iRide

And the verdict is: Surgery

He said I have a completely severed Anterior Talofibular Ligament and it would need to be surgically repaired. All the other issues should heal while I’m recuperating.

Referral is on its way for approval by my medical group/insurance. I knew it was coming, but for some reason it’s still a bit of a shock.

The recovery timeline is rather daunting to say the least:

4-6 weeks: no weight on foot/ankle what so ever. Meaning I’ll be in a surgical dressing for a 1-2 weeks, and then a cast for another 2-4 weeks. Walking on crutches.

6-8 weeks: In a walking boot like I am now, but limited time and distance on foot/ankle. Should be off crutches at this point.

8-10 weeks: Should be able to drive a car again somewhere in this period. Still in walking boot. You read it right–I won’t be able ot drive a car for about 2 months!!

10-12 weeks: Easing out of walking boot into a regular shoe. Even with strong legs from MTB’ing, major muscle loss and atrophy is to be expected in the right leg, mainly in the calf.

3-6 months: Physical Therapy to rebuild leg muscle and regain ankle flexibility. Here is where I’ll get an idea of what sort of time frame I’m looking at to resume MTB’ing and Taekwondo.

My doc said he has had other patients who took some sort of Martial Arts training and close to 6 months is a reasonable time frame for return. As for cycling–he has only had roadies for patients so he doesn’t know about MTB’ing.

<sigh>

Now sitting at home.

Stepped off a curb wrong at work. My ankle decided it was wrong–not me.

I have an afternoon of ice pack rotations in a Vicodin induced haze to look forward to.

But I’m not concerned/depressed/frustrated. Afterall, the professionals told me its not urgent. Right? Right?

So over the last 5 days I’ve gone on 4 bike rides. The last few weeks of no physical activity are killing me. I was careful and biking really doesn’t hurt my ankle any more than any other activity.

With my foot on the pedal my ankle doesn’t really move and you pedal with the ball of your foot on the pedal, not the heal. Leg muscles do all the work so I’m good there. Plus, MTBers don’t stand up and pedal like roadies do so there’s no risk there.

Man it felt great to get back out!! Thanks to Mark and Dad for coming out for a couple of them!!

Seek your bliss…

Ride lots–you never know when it’ll be taken from you!!

So I haven’t been taking any classes or teaching at TKD at all since this ankle drama has started. I’ve basically rested my ankle for the last 2 weeks.

So, I thought I’d try a night of instructing to see how the rest and a week in the walking boot have helped my ankle.

BIG MISTAKE!!!

It was nice to get out there and actually do something active. But OH MY GOODNESS I’m paying for it now.

My ankle just said to me, and I quote, “You’re a jerk.”

I guess I fell into the trap of lieing to myself to make it seem like it wasn’t that bad.

My ankle is really messed up. All the rest and the boot haven’t helped at all.

<sigh>

As of now, I am no longer teaching or taking classes/training until this get’s sorted out.

I have a walking boot now that goes up to my knee.

It’s huge.

I feel like I fell asleep and woke up with Herman Munster’s right leg.

On the plus side, it doesn’t help ease the pain at all.

Wait….

I got my referral to see an ankle specialist, so I gave his office a call to set-up the appointment.

My ankle hurts. A lot. I can’t walk on it normally. Physical activity such as Taekwondo, any lengthy amount of walking or standing is totally out of the question. But, I have to wait 3 weeks to see the Ortho/Podiatry Specialist. Because I don’t have a bone poking through my skin, it’s not a big deal.

That’s not me being sarcastic or pessimistic. That’s what I was told over the phone today. The Ortho/Podiatry Specialist told his nurse to tell me that.

Quote-unquote.

It took the Ortho/Podiatry Specialist less than one minute to make that decision. I talked to his nurse on the phone. She told me they had all my tests and info and she would get him to take a look at them to see if my case was “urgent” and she would call me back in 30 minutes.

We hung up.

My phone rang 45 SECONDS LATER — NO JOKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and she told me the Ortho/Podiatry Specialist says it’s not “urgent”. Oh and by the way–he’s going on vacation as of Monday so you have to wait 3 weeks to see him.

I got the MRI a couple days ago and got the results today. I’ve got issues to say the least. Here’s what it found:

-A torn Peroneal tendon

-Major cartilage defects

-Severed Anterior Talofibular Ligament

-Lot’s of fluid build up

-Impingement of the OS trigonum (bone)

-Osteoarthritis in multiple places

Referral to a specialist is in the works and that doc will go over my options with me. <sigh>

I just finished with a doctor’s appointment and the news I got was bad–and what I knew deep down would be the outcome.

Here’s the story: I sprained my right ankle 8 years ago. I went to the ER and they took X-Rays. They told me there were no breaks or fractures and that I had stretched the tendons. They said there wasn’t anything that could be done and they would need to heal on their own. I followed up with my primary doc at the time and she said that was accurate. No one ever said I should get an MRI to check for tendon damage.

Over the next years, it hurt from time to time, but only if I did a lot of walking or some REALLY strenuous physical activity. The last few months however, it is has been hurting constantly. I need only be on it for a couple hours for it to really start hurting. If I’m on it all day, I can barely walk and the pain is almost unbearable. It has also given out/collapsed on me a few times.

I decided it was time to go to my doctor (a different doctor than I had when I injured it) and see what was going on. I had an idea the news wouldn’t be good.

During the exam, my doc manipulated the ankle and said he could feel bone on bone plain as day. I still need an MRI to confirm it, but he said it is likely a completely torn tendon. He said it should’ve been surgically repaired when it happened and that the doctors back then totally mishandled the situation. He said if he were my doc then, his first order would have been for me to get an MRI done on it right away–as only that will show a tear. He said that a partial tear will heal itself. A complete tear/separation will not. So, he is certain I have a completely torn/separated/severed tendon in my ankle and that surgery will be required to fix it.

Again, I still need an MRI to confirm it, but he said I need to accept that surgery is a reality and to start planning for it now. He said if I don’t get it fixed, it will continue to deteriorate and get worse and if totally ignored, I’ll end up with premature arthritis and they would likely need to fuse the ankle.

So needless to say, I’ll have to have the surgery. What a way to start the week!!

J and I decided to do a totally sarcastic and goofy ride report at Lake Hodges. I would gear up in full DH armor and ride the Nomad. We would then take pictures of me acting like the trail is gnarly and crazy and only the most talented DH riders could handle it. In case you don’t know, Lake Hodges is considered a Beginners trail. It’s a real good place to take someone who has never ridden before.

I posted it on a message board I frequent and it was a real hit. So, here it is. I don’t think you need to be a mountain biker for the humor to translate. I hope you enjoy.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Lake Hodges: The Holy Grail of Downhill!!

I never see any Hodges TR’s–probably because it’s so effing gnarly no one here has the balls. Since I recently got a SC Nomad, I figured I had a worthy platform to tackle the beast. It was confirmed here that my thoughts were correct: I should take it to Hodges. Even though I had no chain guide, I braved the World Cup-ish conditions and tore through it anyway…cuz I’m AWESOME!!!!

Gearing up in the parking lot, I was already getting REALLY nervous!!

I decided to warm up with a pretty sizable huck. I knew my AWESOMOCITY would get me through it:

This squirrel fell victim to my AWESOMENESS. Poor little bastard never had a chance:

Once on trail, I decided to hit some of the insane jumps. Someone notify the FAA!! I mean, I was up SO high that I got a nose bleed. Well, it was either the altitude or the fact that it was really dry out and I have delicate sinuses. Either way:

Here I am hitting one of the nastiest rock rolls you will ever come across. Don’t hate the player. Hate the game!!!!!

It’s amazing the camera was able to get the shot. I was shredding this super crazy DH section. AWESOMENESS personified. Can I get a HELL YEAH!!!

You have to take the good with the bad on extreme DH rigs sometimes, and push up the really steep sections. They really need to install a lift here:

At the top of a rather sketchy section, I contemplate the best line. And AWESOMENESS, always contemplating AWESOMENESS:

Can you say AWESOME!!!!! You know you want to. Go ahead. Say it. Ahh yeah!! That’s the ticket!!

More “air acrobatics”. All that was missing was a busload of school children for me to jump over–and give them some AWESOMENESS to aspire to!!

Extreme Downhill, Hodges Addition!!!

Dropping in, yet again. Sweating AWESOMENESS and crapping excellence!!

So nice I had to hit it twice. Betta RECOGNIZE!!!

Smooth as…as…as…umm…err….uhh…AWESOME!!!

This jump was so AWESOME, I’m pretty sure I heard angels singing. I think it was “Taking Care of Business” by BTO, but I’m not sure:

And that’s all I have–and yes, you’re welcome. I took about 237 more pictures, but by that time the brightness of the AWESOME emanating from me blinded the camera and none of them came out.

I heard that there were Pandas here, but I never saw any. Curious!! They were probably all scared of the AWESOME that filled the air and were all hiding. Understandable.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

And that’s the ride report!!

I did actually use the opportunity of me being at Lake Hodges in full DH armor and riding the Nomad to do 1 serious feature. It’s a nasty rock roller I’ve been eying up for quite awhile. It’s about a 2 1/2′ sheer vertical rock face, leading into a super steep and sandy run-out, down to a rocky creek crossing. The pics don’t do it justice (they never do), but hopefully you can get some sense of it.

The rock:

Sizing it up:

Here we go!!

SUCCESS!!

Then J decided to mess around with a few of the pics in PhotoShop:

Superman!!

Spawn (comic book character):

Jumping Hodgee the Lake Hodges Monster:

Domo-zilla is after me!!!

Until next time, seek your bliss…

Ride lots!!

I was eating lunch at a local Del Taco today and was just finishing up when I saw a guy riding a very unique bike across the street:

I went over to check it out and introduced myself to the owner/rider/builder. It seems Andy is a local businessman (auto restoration) and built the bike for fun. Pretty cool.

Thought I’d share.