Tuesday, October 29, 2024.
At the start of any medical issue, you want answers… NOW.
In this ‘order today, get it later today’ Amazon world, doesn’t this also apply to medicine?
No it doesn’t. But in this case… it came close.
The drive from New Orleans to Houston is a not-so-fast and a not-so-easy drive of 6 hours. We finally arrived home late on Sunday. I spent the entire drive in the backseat of our VW Atlas fighting car sickness while my wife drove. (NOTE- Long trip driving was usually my ‘job’… but with an incapacitated and very painful right ankle, no driving for me.)
Sunday night… one tough night. The pain medicine was essentially changing the intensity of the pain from a sharp stabbing one or a more ‘dull’ throb. One very restlessness night.
Monday AM… my wife had a name of a local Orthopedic surgeon, so at 8AM sharp, we called. There was an appointment available to NEXT DAY (Tuesday) at 8AM. Taken!
The rest of Monday reminded me of how I felt as a kid on Christmas Eve- the clock NEVER MOVED. Looking at the clock every 2 minutes… “What do you mean it’s STILL 2:36PM?”
Tuesday AM… we arrive at 7:30AM for our 8AM appointment… You’re darn tootin’ I wasn’t going to miss this appointment!
Using my crutches, we ‘walked’ back to our exam room. Being the first appointment, our PA quickly walked in. A few questions… a quick physical exam… and frowny face. Our PA left, but soon returned with the Orthopedic doctor himself.
More questions… another physical exam of my right ankle… another frowny face with a chair being pulled up for a conversation.
In a very straightforward and solemn voice he advised it appears I somehow damaged my Achilles Tendon… likely a tear or rupture… an MRI will be needed to determine extent of the issue. No other option other than surgery for repair.
Here comes another ‘Amazon Medical Moment’… he happened to have a surgery opening the very next day… that is if I wanted to start the recovery process ‘sooner rather later’.
YES! YES! A THOUSAND TIMES YES!
To make surgery happen the next day, I needed an MRI… and required preadmission testing. Both were scheduled… and duly attended.
Back home around 4PM, I received a call from the surgeon’s office… diagnosis confirmed: My Achilles Tendon was 70% ruptured. Surgery 100% required.
All was a ‘GO’ for Wednesday’s AM surgery.
Hospital reporting time given. No food or drink after midnight. Shower both Tuesday evening and Wednesday with a special soap. Wear loose fitting clothes. Yada… yada… yada.
Let’s start this recovery process. Being told I wouldn’t be able to run for 6-9 months is daunting for any 5-6 days a week runner usually traversing some 30+ miles every week. The sooner we can get this recovery started, the sooner I can start running again.
AND I DO WANT TO RUN AGAIN!
Injured on Sunday… doctor appointments on Tuesday… and now surgery scheduled for Wednesday.
I’m so glad I bought that “Amazon Prime” membership!
Comments? Send me a note at: RupturedRunner@gmail.com.
Ruptured Runner 
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