Kubota took me to today's doctor's visit. He is as bad as the girls, lecturing me to take my time and pointing exactly where he wants me to go to minimize trip-risk.
I am in a walking cast. The doc gave me permission to do "weight bearing" exercises on my left leg. She told me to use pain as a guide.
The stability muscles in my left leg are slow to respond. The first day back from a four week long vacation. I get that.
I went to my super-secret training spot and walked 2300 feet. I walked with a walker for balance (those stability muscles, don't you know). By my figuring I was walking about one-foot per second so I was out there about 35 minutes.
I had discomfort but nothing I would call pain. That will show up tomorrow.
My purpose for base-lining my stamina is I am curious to figure out how quickly I recover. In distance running, the rule-of-thumb is that you can add 10% to your distance every week which results in a doubling of distance every seven weeks. I expect this to go faster because I still have swelling that is subsiding.
When I got home I decided to walk down the driveway to get the mail. The driveway is only about 150 feet long but it is gravel and undulates. I aborted the mission before I was half-way to the road. A man has to know his limitations.
The doc gave me a script for an antibiotic. She did not like the spongy look near the middle of the incision nor did she care for the Bride-of-Frankenstein multi-color look. The thing about trauma is that most meat is able to sequester blood-flow. It calls for it and your body regrows the vessels. But some battered areas...maybe not so much. She is playing it safe.
Along those same lines, I didn't start my mini-walkabout until after my second antibiotic capsule. I didn't want to be the next Jim Henson.
Tomorrow is a recovery day.
Wise call ERJ. And based on the link about Jim Henson (has it really already been 30 years), I think a lot of us underestimate the actual power of a bacterial infection.
ReplyDeleteHey Joe, just another quiet reader from the shadows poking my head up to make sure you know that you're in our prayers and we're rooting for you!
ReplyDeleteThank-you sir or ma-am. I assure you that my recovery has been miraculous.
DeleteSelf-control in not overdoing it is excellent. Expect some swelling as you work it but be aware if swelling don't go down with rest and elevation. Infection often causes unresolved swelling not resolved with rest and elevation. Itching is a problem, avoid urge to use something like a coat hanger to scratch it. Any odd smells or drainage are all reasons to get it looked at as infection is a real problem with walking casts.
ReplyDeleteI'm assuming you have a cast condom to keep it dry when you bathe and shower. Saran wrap is amazingly good at sealing away the cast as my wife's surgery proved.
Praying you recover and spring up with wings of eagles again.