For the past year, running had been painful for the first couple miles until the endorphins kick in to mute the pain, then I'd have a throbbing foot to contend with for a couple days. Stress fracture, I thought. Arthritis from an old break maybe. Finally, it has gotten to the point where walking sends flashes of pain up to my brain "hellooo, something wrong here". Cheery visit to an orthopedic surgeon revealed one of my foot's bones is disintegrating at a jolly pace. Option #1 take meds and take it easy. How can I pursue my dreams by taking it easy? You're either all in, or you stay your ass on the porch. Not being porch dwelling material, we go for option #2: pull out the bad joint and carve bone from somewhere else in my body to graft into its place.
Doctor's advice: 6 weeks off because under no circumstance am I to put any weight on the foot. Then 1 year to return to running.
My plan: 2 days off and start a new sport to stave off the boredom of not being able to run.
If I can't wrestle anymore because of the arthritis in my neck. And I can't box anymore because of the arthritis in my hands, then the only martial art left without contact is fencing (no, I will not do T'ai Chi, I need an adversary to attack).
My hands just don't seem to cooperate sometimes. One bad move and they swell like balloons. It's painful and frustrating.
My first try at fencing was last week. There's a new academy in Opelika run by an Olympic level Russian woman.
The technical stuff alone will take me a couple of months to learn... from my wheelchair.
Which brings me to my next weapon in my arsenal:
My beloved friend Helene passed this Spring and her family is allowing me to borrow one of her electric scooters. It's undergoing a diagnostic work over, I aspire to have it running by Tuesday.
I can't wait for her to look down and see what adventures her chair and I will undertake. Perhaps I'm overly confident in my mechanic skills, but I built ramps this evening after work.
I also found a used knee scooter for $60 on Facebook. Regularly $100s.
Brace yourself when you see my leg brace apparatus that will allow me to use the tractor's clutch pedal without touching it with my foot. A little bit of carpentry and some 2x2's, plus Duck Tape, blessed is the Duck tape.
"People get upset not because of the adversity they face, but because their adversity reveals who they really are." Inky Johnson
