That's actually not true. My kids and husband have been a little miserable as well. Picking up the slack for me apparently is no fun. But I think they will agree that I have it the worst. Being on crutches is pretty darn inconveniencing.
Most of you know about my diagnosis and all that, but just in case, here it is... I have an incomplete stress fracture of the femoral neck. This is actually next to the ball of the join that connects your hip to your pelvis.
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| The femoral neck is indicated with wavy lines. |
My fracture is on the "compression side" (inner side)... apparently this is the better than having it on the outside, as that would mean instant surgery and pins in my hip. It's called an incomplete (or non-displaced) fracture because it's not fully broken (the crack doesn't go all the way through the bone)....but if I were to run before it heals, it is possible that it would displace and break fully.
The prognosis: My doctor said no weight bearing activities for up to 6 weeks, including walking... hence the crutches. She wants to see me in two weeks, to see if I can go to partial weight-bearing and maybe start swimming, depending on how things are healing. However, after playing Dr. Google, I am not too optimistic on any of this happening anytime soon. On the average, it seems that most people with this injury are on crutches for 8-10 weeks, and aren't able to return to even walk/run intervals for a couple of months after that. Many take even longer than this, again based on what I've read. The return is very pointed and slow. As I am not a patient person, this is going to truly test me. The past two days already have been difficult. I have been teaching from my wheelie-desk-chair, mostly staying by my Elmo and projector, but occasionally wheeling around the room as needed. I only use my crutches when I leave my classroom.
It's harder to remain non-weight-bearing at home, though. I am alone with the kids for 2+ hours before Joe arrives home from work, and they are used to eating dinner over an hour before he arrives. I also have to do many of the drop-offs for sports and activities. I'm grateful that Charlotte has become my right-hand-man, but there's only so much a 9-year-old can do. I have a feeling that the crock pot will become my best friend over the next several weeks.
I've been trying to wrap my head around the fact that not only am I not going to be racing this weekend, but I also am very likely out for the summer when it comes to triathlon season. I have 4 races scheduled--a super-sprint on 5/28, a mini on 6/4, an Olympic in mid-July, and of course the half-Ironman on 8/21. Oh and a 1-mile swimming race on 6/25. I am going to find out about deferring the triathlons, or getting partial refunds. I realize the need to take this return slowly and not rush things. I've decided that the Erie Marathon in September 2017 sounds awfully appealing right now... yes, that is 17 months from now. I don't plan on my return to running taking that long, but it leaves me plenty of time to recover and rebuild... and hopefully to figure out why this keeps happening to me. The plans include getting a bone density scan to see if I have any apparant weaknesses, as well as a complete blood work-up to look at different vitamin levels. Once I am healed, my friend Lynn says that I will need to learn how to just walk. After only 48 hours on crutches, a long walk sounds like an amazing thing. I will be grateful when it happens.
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