'Brace' Yourself

Or I could have titled this post "Interchangeable Doctors."

First and foremost, I arrived early this morning to see Dr. C, only to be told that he was in surgery and they couldn't reach me. WTF? This proves that they DO NOT ever read the zillions of pages of forms they make you fill out. All THREE of my numbers are clearly listed. Whatever! Hmph!

So back I went at 2 PM. After much waiting, in walks Dr. B -- not Dr. C. That was OK, since I saw Dr. B in 2005 and know him, and he was the one who gave me the torn peroneal tendon diagnosis over the phone when Dr. C was out. He said "How's the foot?" I unenthusiastically said "OK." "OK?" he asked, as if I should have said 'fantastic,' I guess.

Then he looked over my records. As if a lightbulb had just gone off, he asked "How long since you've last ran?" "Sixty-five days," I boldly proclaimed! He was amused by my accuracy. He then proceeded to quip "How long have you been sober?" HA HA HA!

He asked "What are these notes?" making reference to the piece of paper in my lap. "They're my questions," I answered. Here they are with his answers:

1. How will we know when I am "healed"? We'll judge by how I feel, basically. Taking another MRI is not the answer. If we picked 100 people off the street with no known ankle/tendon problems, no two MRI's would be the same.

2. How can we assess my progress? Again, by how I feel and how comfortably I can perform.

3. Will any supplements help? Or Eastern medicine? I'll do anything! Not that I'm aware of, but do take a calcium supplement and a Vitamin C supplement, on top of what your multi-vitamin provides.

He asked me to flex my foot out to the right as far as possible, and then he examined it by pushing on it in all sorts of ways. None of that prodding hurt, and he seemed to be pleased with that. I told him that squatting down no longer hurt, and that used to send me through the ceiling!

Then he left the room and a nurse brought me a brace.

Gameday Ankle Brace (hey that's what it's called!)

She showed me how to put it on; it's a combination of mesh, laces and velcro straps. I anxiously awaited Dr. B's return. I thought "$250 for a boot for only one month?" (That's how much they charged my insurance for it, anyway.) In he walked, and I immediately asked what was up with the brace (DA BRACE, you know). He said in two weeks I can begin to wear the brace when I am doing leisurely things, like hanging out at home, etc. If it's "big stuff," like going out to the store, etc. I still have to wear DA BOOT. Fine, Dr. B!!!!

I go back to see him (or Dr. C, who knows) in four more weeks. He did state that DA BRACE was what I'd be transitioning into anyway. So I have great hope. Maybe, just maybe, in four weeks I can return to some sort of fun activity. That's my take on the situation, anyway. Hooray!