"What're you in for this time?"
Sometimes money =can= buy happiness. Did you know that for $30 more than a cab ride, you can have a driver meet you at baggage claim at JFK and drive you to your door while you talk to your physical therapist, arrange doctor's appointments, and reassure your adventure buddy cum lover? And then for a small tip, a porter carried my bags up to my apt. So worth it.
I still hate my GP: he was as interested in getting my blood pressure and another pee sample (the one from early Dec came back with bacteria) as looking at my ankle. We had an argument when he insisted on getting an x-ray before he'd write me a PT prescription. Then the x-ray office was a cab ride away and their doors were unmarked so I got into an argument with a receptionist there, who turned out to be guarding the mammogram appts, not the x-ray dept. *le sighs* The x-ray technician was very nice though. After he took the x-ray, he commented, "You got this Sat? In the morning?" "Wow! You can tell from the x-ray??!?" "No, but... let me guess - you were jogging?" "Ice climbing." "Oh. Er... that's not around here." Nope! He asked me to wait in the reception area and it turns out the bone is fine. AS WE KNEW.
I'm so glad the other woman on the trip happened to be an ER doc, who was able to reassure me that if I had no tingling or numbness, my spine was fine. And, after a good night's rest, the neck soreness was gone too.
I was able to get an appt for Tues afternoon with Russ the Magic PT. Turns out it wasn't a ligament sprain, as my fellow climber thought, but a bruised bone. I also inflamed my anterior capsule and apparently my calf was a bit tight as well. Russ told me I was very, very lucky; at my Thurs appt, he commented that he had clients who'd be in wheelchair or on crutches with my injuries, but my overall fitness saved me. Go go fitness! He did ultrasound and electrical stimulation and sent me on my way.
Thurs morning was awful. Everything hurt as soon as I got out of bed. I ended up crying for a little bit bc it hurt and why was I so weak that I was crying? I'd been lucky! I hadn't been really hurt! Yeah, that was productive. Took a cab to Russ' office, not bc I was late but bc I was going to cry some more if I had to deal with the subway. He made everything better of course. He did some more ultrasound, checked the mobility, and did some sneaky strength work. He was telling me I should do leg press and hip ab/adduction. I asked him if I should do two-footed or could I do one-footed on the leg press. He said, "What do you think you're doing now?" and I noticed that he, er, had my leg up in pressing position, pushing against his weight. um. He told me it would get worse before it got better, but by the end of the weekend, it wouldn't hurt as much. And then he told me to go bike for half an hour, every day, until I saw him again. Amazingly, after 25mins of biking, it DID feel better. Oh, and bc I'd assumed that such pain meant I wouldn't do anything athletic in his office, I'd worn my flats - and he commented he'd be just as happy to see me in heels as something with so little support, so he taped my foot.
I had a royal wedding party to go to Fri morning, but when I got up, I realized that he didn't have to tell me to bike in the morning - it wasn't optional. It hurt as much as it had the morning before, but at least I knew why and how to fix it. Biked for half an hour and suddenly I could wear my new Kate Spade wedges, which every woman at the party admired. My PT rocks!
I still hate my GP: he was as interested in getting my blood pressure and another pee sample (the one from early Dec came back with bacteria) as looking at my ankle. We had an argument when he insisted on getting an x-ray before he'd write me a PT prescription. Then the x-ray office was a cab ride away and their doors were unmarked so I got into an argument with a receptionist there, who turned out to be guarding the mammogram appts, not the x-ray dept. *le sighs* The x-ray technician was very nice though. After he took the x-ray, he commented, "You got this Sat? In the morning?" "Wow! You can tell from the x-ray??!?" "No, but... let me guess - you were jogging?" "Ice climbing." "Oh. Er... that's not around here." Nope! He asked me to wait in the reception area and it turns out the bone is fine. AS WE KNEW.
I'm so glad the other woman on the trip happened to be an ER doc, who was able to reassure me that if I had no tingling or numbness, my spine was fine. And, after a good night's rest, the neck soreness was gone too.
I was able to get an appt for Tues afternoon with Russ the Magic PT. Turns out it wasn't a ligament sprain, as my fellow climber thought, but a bruised bone. I also inflamed my anterior capsule and apparently my calf was a bit tight as well. Russ told me I was very, very lucky; at my Thurs appt, he commented that he had clients who'd be in wheelchair or on crutches with my injuries, but my overall fitness saved me. Go go fitness! He did ultrasound and electrical stimulation and sent me on my way.
Thurs morning was awful. Everything hurt as soon as I got out of bed. I ended up crying for a little bit bc it hurt and why was I so weak that I was crying? I'd been lucky! I hadn't been really hurt! Yeah, that was productive. Took a cab to Russ' office, not bc I was late but bc I was going to cry some more if I had to deal with the subway. He made everything better of course. He did some more ultrasound, checked the mobility, and did some sneaky strength work. He was telling me I should do leg press and hip ab/adduction. I asked him if I should do two-footed or could I do one-footed on the leg press. He said, "What do you think you're doing now?" and I noticed that he, er, had my leg up in pressing position, pushing against his weight. um. He told me it would get worse before it got better, but by the end of the weekend, it wouldn't hurt as much. And then he told me to go bike for half an hour, every day, until I saw him again. Amazingly, after 25mins of biking, it DID feel better. Oh, and bc I'd assumed that such pain meant I wouldn't do anything athletic in his office, I'd worn my flats - and he commented he'd be just as happy to see me in heels as something with so little support, so he taped my foot.
I had a royal wedding party to go to Fri morning, but when I got up, I realized that he didn't have to tell me to bike in the morning - it wasn't optional. It hurt as much as it had the morning before, but at least I knew why and how to fix it. Biked for half an hour and suddenly I could wear my new Kate Spade wedges, which every woman at the party admired. My PT rocks!