Sunday, July 12, 2009

hills, my dumbass surgeon, and my first brick

Again it's been another week since I've wrote. I have made an attempt to get better at this whole blogging thing but sometimes it just takes a back seat to everything else in my life. Especially my DPT clinical for the summer.... Like I've said before my clinical is kicking my a** still. The two-12 hour days destroy me.

Besides my free labor time, this week has brought many other good things: my first hills and brick! Friday I also had my 4 and a half month x-rays and my surgeon pretty much gave me free rein= no restrictions. To celebrate, I thought it was about time I upped my mileage and tossed in some hills. I did a 45 minute run with many hills. I definitely over did it based upon how my legs were feeling afterward. It felt good to get out my frustration from my dr. apt. I will elaborate.....

Yes-I've officially confirmed my doctor is a dumb ass. I have had my doubts from the beginning but have confirmed my hypothesis. Luckily, my actual surgery was done in Utah after my accident from somebody legit who I think did a pretty damn good job. The surgeon I'm seeing now is back in Pittsburgh where I live. This surgeon=not so good.

First of all he looks like he's 30.....No biggie I thought at first. Young could be good. Not in this case. Young surgeon=no experience. He made me adhere to some concrete weight bearing protocol throughout~ which I'm convinced was designed for 80 year olds who break their hips. I got over it. I cheated a lil on my crutches and weight bearing. I'm not going to lie. BUT- I made it through as painful (for my armpits) and frustrating as it was.

Since the first appointment with my new doctor, he has threatened that the plate across my pubic bone will likely break and how I'll probably need surgery again in the fall. I don't know if he was trying to scare me or what.... Regardless, I eventually came to terms with that.

Therefore at this appointment I thought I would ask about what is involved in the second surgery and how long the recovery takes...yadda...yaddda...yaddda.....I figured I should face the music and deal with it. His response caught me a little off guard. No joke, he stammered, " Uh i dunno if you want to do that." And of course I was like, "why"??? It gets worse.....

I'm not sure if he was being more straight up with me because I'm medical professional or what. But he admittedly said to me, "last week I was doing a plate removal on somebody who had a little more hardware than you, and I basically perforated their bladder". Apparently there is some fascia that is connected to your bladder that can easily rip during the surgery. If that happens, you basically have to have a catheter in for 2 weeks. Oh yeah more fun!

Question though, WHY ON EARTH would you tell me that? Do you honestly think I'm going to ever let you cut me open? Doubt it. NO WAY! So if I do need another surgery, it's back to the drawing board. Either way I feel fine and hopefully won't have to go there. Luckily, the x-rays looked awesome=way good news given I have started running.

Ok~ I'm done talking smack! On a lighter note, I did my first brick this weekend. I took the pink hotness out for an hour and tackled the unavoidable Pennsylvania climbs. Afterward I finished with a medium paced cross country run with my sister again with more hills. Ahhh so amazing............

I'm aching to get back to racing. I miss it terribly.

And can't forget Friday as I was graced with the presence of my fav rockstar triathlete, Kim. We spent the evening killing an entire bottle of white wine, feasting on the best local Italian, and catching up of course. Good times... Great friends.....

For me it's back to it.... Here's to another week!

4 comments:

  1. wow heidi! what a journey you've been through with your pelvic fracture. congrats on returning to training! sounds like you need three or four more opinions before you make any decisions!! you have a plate across your pubic symphysis? wow. serious stuff. I'll have to read some old posts in your blog to find out more. hang in there. I've determined that many surgeons aren't so bright. you really gotta find the right ones. I know some good ones in jacksonville if you want to venture this far!! hang in there!

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  2. I bet that brick felt so great! Before you know it you'll be racing again!

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  3. I had so much fun. Yes, we need to get you a new surgeon! That's nuts! Boating and biking sounds like a good weekend to me! Who's boat! You have to let me know about that..sounds fun and I love to water ski! Hope you're well. Good luck on those 12's this week. We'll talk soon and plan another outing!

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  4. YEA!!!! Nice work on the brick and the workouts - you are TOTALLY back. :) SUPER - now....are you thinking about races yet? There are so many good ones to choose from...! :)

    I totally agree with Libby - second AND third opinions are a must. There are so many quacks out there - find the right one who believe in YOU and understands your physical activity. But still....you're back! Yeee-haawww!

    Oh - and I LOVE Kim, she is awesome!:)

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