Monday, September 22, 2008

Ankle Update


I am absolutely overwhelmed by the enormous support and hope I have received from you all. You have brought me much hope and peace. I am filled with good thoughts about my injury and the race.

Here is an update.

I am very actively RESTING. It is difficult. I am in Greece for goodness sake, sitting in the hotel (it's rainy outside) with ice on my ankle with it elevated up on a chair! I have been in this position for most of the day.

I did test the weight-bearing and I am VERY happy to say that I was able to take some steps this morning. As the day went on, I took more steps, and am now able to walk with a brace! I walked into breakfast and showed off to Glenn and Allison that I was walking unassisted! I felt like a kid. "Look at me! I can WALK!"

My fabulous crew is taking such good care of me. I cannot express my immense gratitude. We spent the entire morning going from pharmacy to pharmacy and I now have a respectable collection of materials to help my recovery and to protect the ankle should I be able to run. I consulted Scott Jurek's blog about his ankle injury prior to Hardrock 2007. I've incorporated his healing strategies into mine and I think I've got a hopeful remedy!

Here's what's in my medical bag:

Rest - I've been a complete slug. I've done nothing. My crew won't let me do anything. They do everything for me. No shopping, no sight-seeing, no playing tourist for me.

Ice - I've been doing LOTS of this.

Elevation - My foot has been up for at least a total of 6 hours today.

Compression - I've been wearing my air cast. It finally feels comfortable around my ankle bone because the swelling is down. I bought an ace wrap and I have one roll of Coban that I brought with me.

Protection - I'm wearing the air cast when up for now. I purchased another thinner and lighter but very supportive brace for the race. I will start wearing that one tomorrow.

Arnica/bromeline cream - for anti-inflamatory.

Ibuprofen - Yep, I'm taking it. The good doctor Nickolopoulos prescribed Meloxicam and I took one dose and promptly threw it up. I'm not taking that again. I took Tylenol yesterday, none today.

I have mole skin to stick a U-shaped compression around the lateral malleolus for the run as per Scott's website.

Good nutrition and fluids - easy to do here in Greece.

Sleep - I'm working on that. :)



So, my plan right now is to continue to PLAN for the race. I do not know if I can run but I am committed to doing EVERYTHING I can to make the glimmer of hope a reality. Today, I am feeling very hopeful. I will likely toe the line and see what happens. I will NOT do permanent damage. I will drop out if I think I am re-injuring myself. I do NOT want another surgery. In the big scheme of things this is only a race. Way worse can happen than having to just come back next year. I believe that strongly. I feel confident that I will make the right decision in this regard.

That said, if I don't continue to prepare now for the race, then I will have already given up, and I will not do that.

Allison, Glenn, Tim and I are hanging out in the hotel lobby and they are intently reviewing the course rules and route. We will be driving the course tomorrow (to keep me from whining about not being able to shop!). :)

My spirits are good. The most important thing in my life are the people with whom I share it. I am in excellent caring hands. You too have helped me more than you know.

Thank you Thank you Thank you.

I'll keep you posted.

14 comments:

Bobby Gill said...

Total bummer about the ankle, but it sounds like your head is in the right spot for treating it up through race day. Best of luck with the ankle and the race!

TonyP said...

Hang in there Lisa. I hope all works out so you can shine in the race !

Bob - BlogMYruns.com said...

. "Look at me! I can WALK!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I bet you thought those words would not come out of your mouth til the next day after the race.

Funny how life just loves to test us, Sounds like you are putting the puzzle(errh ankle) back together Lisa.

I love your Game Plan to have the chance to toe the line...Scott did talk a lot also about how he BELIEVED he will be ready ...so keep believing and let that MIND help heal you up as well...and remember NOBODY is as Strong as you Mentally, NOBODY!!!

ONE WOrd Baby!!! and you know what it is, right?!!

...

...

...

SPARTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!

PS: Great Job Crew !!!! Keep that ice coming!!

Laura H said...

More good healing thoughts heading your way! Keep your positive spirits and keep letting that awesome crew baby you!!

ultrarunningmom said...

Best of luck on your recovery. My family and I are keeping you in our thoughts and sending you positive vibes. I met you at Umstead earlier this year and can say that your running form and performance were amazing. Keep up the wonderful work!

Steve S said...

Ok, the timing of the injury sucks. But you are in Greece on vacation with wonderful people. I like the concept of "just return next year". A great reason to return to Europe. Take care and I'll ask my LMP wife to send you some Reiki Healing. She's amazing, even at the long distance stuff. Best of luck to you and the others. Tell Tim I'll be chasing him next year at Pac Rim. Ok, maybe not real close, but I'll try to motivated him a little.

SNAKE said...

Lisa,

Sorry about the technical. Met you at Umstead this past year, you are great! Keep your spirits up!

Old Alabama remedy that my grandma used to use.

Don't laugh

Wrap your ankle in a brown paper bag soaked in vinegar.

Take care and thinking of you

SNAKE

Larry L said...

Lisa, What a bummer about the ankle. You've got an awesome outlook on the situation though and have an equally excellent crew to assist. What amazing friends! Any benefit to using Scott's homeopathic anti-inflam. combo of arnica and bromelain (and garlic and ginger) vs. the ibuprofen? Good luck on race day. Heal well.

Chihping Fu 傅治平 (超馬阿爸) said...

Lisa, sorry to hear your injury before the race. I agree with your attitude to prepare for the race, do everything you can, and listen to your body. I had the same for all my 100 milers this year due to an injury. I made it into every one except LT, enjoyed as much as I can, and DNF when my body called me. No regret but full of sweet memory now.

Wish you have fast recovery and enjoy the event and the trip there!

Chihping

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

My heart is with you in your injury. You are doing everything right and I hope it pays off. With an amazing crew, whatever you do, it will be good.

Anonymous said...

Lisa:

I'll always be grateful to you for responding to my story on ultralist re my herniated disk. I'm happy to say that I'm running without pain today, and that I just did my third ultra of the year last weekend.

The body is amazing; at times it can recover faster than we ever thought possible.

I wouldn't be surprised to see you lining up at the Spartathlon this Friday. All the best to you!

Jon said...

YES! So glad you can put some weight on it! Keep healing up! You've laid out one smart plan to get better before race day and your crew is doing one kick-ass job for ya. *sending more healing vibes*

Tim Looney said...

Have you talked to Scott? I am sure he has things in his bag of tricks that you could use to help recover. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.