on both the top and bottom of the foot. That pretty much wiped out any wishful thinking on my part. I wish I'd been wrong, but alas. The X-ray shows a fracture about 1 cm to 1.5 cm from the metatarsal head.

I did a little research and found out that they don't necessarily "fix" displaced fractures like this one. The bone just sort of glues itself back together in a lumpier, less sleek sort of way. I guess we'll find out. We're on a call-back list for cancellations, so maybe we'll get lucky. Hope so.

Mark B wrote:

ounce wrote:I understand that is what medicine in UK is like.  That's not a political statement, just what I understand. 

So, what did her foot look like that convinced you to take her to the clinic?  A big bump?  No swelling on the pinky toe, initially?  A bad reaction when you started "This little piggy went to market..."?  Incessant, loud, and blood curdling screams?

Well, we're in Kaiser Permanente, which is as close as you can get to the UK system, but I think it's more a sign of an overburdened system in general. When we lived in SoCal, in a high growth area with services that hadn't kept pace with the population growth, it was a lot worse.

How'd I know? Well, her pinky toe wasn't pointing in the direction is normally points -- in fact, it seemed longer than the toe next to it. I wiggled and tested the toe itself, and it was fine. She had a pain reaction trying to flex it. I felt around the area and got a pain reaction just behind the metatarsal head. When I moved up the shaft toward the heel, she went from, "Yeah, that hurts" to "Don't do that again!"

The next morning, it was swollen and discolored in that exact spot, on both the top and bottom of the foot. That pretty much wiped out any wishful thinking on my part. I wish I'd been wrong, but alas. The X-ray shows a fracture about 1 cm to 1.5 cm from the metatarsal head.

I did a little research and found out that they don't necessarily "fix" displaced fractures like this one. The bone just sort of glues itself back together in a lumpier, less sleek sort of way. I guess we'll find out. We're on a call-back list for cancellations, so maybe we'll get lucky. Hope so.

Thanks.  It gives me something to file away in the "Things I shouldn't have to know, but do" file.  Looks like a Duck of yours might do some good in the 100 hurdles.

Oh, remember our talk about the Oxford period?  I noticed when texting that if after I finish a sentence and hit the space bar twice, it puts a period.  Must've been someone that worked for the old UPI coding that in.

So did the doc try to line up her pinky with the metatarsal, so it might could start re-attaching or is it just in the visually normal location?

ounce wrote:So did the doc try to line up her pinky with the metatarsal, so it might could start re-attaching or is it just in the visually normal location?

Nope. The doctor didn't do a single thing to it. All she did was put on a splint and tell us the fracture clinic would be in touch. That's where they do that sort of thing. Which means we wait until a week from today (Thursday) before an orthopedist even looks at it. That's a concern for us, but they keep telling us that it's no big deal, that the orthopedic people looked at the X-rays and if we really needed to come in sooner, it would have happened. Trust us!  

Apparently, this is the time of year for fractures, and medical facilities can't hire on seasonal staff like they do in retail.

On the upside, we went to the ENT today, and she says it appears the operation was successful. The hearing is already better in Alita's ear than before, and it's supposed to get progressively better over the next month or two. I already got poked in the ribs for snoring the other night, so I'm guessing she's well on her way.

The only other side effect is a loss of taste (they have to move a nerve to access that part of the ear), but that's coming back, too, if slowly. Alita has discovered the benefit of Sriracha sauce, which helps make things taste less like wax.

As for me, my ankle's still not fully healed. I tried a very short barefoot run while getting the mail the other day, and I was notably sore afterward. Bah.

What!  I expected to return to reports of short but successful runs by the both of you!!  Apparently that's not the case for either of you.

Good news on the surgery though. 

I would think they would want to do something with that bone before it starts to heal...in the wrong place...not totally surprised to hear that you have Kaiser insurance... 

Take some extra time to recover during this hot weather.  It's to hot to run anyway!!

nkrichards wrote:What!  I expected to return to reports of short but successful runs by the both of you!!  Apparently that's not the case for either of you.

Good news on the surgery though. 

I would think they would want to do something with that bone before it starts to heal...in the wrong place...not totally surprised to hear that you have Kaiser insurance... 

Take some extra time to recover during this hot weather.  It's to hot to run anyway!!

Yep, our late summer and early fall sure took a turn for the worse. We're not sure if she's even going to be able to go back to work when school starts later this month. She *might* get into a walking boot by then, but she works in a special education environment where students can have violent outbursts. She needs to be able to react and take action immediately.

We've been fairly satisfied with Kaiser, but she apparently broke her foot at the worst possible time of the year. This is the busy period for fractures (go figure), and they can't exactly hire people for the busy season and lay them off when they're not needed. Either way, it's frustrating. We've been assured that it takes more time than 10 days for bones to begin refusing, so it shouldn't be an issue, but still.

As far as my ankle goes... well... yeah. The extra time off is probably a good idea. I do wonder what I actually injured, but apparently I don't get to find that out. Oh well.

Changing the subject... yes, it sure is hot, isn't it? We hit 98 today. I won't be surprised if we crack 100 by the time this heat wave is over. Glad we got that window a/c unit last year. It'll make Alita's recuperation much more comfortable. (And the kid will probably benefit, too...)

Mark B wrote:

ounce wrote:So did the doc try to line up her pinky with the metatarsal, so it might could start re-attaching or is it just in the visually normal location?

Nope. The doctor didn't do a single thing to it. All she did was put on a splint and tell us the fracture clinic would be in touch. That's where they do that sort of thing. Which means we wait until a week from today (Thursday) before an orthopedist even looks at it. That's a concern for us, but they keep telling us that it's no big deal, that the orthopedic people looked at the X-rays and if we really needed to come in sooner, it would have happened. Trust us!  

Apparently, this is the time of year for fractures, and medical facilities can't hire on seasonal staff like they do in retail.

On the upside, we went to the ENT today, and she says it appears the operation was successful. The hearing is already better in Alita's ear than before, and it's supposed to get progressively better over the next month or two. I already got poked in the ribs for snoring the other night, so I'm guessing she's well on her way.

The only other side effect is a loss of taste (they have to move a nerve to access that part of the ear), but that's coming back, too, if slowly. Alita has discovered the benefit of Sriracha sauce, which helps make things taste less like wax.

As for me, my ankle's still not fully healed. I tried a very short barefoot run while getting the mail the other day, and I was notably sore afterward. Bah.

I tend to believe their rationale for putting y'all off, having been exposed to different levels of "Oh, shit!" events.  For example, blood work.  If you hear nothing, everything falls within the parameters of the test.  Patience, you patients!

Mixed bag on her ear, good for her, but bad for you.  Sleep studies may be in your future.  Having had a BiPap machine for 16 years, then a CPAP machine for the last 4, it's a wonderful machine for sleep apnea. 

So you really did a number on your ankle, seem it would.  Good thing the doc wasn't going to figure out what it was because you may be still waiting to see a podiatrist.  Now refer to the 4th sentence in the first paragraph.  I don't take insurance for consults.