Wintry Fall

Ok, as promised, time to catch up…

It has been rather quiet here at Roocha ever since my Valentine Day post about streakers. Incase you are wondering, no one has accepted my invitation to make an attempt on becoming a streaker. That proposal was dead on arrival, but rest assured, I am a believer of resurrection. And it is Easter season, after all!

I can also assure you that my silence for the past couple of weeks was not due to diverted attention by my own attempt at streaking. Actually, quite the opposite. I have only managed to go out for a run only on two days after Valentine’s Day. And the reason? I will tell you in a moment, but first let me back up to Jan. 10.

My son had a doctor appointment on that day, so I left the office in mid-afternoon to head to the doctor’s office to join my wife and son on the appointment. As usual, I was running late. So, in my frantic attempt to find the correct office suite for the appointment, I walked into the wrong office and started asking for my wife and son. The receptionist politely informed me I was at the wrong place, and I was eventually able to get to where I needed to be.

At the end the visit, we came out into the hallway and started waiting for the elevator to go back downstairs. Right about the same time, the receptionist I had spoken with earlier came out of that office and jumped into the elevator we had just stepped in. We started small talk after she made a comment noticing that I was eventually able to locate my wife and son. She informed us that the office she works in is one of Orthopedists and that they had some great Orthopedists if we were ever in need of one. Of course, we expressed our gratitude for the information she provided while in my mind contemplating why I would ever need to go to an Orthopedist.

As with any other small talk, this conversation was quickly forgotten immediately after exiting the elevator, until recalling it in vivid detail on Feb. 27. And the reason? I will tell you in a moment, but first let me back up to Feb. 22.

After the Valentine Day snow/ice storm that we had, the weather remained cold and the ice remained on the grass and sidewalk for several days. The following Sunday, Feb. 18, I could not wait any longer for the ice to melt completely, so I ventured out for a morning run in the neighborhood. After all, I had to start practicing for an impending running streak. Besides, it is running on days such as that one, when everyone else skips their planned run, that I find most satisfying about running. Some of the most memorable runs I have done were completed in horrible weather conditions.

Anyway, I was able to complete my run by sharing a lane with oncoming vehicular traffic. I repeated the same exercise on Monday Feb. 19 and then again on Thursday Feb. 22.

However, on my Thursday run, after going for a mile and half of a planned three mile run, I noticed the sidewalk on the other side of the street had been cleared. So I immediately crossed the street and hopped over a pile of snow and set my right foot on the side walk…

…as I quickly gathered myself to get back up from the ice covered sidewalk, I realized that I had stepped right onto a patch of ice which had appeared to be just a wet pavement. Putting down my first step on the sidewalk while in a running motion had earned me a very rapid and hard fall on my left side. As I took stock of what I may have injured, the pain I had only felt to be from a bruised hip and elbow. I continued on with my run, passing a group of kids waiting for their school bus, and finished the planned three miles. I then got myself ready and headed to work.

By the time it was 10:30AM, the pain in my elbow had become unbearable so I decided to go to the emergency room at the hospital. After taking some X-Rays, I learned that I had fractured my left elbow as a result of the fall- my first diagnosed running related injury ever! I left the hospital with my left hand in a sling, and my running streak over before it even started. I was told not to do any running and was referred to see a specialist in a few days.

So I promptly made an appointment to see Dr. Witte on Feb. 27 and on the day of the appointment drove to the address I was given earlier. As I started pulling into the parking lot I had a feeling of deja vu- I was back at the same place I was on Jan.10 for my son’s appointment. Looking at the appointment note, I realized that I was going back to the same floor where my son’s doctor appointment was. Wow, could this really be happening…

As I finish my visit with Dr. Witte and head to the receptionist desk to make a follow up appointment, that same lady, who only weeks before had recommended great Orthopedists, was sitting at the desk and waiting for me to hand her my papers. I had to ask her.

“Do you remember few weeks ago I wondered into your office and then…?”
“Yeah, it was in the afternoon, right?” she replied.
“Yes it was.”
“How amazing!”

Dr. Witte told me not to run for at least three more weeks. I had to do most things with just my right hand so I was not about to write a blog entry with just one hand on the keyboard, and hence the silence that followed.

I went back to see Dr. Witte last Tuesday and a follow up X-Ray showed that the elbow is 80% healed. The running ban has been lifted so long as I make sure I don’t fall on the elbow again. As I was getting ready to get back to running last Thursday, we got another round of late winter snow and ice. This time, I wisely decided to skip on the run. And that probably means that I am not cut out to be a streaker after all.

I have not given up entirely though. For now, Roocha- the blog and the sport- is back. The next attempt on streaking will not be too far behind.