I really cannot believe that it has been 359 days since I commented on this accident. Part of the reason for that is not much has really happened with the leg but a lot has happened to me. It is quite the eye opener when you have spent your entire life in really good health and then in the blink of an eye you get to see the other side.
And truthfully, this was never life threatening which I imagine takes the reflecting component to a whole different level. The off-shoot to this acident for me though was an appreciation for how quickly things can change and which of those changes are importnat and which of them or not.
Since the first TSA alarm went off, I have managed to go through security without incident except for two other random times. I have been told by TSA that my body image is cool with all the metal showing in my leg and I am travelling so much now that TSA agents, especially in Denver (which is my new home town) recognize me and already know what the picture is going to look like even before they take it.
From a recovery standpoint there have been two major break throughs which are really the reasons that compelled me to write. The first is the pain I am having in my ankle has been traced to a tendon and after three weeks of physical therapy it is feeling much better. Also, I was having some severe pain in my knee which was diagnosed as a torn meniscus. They believe the tear occurred duing the fall and got lost amongst the trauma of all the breaks. I had surgery on Monday to repair the knee. This consisted of cleaning up the torn meniscus, shaving a few other worn parts, and cleaning up some arthritis.
The amazing thing is that it has been three days and I am walking normally and pain free and I am within a few degrees of having full range of motion! And the stitches do not even come out for another week. The prognosis is for me to be 100% within three more weeks and then the real fun begins...getting back into shape so that I can run 10k's again and obviously getting up into the Rocky Mountains for some spectacular and strenuous hiking/backpacking.
Signing off for now but will check back in a week.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
TSA Screening
It finally happened and I am going to take it as a sign that my leg is ever-improving. After three and a half months of travelling, I finally set off the alarm system while going through security. For those of you who had pools going, it happened in Sacramento.
There are two reasons why this could have happened but I am going with the fact that the swelling in my leg has gone down so far that there is not as much insulation between the metal in me and my skin. The only other explanation is that TSA has upped the sensitivity on their machines which I concede is a possibility, but I like to think in terms of my getting better so I am going with the reduced swelling theory.
In either case, when I walked throught the detector it beeped and the TSA agent said "Do you have anything on the lower part of your body...like a knee brace?" I said, No brace, but I do have a 14 inch rod, metal plate and 12 screws in my leg and ankle." The actually laughed at that and then proceeded to undress me to a point that I felt like I was on display. Then the wand came out and the COMPLETE pat down.
They re-ran all my stuff and then allowed me to get dressed and be on my way. Fortunately I had plenty of time to catch my plane but it did add about 10 to 15 minutes to my timeline which I guess I will have to plan for in the future. I should probably not try to cut it too close which will be a challenge this Thursday when I fly out of Portland. I will be racing from Redmond to make the flight, but that is what makes travelling so much fun right?
For those of you who saw the movie "Up In The Air" I am now, at least temporarily one of George Clooney's stereotypes...old people with a bunch of metal in their bodies. LOL
There are two reasons why this could have happened but I am going with the fact that the swelling in my leg has gone down so far that there is not as much insulation between the metal in me and my skin. The only other explanation is that TSA has upped the sensitivity on their machines which I concede is a possibility, but I like to think in terms of my getting better so I am going with the reduced swelling theory.
In either case, when I walked throught the detector it beeped and the TSA agent said "Do you have anything on the lower part of your body...like a knee brace?" I said, No brace, but I do have a 14 inch rod, metal plate and 12 screws in my leg and ankle." The actually laughed at that and then proceeded to undress me to a point that I felt like I was on display. Then the wand came out and the COMPLETE pat down.
They re-ran all my stuff and then allowed me to get dressed and be on my way. Fortunately I had plenty of time to catch my plane but it did add about 10 to 15 minutes to my timeline which I guess I will have to plan for in the future. I should probably not try to cut it too close which will be a challenge this Thursday when I fly out of Portland. I will be racing from Redmond to make the flight, but that is what makes travelling so much fun right?
For those of you who saw the movie "Up In The Air" I am now, at least temporarily one of George Clooney's stereotypes...old people with a bunch of metal in their bodies. LOL
Thursday, January 7, 2010
A Step Backwards?
I cannot believe it has almost been a month since my last posting. The other thing I cannot believe is how good my leg and ankle feel. I am actually back to being able to walk normally and at my regular fast pace. Good news right? That is what I thought until my knee started to hurt!!!
So I went to the Doctor this week to have it checked out and I got the perverbial good news/bad news scenario.
The good news is that the flexiblity in my "bad" ankle is only two degrees away from the range I have in my "good" ankle. The calf muscle is completely recovered and the swelling while still visible is way down. The Doctor is totally and completely amazed at how far I have come in so little time...especially for a man my age.
The bad news is that the meniscus (not sure if I am spelling that correctly) in my right knee is torn, which is what is creating the pain when I walk. The meniscus does not heal itself but likewise it does not degenerate. So if I can deal with the discomfort, everything is cool. If it gets too bad then I go under the knife, but this time only arthroscopically.
No decisions are going to be made for at least six more weeks but it has the feel of a step backwards.
So I went to the Doctor this week to have it checked out and I got the perverbial good news/bad news scenario.
The good news is that the flexiblity in my "bad" ankle is only two degrees away from the range I have in my "good" ankle. The calf muscle is completely recovered and the swelling while still visible is way down. The Doctor is totally and completely amazed at how far I have come in so little time...especially for a man my age.
The bad news is that the meniscus (not sure if I am spelling that correctly) in my right knee is torn, which is what is creating the pain when I walk. The meniscus does not heal itself but likewise it does not degenerate. So if I can deal with the discomfort, everything is cool. If it gets too bad then I go under the knife, but this time only arthroscopically.
No decisions are going to be made for at least six more weeks but it has the feel of a step backwards.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Four Months
Tomorrow is the 16th week since my surgery. When I was first counseled regarding my recovery I was told that it would be 16 weeks before I would be able to be up and around. So I guess tomorrow is an anniversary of sorts. The fact that I have been up and back at work for the past five weeks seems almost surreal at this point.
But let me tell you last week gave me a bit of foreshadowing as to what my life might be like with metal in my leg. I spent last week in Omaha, Nebraska and Boise, Idaho. To say that it was cold would be an understatement. On Sunday I flew from San Francisco to Denver where I had to change planes and wait while a snowstorm blew through Denver. I arrived in Omaha about 2 1/2 hours late and drove through snow-covered roads to my hotel. The next day I think I saw a high of about 26°. I had the pleasure of having dinner with my friend Sam that night and while at dinner I got a phone call from United Airlines telling me that my flight the following evening was already canceled due to an impending storm.
Sam and I decided that it might be prudent to get out of Omaha as quickly as possible and United was nice enough to have booked me on a 6:30 AM flight. The plane in Omaha had to be deiced and when I arrived in Denver it was 6°. My connecting flight had to be deiced as well and when I arrived in Boise at 10 o'clock in the morning the temperature was about 10°. I realized that I did not have the proper clothing for such temperatures and I ended up purchasing a couple of sweaters to get me through the next two days in Boise.
The high on Tuesday was 13° which was followed by a high on Wednesday of 17° and Thursday topped out with a high of 22°. The problem was on Thursday the wind came up and when you toss in windchill it was only about 5°. My flight out Thursday night from Boise back to San Francisco was delayed for about 3 1/2 hours due to bad weather in San Francisco.
The long and short of all of this, is that despite the numerous delays and the bad weather it felt good to be back out on the road. The one drawback and really the reason for this entry tonight is that I have realized that cold weather, I mean really cold weather, plays havoc on my leg. I'm hoping that once the break is completely healed it will not react to the cold the way it did last week. But for the time being cold weather really makes the leg and for that matter the ankle ache like a big dog. Thank goodness for 800 mg ibuprofen. All the benefits of a major pain reliever while still maintaining the ability to operate an automobile or heavy machinery.
As far as a medical update goes my leg is doing very well. The calf muscle is almost back to normal and I have better than average mobility in my ankle. The ankle is still swollen but I have been told that this condition will be around for a couple of more months. I guess that I cannot exercise the calf and increase the mobility of the ankle without impacting the swelling of the ankle. I am off the road for the next three weeks and hopefully during that time I can get some additional therapy and really concentrate on improving not only the flexibility of the ankle but also reducing the swelling.
But let me tell you last week gave me a bit of foreshadowing as to what my life might be like with metal in my leg. I spent last week in Omaha, Nebraska and Boise, Idaho. To say that it was cold would be an understatement. On Sunday I flew from San Francisco to Denver where I had to change planes and wait while a snowstorm blew through Denver. I arrived in Omaha about 2 1/2 hours late and drove through snow-covered roads to my hotel. The next day I think I saw a high of about 26°. I had the pleasure of having dinner with my friend Sam that night and while at dinner I got a phone call from United Airlines telling me that my flight the following evening was already canceled due to an impending storm.
Sam and I decided that it might be prudent to get out of Omaha as quickly as possible and United was nice enough to have booked me on a 6:30 AM flight. The plane in Omaha had to be deiced and when I arrived in Denver it was 6°. My connecting flight had to be deiced as well and when I arrived in Boise at 10 o'clock in the morning the temperature was about 10°. I realized that I did not have the proper clothing for such temperatures and I ended up purchasing a couple of sweaters to get me through the next two days in Boise.
The high on Tuesday was 13° which was followed by a high on Wednesday of 17° and Thursday topped out with a high of 22°. The problem was on Thursday the wind came up and when you toss in windchill it was only about 5°. My flight out Thursday night from Boise back to San Francisco was delayed for about 3 1/2 hours due to bad weather in San Francisco.
The long and short of all of this, is that despite the numerous delays and the bad weather it felt good to be back out on the road. The one drawback and really the reason for this entry tonight is that I have realized that cold weather, I mean really cold weather, plays havoc on my leg. I'm hoping that once the break is completely healed it will not react to the cold the way it did last week. But for the time being cold weather really makes the leg and for that matter the ankle ache like a big dog. Thank goodness for 800 mg ibuprofen. All the benefits of a major pain reliever while still maintaining the ability to operate an automobile or heavy machinery.
As far as a medical update goes my leg is doing very well. The calf muscle is almost back to normal and I have better than average mobility in my ankle. The ankle is still swollen but I have been told that this condition will be around for a couple of more months. I guess that I cannot exercise the calf and increase the mobility of the ankle without impacting the swelling of the ankle. I am off the road for the next three weeks and hopefully during that time I can get some additional therapy and really concentrate on improving not only the flexibility of the ankle but also reducing the swelling.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Flat On My Back No More
Good Morning Everyone. I survived the week! After nearly twelve weeks of restriction I was allowed, last Friday, to return to normal duties. And what duties they were. If I had it to do over again I might have selected a shorter less arduous trip for my inaugural but we do not always have those choices.
After spending nearly eight years living out of a suitcase, the packing routine becomes automatic. After twelve weeks at home the packing routine was anything but automatic. I did not forget anything, but it was a much longer process. The fact that I have special equipment to pack now (physical therapy exercise stuff, ice bag and special socks) makes it a bit more challenging and also having to pack six days worth of stuff into one carry-on bag... Oh well, mission accomplished and I did not have to reuse a single pair of underwear either. :)
I may as well address the best part of the trip right away...after removing my boot I thought that all the metal in my leg would still activate the detectors. I could not have been more wrong about that! What this means is that once I get to lose the boot, I will be able to go throught security just like I always did...the easy, breezy way. WAHOO!!!
I spent a long day on Friday with clients...flew to Portland on Saturday and spent the day doing nothing...actually spent the day letting my leg recover from Friday...it was a tad swollen. Sunday I drove to my first client and spent Monday working with them. That is the thing about this particular client...I spend four days with them in four different parts of Oregon with a two to three hour drive every night to get from one location ot the next. I actually made it to Wednesday afternoon before the leg started to ache. I think part of that was the weather turned colder, but I am not sure.
The doctor did prescribe 800mg Ibuprofen and one of those will take away any aches you might have. So Wednesday and then again Thursday, down the hatch they went. The flight home Thursday night was uneventful, landing in SFO about 9:30 and getting into the house about 11:30. Was up early yesterday to drive to another client in Sacramento and when I got home about 5:30 I was surprised at how good my leg felt and looked.
The exercises are really helping and quite honestly the healing process seems to be moving along at a good clip. I also have to give credit to the special socke that my surgeon recommended. They are made by Activa and they are basically support hose. But if you have to spend your days on your feet...they are awesome. Really reducing the welling for me and my legs feel much more refreshed at the end of the day.
The next test is tomorrow when I get on a plane and fly nonstop from SFO to D.C. Five plus hours on a plane may have a swelling effect but we will see. I will let you know how it goes after I fly back on Monday night.
Have a great Thanksgiving. I know I will as I am very thankful for everyone who has helped me recover and get me back on my feet instead of flat on my back.
After spending nearly eight years living out of a suitcase, the packing routine becomes automatic. After twelve weeks at home the packing routine was anything but automatic. I did not forget anything, but it was a much longer process. The fact that I have special equipment to pack now (physical therapy exercise stuff, ice bag and special socks) makes it a bit more challenging and also having to pack six days worth of stuff into one carry-on bag... Oh well, mission accomplished and I did not have to reuse a single pair of underwear either. :)
I may as well address the best part of the trip right away...after removing my boot I thought that all the metal in my leg would still activate the detectors. I could not have been more wrong about that! What this means is that once I get to lose the boot, I will be able to go throught security just like I always did...the easy, breezy way. WAHOO!!!
I spent a long day on Friday with clients...flew to Portland on Saturday and spent the day doing nothing...actually spent the day letting my leg recover from Friday...it was a tad swollen. Sunday I drove to my first client and spent Monday working with them. That is the thing about this particular client...I spend four days with them in four different parts of Oregon with a two to three hour drive every night to get from one location ot the next. I actually made it to Wednesday afternoon before the leg started to ache. I think part of that was the weather turned colder, but I am not sure.
The doctor did prescribe 800mg Ibuprofen and one of those will take away any aches you might have. So Wednesday and then again Thursday, down the hatch they went. The flight home Thursday night was uneventful, landing in SFO about 9:30 and getting into the house about 11:30. Was up early yesterday to drive to another client in Sacramento and when I got home about 5:30 I was surprised at how good my leg felt and looked.
The exercises are really helping and quite honestly the healing process seems to be moving along at a good clip. I also have to give credit to the special socke that my surgeon recommended. They are made by Activa and they are basically support hose. But if you have to spend your days on your feet...they are awesome. Really reducing the welling for me and my legs feel much more refreshed at the end of the day.
The next test is tomorrow when I get on a plane and fly nonstop from SFO to D.C. Five plus hours on a plane may have a swelling effect but we will see. I will let you know how it goes after I fly back on Monday night.
Have a great Thanksgiving. I know I will as I am very thankful for everyone who has helped me recover and get me back on my feet instead of flat on my back.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Physical Therapy
After a month of riding a stationary bike the real therapy began today. The good news is that I am above average strength and above average flexibility for an ankle that has gone through the trauma that mine has. The bad news is that the strength and flexibility have a long way to go before it is back to "normal".
I have to admit that the physical therapist was not very happy when he found out that I travel for a living. I think his "bother" was a combination of me not coming in to be supervised and then having to create a routine for me that I can do in hotel rooms with a minimum of equipment. He is good at his job though and as extra punishment he gave me about 45 minutes of exercises that he wants me to do TWICE a day.
Nevermind...I made a promise to myself that I would do what I was told by the doctors, nurses and therapists so if 90 minutes of exercising is going to bring me back to normal and out of the boot then I am in.
I have to admit that the physical therapist was not very happy when he found out that I travel for a living. I think his "bother" was a combination of me not coming in to be supervised and then having to create a routine for me that I can do in hotel rooms with a minimum of equipment. He is good at his job though and as extra punishment he gave me about 45 minutes of exercises that he wants me to do TWICE a day.
Nevermind...I made a promise to myself that I would do what I was told by the doctors, nurses and therapists so if 90 minutes of exercising is going to bring me back to normal and out of the boot then I am in.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Released
My apologies to you all for being such a blogging slacker. It has been nearly three weeks since my last posting and I have no excuses except that I have been feeling pretty normal and that means more active time and less lying around time.
Anyway, I went to the Doctor today and was given the best news imaginable. I have been released to start back to normal duties and it does not get any better than that. The ankle is completely healed as far as the breaks. It is still swollen and still has limited range of motion but it can not be hurt anymore than my good one. As far as the leg goes you can still see the break but it is healed to a point where it can be hurt either. After all there is a 3/8 inch titanium rod running through it.
So here is the deal...it is time for the pain to begin. I am to put full weight on the leg and ankle knowing full well that it is going to create an ache in the leg and a swelling in the ankle every day. I have been given an ice pack and prescription strength Ibuprofen and told to get used to the discomfort. That is OK, I am ready to push the whole thing to completion.
It is a great day today and I will do a better job of keeping you all up to date on my progress.
Anyway, I went to the Doctor today and was given the best news imaginable. I have been released to start back to normal duties and it does not get any better than that. The ankle is completely healed as far as the breaks. It is still swollen and still has limited range of motion but it can not be hurt anymore than my good one. As far as the leg goes you can still see the break but it is healed to a point where it can be hurt either. After all there is a 3/8 inch titanium rod running through it.
So here is the deal...it is time for the pain to begin. I am to put full weight on the leg and ankle knowing full well that it is going to create an ache in the leg and a swelling in the ankle every day. I have been given an ice pack and prescription strength Ibuprofen and told to get used to the discomfort. That is OK, I am ready to push the whole thing to completion.
It is a great day today and I will do a better job of keeping you all up to date on my progress.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
