Permission Granted

Disclaimer: I write this post not to reveal personal medical information, but rather to present information in case it is helpful to other runners. 

 Anyone who has been following my blog or following me on Facebook knows that I have been battling a 6-month running injury. It probably was a stress fracture at first, but something else has been going on more recently and on Friday I received a diagnosis: neuropathy, which is an inflammation of the nerves. For me, this presents as a very minor dull ache in the forefront of the foot, right below the toes, which is sometimes followed by a burning sensation after exercise or wearing heels. I actually have these symptoms in both feet. So, I will be treated with medication and carry on. 

 The good news? I've been given permission to run again. I did have to assure everyone in my life that I would not start with a 13 mile run, even though I might want to do so. Instead, I've been good...start with 3 and 4 mile runs. 

 All of this got me thinking about my wonderful experiences as an amateur runner. Here are some of my favorite running pictures. 
BSU Family Weekend 5k in  fall 2008

Mt. Desert Island Marathon, fall 2009

Plaistow Old Home Days, summer 2010

Pat Poletta 5k, Salisbury, MA, 2011

Smuttynose Marathon, Hampton, NH, fall 2012

Yankee Homecoming 10 mi,  Newburyport, MA, summer  2009
Looking forward to many more, starting with a the Mighty Merrimack River 5k in Amesbury on June 8. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Who Would Scam an Oboe Teacher?

Image
Apparently someone named William Clark, or someone who uses the name William Clark and whose email address is: wclark200@yahoo.com . Last week Neil mentioned to me that he had received an unusual request from "William Clark," for oboe lessons for his 13 year old daughter, Mary. He stated that they were out of the country, but would soon be coming to the United States. Mr. Clark failed to answer any of Neil's usual questions for new students, such as how long Mary had been playing, inquires about her instrument, and whether they would be taking lessons at USM or Dartmouth - the locations of his two teaching studios. Neil usually asks if the child has, in addition to playing oboe, any other tendencies toward self-injurious behavior. Silent on all of these matters.  Then Mr. Clark wanted to pay for several weeks of lessons upfront. Neil had never encountered this before, but why would a free-lance musician say no to a parent wanting to pay for lessons in advance? Then N
Read more

What Happens When a Stress Fracture Won't Heal?

Image
That's right. I have at least two stress fractures that won't heal. I've had one for about 15 weeks and a second for at least 18 months. When a fractured bone won't heal, it's called a non-union fracture . I get quite a kick out of this. Makes me think of my bones slaving away in a sweatshop or something! What do we do to try to get non-union bones to heal? First, health providers put you in a surgical boot. Say good-bye to the surgical shoe. It's all about the boot now. My boot looks just like this one. I don't really want to know how long I have to wear it. Despite it being clunky and a miserable fashion statement, it is much better than the surgical shoe -- in terms of walking. It also seems nearly impossible to re-injure oneself in this contraption! Driving a standard is definitely a no-no. Photo from Ortho Tape Second, we get a bone stimulator. I know, who knew there was such a thing?  Apparently before the days of bone stimulation, there was su
Read more

Limping All the Way to Five

Our first black Labrador Retriever, Blackberry, had health problems. He started having seizures between 6-9 months of age. We discovered that he had epilepsy and successfully treated his condition with  phenobarbital  for 9 years. The bad news is that it slowly destroyed his liver. We made that trade-off because alternative medications were much more expensive. So, we lost Blackberry when he was 9. I still think it was the right decision. Blackberry lived a happy life. He was the center of our family and even part of the community. Everyone seemed to know him. Neil was once exercising Blackberry in the Saco River in Biddeford and a school-aged girl with a fishing rod passed by them and commented to her father, "That dog's name is Blackberry." Neil had never seen that child in his life or since. When the UPS man would arrive at our house, he would hand us a package and look in through the door, saying, "Hi, Blackberry!"  Despite this condition, he had a pretty
Read more