Neil is seriously bummed today. Yesterday before we went kayaking on American Lake he tripped down the stairs from the bedroom to the living room and injured his foot. It was swelled up this morning…and since medical care on the economy with Tricare is hard and we were on a military base where it’s a whole bunch easier he decided to go to the Emergency Room and get it checked out.
Sure enough; the far left metatarsal bone in his left foot is broken clean through. Here’s a shot of his X-Ray…you can see the break between the two arrows drawn on the X-Ray. The bad news is that it’s broken…the good news is that the fracture twists as it goes through the bone so it tends to hold itself together and not be a displaced fracture. Still though…he’s got an appointment with the ortho folks tomorrow to see what the treatment plan is and how that will affect our planned travels. Healing time for this sort of thing is 6-8 weeks…however, this particular bone has less circulation than most so it’s a notoriously poor healer…this means that he might need some screws to hold it together or maybe wait two weeks and see before making that decision…hence the ortho consult tomorrow with Dr. Daniels. He’s in a walking boot with crutches at least for today and likely for 2-3 weeks unless the pin installation is necessary.Â
Depending on what the ortho says we’ll have to figure out how this affects our travel plans…it definitely puts the kibosh on hiking, kayaking, and biking for the next 6 to 8 weeks and might require us to stay here for awhile as well. The Travelcamp has a normal 14 day limit but that’s waived for anybody undergoing treatment…however, the space we’re in might be already reserved in which case we may have to either move elsewhere in the park or elsewhere in the city. We’ll wait and see before making any revised plans though. Crutches and the boot will make moving the rig much harder…but at least not impossible…we’ll have to wait and see.
This unfortunate news means that his running streak is likely over…he’s trying to decide whether being on the 8 week disabled list (like in baseball) breaks the streak or just puts it on hold…but he’s guessing that since Cal Ripken’s ironman streak would have been officially broken if he was injured that he’ll decide it’s officially over. If it is…then it is…at 6,141 days and 27,885.7 miles starting back on Labor Day in September 1996.
We had just ordered a new laptop for Connie and it’s on the way to our next destination…too late to reroute it so we’ll just have to drive over there one day next week if we end up not going over there…it’s only about 100 miles so won’t be too bad if we have to cancel that reservation.
Cyas.
Travels with Gunther and Kara 
So sorry for your injury. After age 10, bones take so long to mend. I’ll be praying for you.
Cynthia
Thanks, it sort of puts a damper on our previous summer plans.
TTFN:
neil
Neil, Sorry to hear about the injury. Regarding the numbers … potentially shifting from “6,141 days and 27,885.7 miles” to x average miles a day since Sept 1996 (and if you double up on miles after you are better, you will continue to feel proud of the ongoing accomplishment).
Yeah, that might work. Won’t meet the Streak Runners Club rules though; but I wasn’t eligible yet anyway, gotta have 20 years to join.
TTFN:
neil
anything i can do to help, other than pray??? you guys are quite a ways from here, but if you need me i’ll get there somehow… left foot seems a bit of a blessing-in-disguise – nearly impossible to drive BAT with a boot on the right foot… i vote for the 8 week DL – you would be running if you could – the injury simply won’t let you. get well, pick up right where you left off, pick the streak up when the orthos give you the go-ahead. whatever you decide, that’s still one heck of an accomplishment – good for you brother. even forrest had to slack up on the jogging sooner or later… keep me and sis up to date on the prognosis and treatment plan – sis has been down that road way- back- when in tenn. – me, i got one cockeyed broke toe… hopefully the park you’re in won’t give ya any guff about staying as long as needed… i just hope the delay won’t foul up any near-future concert plans you may have had. lemme know if you need anything, i’ll be following…
Nothing to really be done about it…I appreciate the offer to come and help but it’s not worth all that trouble. I can still drive BAT fine…we’ve extended our stay here until Jul 18 and then will either move to the other RV park on the adjoining base…or potentially to a commercial park instead. Based on the Ortho doc’s treatment plan we got today…I’ll be in a cast for 3 weeks and then we’ll evaluate whether it’s healing properly; if not then I’ll probably need a screw to assist it in healing. I’ll likely be in a cast or walking boot until the end of August so we’re just going to cancel the remainder of our summer plans and stay here in Seattle near the Army base. We’ll do some “from the car” Fun Stuff but that will be about it I’m guessing.
The park would have let us stay indefinitely if they didn’t need our spot for some other reservations later. There’s a no reservation campground on the other side of the base that we’ll go look at and also a couple of nice commercial ones nearby as well. We want to stay close enough so it’s not a 200 mile commute to the base hospital for visits/followups.
I’m kinda bummed about breaking the streak…but then I always figured it would end as a result of injury eventually anyway…maybe I’ll be smarter once I’m healed and not try to run absolutely every day.
So sorry to hear this news, Neil! Remember frozen peas (generic) make the best ice packs. Are you totally non-weight bearing for now? 😦
Yup, non weight bearing. Got a cast put on today and a followup Appt in 3 weeks to see if it is healing or if it needs some screws to hold it together. We are going to stay in Seattle area until the end of August instead of continuing with our previous plans.
TTFN:
neil
Send me addy where your rig is parked and I’ll let H and J know you’re in the area!
We’re at the Fort Lewis Travelcamp on Joint Base Lewis McChord…and will be here through the 18th. After that we’ll either be elsewhere on one of the other parks on the base (we’re still figuring out whether that will work or not) or over at Harmony Lake RV Park in Silver Creek, WA.
I’ve let her know, so let me know if you guys are able to meet up with her. They are renting a floating house on Lake Union (same area as before, just different floating house) Love, BabySis