Recap and the future

As it is the first day of the New Year, I should bring this blog back up to speed. My last entry was more rant than fact and was drug induced; pain drugs, and those do odd things to my mind while easing the body.

Enough of that, here is where I am in my plan to get back to racing, even if it's only 5 or 10K races.

Flash back to my surgery in mid July. The surgical pain was manageable and after the normal amount of R&R I was told to begin a recovery program of daily walks. This went well and I was soon up to four miles a day and getting faster all of the time. Then, something happened after one normal day of walking, I got out of the car to begin and I could tell something was wrong. I thought that perhaps I had strained something the day before but couldn't recall such a thing. Anyway, I was barely able to make it around the park, in fact I couldn't. Laurae had to go and get the car and come back for me. And so it went. All downhill. The pain increased and my mileage went down quickly. I was lucky to do a mile. And then, the pain afterwards was tremendous. Saw the surgeon and he knew there was something wrong as soon as he saw how I was standing. An MRI revealed that the L5 nerve on the right side was caught in the foramen and anything could make it hurt. Any movement at all. He told me that I would need additional surgery to free up the nerve as there was nothing that I could do via the exercise route to ease the pain. In fact, he said it would get only get worse during the time it took to get ready for surgery. Yes, I had to wait for about two months while my bone grafts from the initial surgery strengthened enough to support me after the next surgery. He gave me an appointment for a CT Scan in late December and then a consult immediately afterwards.

Okay, I've had the CT Scan and the consult and now I must wait for a surgery date. We assume it will be very soon as that was what the surgeon indicated that he wanted. We all do, because, as he predicted, the pain has only become worse. Much worse than it had been before the first surgery. Crippling pain. Yell out loud pain. Yes, he gave me enough drugs for the pain; at least I haven't been burdened by one of those sanctimonious surgeons that are afraid to give their patients any relief. But if I took all that was available, I would be semi conscious at best…tempting at times! But, I do see a resolution to this, surgery will be done and I will get better and I will be walking a 5K race in November, the Turkey Trot, and then another in March of 2011, the Almond Blossom – the one that I have won so many times. I want to do it again. Another marathon is possible in October of 2011, the Portland Marathon, my favorite!