I debated it a good two minutes… clearing the bonfire would be no issue…I just was not sure of the landing on the other side and I wanted to make sure I did not keep going and plow through a row of seats…and people.
The Bonfire
That tends to put a damper on a party, especially when you are a host.
Maybe I could have debated it a tad longer, but I have jumped bonfires before…. in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada (site of Burning Man) I even had walked through a bonfire…with my motorcycle boots on…
The leap went as planned however I did not stick the landing and in the soft mud from the rather intense fire, I turned my right ankle over on itself to the right. I continued the run out through the gap in chairs and quietly stood behind a chair reveling in the moment.
I just lied…I was not reveling at all; rather I was dealing with a wave of nausea that swept through me beginning at the ankle. It was instantly swollen and instantly in bad shape. We can fast forward through the rest of the party by simply saying it continued on for another 6 hours until the fire died out at nearly 2:00am. During that time, my ankle was wrapped by a very nice off duty nurse, and nice people brought me food, water, ice, and other stuff…everything you need for a successful party. That was Saturday, Feb 22nd.
By the evening of Sunday Feb 23rd I knew a trip to the urgent care clinic was in order and that is where I went. An XRAY revealed no broken bones and a serious sprain was diagnosed. I did receive a call on Monday Feb 24th that there “might” be a small bone chop or fracture but if it heals, don’t worry about it… I should have taken that as a clue.
Use crutches and recover they said. As they pulled out the crutches to give me, I said I have them at home, thanks. I didn’t… But armed with my $11.00 (my guess) plastic ankle splint given to me by the urgent care clinic I started my recovery, without crutches…
The Club Foot — what convinced my sister something bad had happened.. it would get worse
What I really started was my downward slide. I walked on it, albeit carefully for the next ten days. I walked the length of the drive way, I walked around work, I was the Forrest Gump of walking on it… and Debbie did not appear pleased with my lack of crutches or my recovery.
On Tuesday, 4 March I could walk no further and my leg was swollen to the knee so just like Forrest Gump, I stopped walking….
…….and went to my doctor. When I arrived, Dr G did not seem pleased either….with what he saw… he just shook his head back and forth.
To broadly paraphrase, it went something like this…”I have three concerns (which I won’t bore you with here), two are somewhat serious and the third can kill you. There are about 6 things I need you to do and you need to be in a hospital to do them”
I decided to check in for a hospital stay and broke the news to Debbie while driving home to pick her up. She did not blink an eye and actually was relieved as she had been trying to take care of me for the last 10 days. The nurse mentioned to her it would be a mini vacation for her with me being out of house for a few days…
I entered the hospital on March 4th and now I know this as the date I started my true recovery. I came out on March 6th in a large black boot and on crutches after an orthopedic consult, MRI, IV Antibiotics every 4 hours, and additional xrays determined two completely torn ligaments, third partial tear, etc etc. On a positive note, by the time I had left the hospital 60% of the swelling was gone.
I rested it from 7 March – 10 March and returned to work on 11 Mar 14. I am such a pitiful sight on my crutches at work, people keep asking “Are you getting worse?” ”
“No, I am improving by the hour, and by the day…” I say, but no one really believes me…
Now my life is numbers…
18 day since the injury
8 days since I started my recovery
20 days until we fly to Miami and go on a the Moody Blues Cruise
Goals:
Walk onto the cruise ship in sandals (on both feet) Apr 2nd (21 days from today)
Begin return to cycling on the road Apr 8th (28 days from today), 2000 miles by Jun 30th
Be pain-free by May and start training for next bonfire jump by July 4th
Acknowledgements:
Debbie: Still with me after 18 days… do you know how many things you cannot do when on crutches in a house? She acts like she has been through this similar experience before… she is correct and deserves the credit for my recovery
Susan: My personal nurse and sister who examined the injury via face time and pictures and wanted me to go to an ortho doctor immediately. Her words, “I have never seen a sprain like that before…” My thanks to her for waiting 14 days to say “I told you so…”
Friends: at the bonfire event and at the office who checked on me, brought me a frosty, or have helped me recover. Special thanks to Bob for adjusting my IV when it started beeping….
Not sure what he did…
If you cannot laugh at yourself, you might as well just cry…. I prefer to laugh (mostly)… today I jump started my semi pro cycling career by cycling a bit…
Epilog
A person should always set their goals high to make progress in life. I walked onto the cruise ship on Apr 2nd in the boot. I did not wear it after that and my ankle improved daily, especially once I went swimming in the Caribbean! I walked off the ship in sandals with the boot in the suitcase.
I started cycling on a stationary bike on April 9th (agreement with the physical therapist) and started on the road on April 12th with a 6 mile ride. I am walking normally at about the 90% level and just need more PT and confidence to regain my normal gait.
Since I started riding 8 days ago I have progressed to 20 miles last Sat and 30 miles Sunday. Although sore after a ride, it feels ok while riding. I went full gas on Wed, Apr 23rd and the foot did not fall off. Trying to do 35 tomorrow and 45 Sunday. That is my status as of April 25, 2014.