If you're lucky enough to be in the mountains, you are lucky enough.

When something bad happens, you have three choices: let it define you, let it destroy you, or let it strengthen you.

The purpose of life is to discover and develop your gift. The meaning of life comes from sharing your gift with others. - David Viscott

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

No soup for you!

Remember George? Poor thing, he had been denied such a simple thing…Well, so did I, although my soup comes in terms of running. My darling ass doctor finally saw me a week ago, after my trip to Grand Canyon, and even then it turned out he hasn’t looked at the MRI images I left for him a full month ago! So I had to reserve to my cold powerful voice, after which he took me to his office and we viewed the images together. It also helps to have MD written in my history and have an OHSU badge hanging on my pocket. In a moment of time he offered to call him by first name and was very apologetic. That said, he did confirm my fears of having a femoral neck stress fracture. Great! I was wondering why my hip hurt after the descent to the bottom of Grand Canyon as much as it was at the end of August! Of course I didn’t hesitate to tell him it’s his fault I wasn’t diagnosed properly and warned of no activity (or, as Dr. Lisa Bliss says, crutches for 4-6 weeks, She is also reviewing my images, and I can’t wait for her imput!). Instead, while cutting running off my regimen, I was hitting stairmaster like crazy and loading lower body with lifting weights! How good can it be to squat with 160 lbs, you tell me, when the neck of your femur has an inferior stress fracture. You know, I grew up Soviet, on the books of WWII, when our people were captured and tortured and still didn’t say a thing. Pain does not exist in my heritage, it’s all in the head. I actually totally convinced myself that I am not hurting and just wussing out. Did I damage it more during those 2 months? That was my main question, and another MRI was set up – but not after I went to a wedding for my best friend Anna and danced my heart out (what didn’t help with pain, on a contrary, now I was walking with a grimace). The results came back today, and I do, indeed, have a stress fracture, in the middle of femoral neck, inferior, what is good (no pins needed), and it is, indeed, healing in periostium. So that’s much is good, I have a diagnosis, and I am not thrown back in my recovery. So for now I am strict to 2 more weeks of no weight bearing (only upper body exercises – do they have arms only body building competitions? I could easily win that, I do bulk up in no time), then 2 weeks of light no resistance stationary biking, then biking with added resistance (hill drills), then at the beginning of December can add on light weights to legs (half-squats, only body weight) and occasional 3M jogs. Should be back by January.

Of course, in my life nothing is straight-forward. I had an interview for my citizenship today. I made it through with flying colors (how many stars do we have on the flag? Who signs bills into laws?) and getting scheduled for an oath ceremony later that day, I get stopped and told that they are missing one piece of paper – my entry visa that allowed me to come to US (working visa). Once they request it from the center in Nebraska and get it, I’ll have another oath date scheduled. And why did they have all my paperwork in the office for over a year? To sit on it? Not that I am so anxious to become a legitimate voter, but I planned to go home for New year’s holidays, and now it is postponed indefinitely! I am not denied citizenship, I just can’t swear to this country until I have this little sheet from 15 years ago. Don’t you love bureaucracy? And I mean it in a general way, every country sucks at it.

So all is just perfect in my little world. I had a whole day class on Saturday at the massage school, and now can turn you over any way you want me! For a healing treatment that is. Common over, make an appointment!