Homecoming 2018

It’s been over a year since I posted in this space.  I had to look it up myself, and I’m a little surprised it hasn’t been longer.  Be that as it may, consider this my homecoming post. First the developments over the last year.

1. The Newport to Newport Transcontinental Pilgrimage is still planned for spring and summer of 2019.  When I last left you, Rory Conlan (my pilgrimage partner) was working on healing a foot injury, and I had just taken on a new two year assignment at work.  I’m happy to report that Rory’s toe has healed nicely, and he’s recently discovered the magic of an aloe ointment that’s continuing the process. I’m a little more than halfway through the two year assignment, and I’m still looking forward to the trek across the United States.

2. Back in February of this year, I was plagued with another stress fracture on both the fourth and fifth metatarsals of my left foot.  This appears to be an ongoing condition that is healing nicely but will have to monitored on the walk.

3. Rory and I have had a couple of logos for the Newport to Newport effort made, and I’m happy to share them here now.  The first shows the Newport, RI lighthouse and two characters heading west from that location. Here it is:

The second is a little more abstract, but I’ve come to think of it as our trademark:

I really like this one.  The stones that make up the feet and the TCP of the logo represent the pebble beach at the back of the Vanderbilt mansion in Newport, RI as well as the cobble beach on Yaquina Head leading out to the lighthouse in Newport, OR.  Both of these beaches make a rattling noise when brushed by the waves and the tide.  I’ve only personally heard this “magic rocks” sound in Newport, RI, but I’m looking forward to experiencing it on both ends of our cross country journey.  It seems a little trivial writing it, but this sound speaks to my soul, and I think it’s worth making the trip to experience it for yourself.

4.   Both Rory and I have started to practice yoga.  I’m only speaking for myself, but I wish I had started this practice about twenty years ago.  I picked this up in February when the stress fractures in my foot reappeared as a way to stay active and work on my upper body strength and my overall flexibility.  Even in this short time, it’s been a journey of discovery where I’ve made both physical and spiritual improvements. I’ve been challenged in ways that I would not have imagined, and made progress on certain poses that I would not have dreamed possible.  It took a few months, but here’s a picture of me finally conquering the Crow Pose. Crow is a relatively straightforward arm balance that requires a bit of shoulder and wrist strength, but mostly some flexibility and balance.

I was pretty excited to make make this progress.  While I’m not sure how it will help with the pilgrimage, I keep telling myself that it can’t hurt.

That’s probably enough discussion of past developments for this particular homecoming post.  Suffice it to say that I’m back, and I plan on being a little more regular in my posting here as we really start to ramp up the preparations for the N2N-TCP.

Consolidation Period

With the foot fracture coupled with the snow days and late arrivals this week has felt like a bit of a consolidation period.  There are certainly some things that I need to move forward, but it just doesn't seem like the time is right to really strike out in earnest on any of them. Based on my walking, I'm pretty sure this isn't true since there really is no better time than the present to start making some incremental progress in a number of areas.

Some of those things are things that I just don't want to do, and I'm not really sure why I feel that way. Perhaps it's the winter, and I'm fallen into the trap of a bit of a malaise.  It's time to do something even if it's wrong as Rory Conlan has suggested in the past.

One twelfth of the year is just about in the bag, and the last two weeks as thrown a spanner in the works in a number of areas for me.  The rest is just waiting for the future to be revealed in the fullness of time.

Time to strike out in new directions.

Steady Progress on My Trotter

Today I secured a referral to an orthopedic surgeon for my left trotter. The discomfort was somewhat less today, and it has steadily gotten better since I put it in a boot.

I did have to tell my story about a dozen times, and it got to the point that I considered putting out an all hands email to my work confederates to save my pipes the trouble. For reasons that I don't completely understand, my fellow humans seem to love a good medical story. In my case, they seem to even love a bad one.

Considering the mileage I've gotten out of a run of the mill walking fracture, I should probably invent some more creative potboiler with which to regale my fellow travellers.

I think it will start with, "So there I was eating a salad..."

I'm Now Radioactive, and I Have a Permission Slip

Today, I completed the three phase bone scan with the purpose of providing further diagnostic evidence that my left foot had indeed suffered a fracture in the vicinity of the fifth metatarsal. As a brief reminder, the first doctor (a Physician Assistant or PA) I saw ordered a standard X-ray, and when that turned up negative suggested that I schedule this bone scan and wear supportive shoes.

The next day was painful enough that I borrowed one of my roommate's CAM boots, went the emergency room and convinced them to provide me a CAM boot that fit. The ER resident and radiologist confirmed that my X-Ray was indeed negative for fracture and sent me on my way with the new CAM boot and a flyer describing the treatment for a sprained foot.

Today was the three phase bone scan. The first phase involved a flow study in which I was injected with a radionuclide and then my feet were placed in a detector that could sense where soft tissue and "increased uptake" of the radioactive liquid.  The liquid came in a lead lined syringe, encased in a lead lined container (a pig), and had a half life of 6.02 hours. After the first round of scans, the technician handed me a card explaining what I'd been injected with and informing law enforcement personnel that I might have enough of the isotope in my system to set of radiation monitoring security systems for the next three days.  It also explained this was A-OK and in compliance with Nuclear Regulator Commission guidelines for the use of medical radiation...my get out of Guantanamo free (and hopefully fast) card.

The second phase of the test consisted of waiting three hours as my body flushed the radioactive substance from my soft tissue and allowed the bones to absorb the material in a process called uptake. The technician exhorted me to drink plenty of water and urinate as often as possible in the next three hours.  On the way out of the lab area we passed a bathroom labeled "Hot Patient Restroom." Naturally, I asked the tech if I was required to come back to the lab to urinate since I was a card carrying radioactive human. Without a lick of irony he said, "No. That's not required. Just be sure to flush twice and close the lid of any commode after you are done." I suppose it heartening to realize that the solution to (radioactive) pollution really is dilution.

I spent phase two of the scan drinking water, peeing, and participating in a conference call that was marginally productive.  I was pretty quiet until just before I had to return for phase three of the scan, at which point, I tossed a bureaucratic grenade related to an organizational chart that kicked off a spirited discussion, exited the call, and returned to the lab for some additional testing. My three hours of uptake and flushing had been completed.

Phase three of the test was another round of three longer duration scans including two views of my feet and a complete lower body scan of my legs and feet from the top of my pelvis down. By this time, the radioactivity had settled in my bones, and the increased uptake in the vicinity of the heel side of the fifth metatarsal of my left foot indicated a clear fracture area.

The nuclear medicine doctor ( a fancy radiologist) indicated the scan had probably revealed I had a Jones Fracture of the bone, and he was glad to see I was wearing a boot. The foot sprain had been confirmed by the flow scan, and the fracture by the bone scan. It was like winning the jackpot of left foot injuries. The doctor also said that he had hoped I'd have crutches. I thought, "Here I am in a hospital, and I was hoping that you might have some crutches for me if you think I might need them." I said, "I have some at home," and he said, "I recommend that you use them and follow up with your referring PA.

That's where I stand.  I have fractured and sprained foot and a CAM boot. Tomorrow I follow up with the PA to be told to schedule some more imaging as well as an appointment with either a podiatrist or orthopedic surgeon.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow and seeing the next step in how this all works out.

Yesterday was the End of a Good Long Walking Streak

I didn't post anything yesterday, but it's important for me to acknowledge that yesterday ended a walking streak that included at least 1.5 miles of walking (only once did I go this short of a distance in a day) each day since 04 October 2014.  I don't know how many days that is, but it's probably in the vicinity of 450 days in a row.

The streak ended because I decided to rest my left foot which is experiencing shooting pains along the outside of the arch that have yet to be definitively diagnosed. The  X-Ray was inconclusive, which is reasonably good news, and I suspect a fifth metatarsal stress fracture or a ligament sprain/rupture of some sort.  I did manage to hobble down the the Anacostia River Walk and capture an image of the USS Barry.

 

Anacostia Afternoon Before the Blizzard of 2016 with USS Barry

The distance wasn't great enough to be counted on this jaunt, and my foot was on fire by the time I'd covered the round trip of about half a mile. That was it for the day and the end of a streak. I'm a little disappointed that I couldn't keep it going. It was the right call, the rational thing to do, and I'm still not certain what kind of injury I'm dealing with now. Against all the rational arguments to end it here, for now anyway, I still feel like I've lost a little something that has come to define my daily existence.

Enough maudlin talk.  At the end of the afternoon today, I was able to make my way out to the front porch and capture the results to date of the Blizzard of 2016 currently being referred to as Snowzilla.

Snowzilla 2016

I haven't measured the depth, and I'm unlikely to take that scientific of an approach, but I guess that we've gotten pretty close to 20 inches of snow in the last 24 hours.  That smallish white lump near the street light is a Honda CRV, and I'm not dancing for in the streets at the prospect of shovelling it out tomorrow. It will have to be done, and it will be a good test of the impact of rest on the foot. Today was a good day for rest, and I actually have managed to pay down some of the sleep debt that I've been accumulating.

I'm looking forward to what tomorrow will hold.

Keeping the Streak Alive One Day at A Time

I managed to get in just over 1.5 miles of walking this morning, and even snuck in the normally recurring photo that I've been sharing over the last month or so of the USS Barry.

Anacostia Sunrise with USS Barry

That's one more in the books, and I fear that it might be the last for this little run. My left foot has grown increasingly painful during walking. Although the standard X-Ray did not reveal any fracture, I am pretty certain that something has gone truly wrong. My ability to be ambulatory is under assault, and I think I'll go to the ER tomorrow just to get a properly sized walking boot. For now, I'll borrow one, but it's really too small and given the predicted blizzard tomorrow it would probably be best to have one of the correct size.  The relief associated with wearing one is immense.

I kept the rest of the daily practice moving forward, albeit in a much diminished capacity. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

A Pop Accompanied by Fiery Pain Followed by a Dull Throb Interspersed with More Fiery Pain

During my morning ambulation, I misjudged a car and had to leg it on out to get across a street to avoid a thump squish encounter. At the end of my jog, I felt a sharp pop followed by a fiery wave of pain along the outside portion of my left foot in the vicinity of my fifth metatarsal. This was followed through the rest of the day with a dull throbbing ache which was interspersed with more fiery pain when I rotated the foot.

Left Foot with Hairy Toes Showing Some Swelling on the Outside Edge

I am pretty sure I've broken something or had a ligament detach.  This is going to make walking difficult I believe.  I'm headed to the doctor tomorrow, and we'll see where that leads.  This may be the end of a very long continuous string of walks. I hope not, but I'm a bit pessimistic about the prospect of this turning out in a way that keeps the string alive. We shall see.