Updates since my last posts…
2009 April 24, Friday, 3:30 pm – Order tickets for my dad, my son, and I (3 generations of Joel Hands) for the Coca-Cola 600 race in Charlotte on Memorial Day weekend.
2009 April 24, Friday, 9:00 pm – On a campout with the Cub Scouts, I stumble in the dark while looking for a place to set up my telescope to show the Cubs and parents Saturn and some double stars in the Big Dipper’s handle. Walking back toward the campsite without my headlamp on, I step off a two-foot drop and hurt my knee. Still manage to do the telescope, but I’m limping pretty badly coming back. Debbie wraps it with an Ace bandage, says not to walk and keep off it, and gives me 4 ibuprofen.
2009 April 25, Saturday, 10 am – A physician on the campout looks at the knee and says stay off it, wait until either the swelling goes down or in a few days if it doesn’t go down before seeing someone back home. Debbie runs into a drug store in the nearby town for a pair of crutches and a bigger supply of ibuprofen.
2009 April 28, Tuesday – I usually work from home Mondays, but continue to work from home every day for the next few weeks. Luckily my job is mostly sitting in front of a computer, talking on a phone, and thinking.
2009 April 29, Wednesday – Orthopedist gets an x-ray and sees a “right tibial plateau fracture” and orders an MRI to confirm and to see if there is any soft tissue damage (torn ligaments, tendons, meniscus, etc.) Apparently my femur (thigh bone) came slamming down carrying most of my body weight onto the corner of my tibia (shin bone) during that misstep. Like a hammer on the corner of a piece of wood, there’s now a small indentation on the top of the tibia at the inside corner. I’m to stay on crutches and not put any weight on my right leg. He offers a prescription for pain medication, but the alternative 4 ibuprofen (800 mg) every 6 hours seems to be doing the job–although in hour 5 the knee is making its presence known.
2009 May 01, Friday – Get an MRI on the knee at UNC Hospital. It is a very weird experience. I am loaded inside the little tube, but at least my head is mercifully at the entrance instead of inside it. The technician keeps me updated with what they are doing, but as a disembodied voice over an intercom. I have to keep my leg still for 5-12 minutes at a time as they take about sets of images, for a total of about 40-45 minutes inside the MRI machine. During each set, there are strange clicking and humming noises, and I could swear my whole leg feels magnetized by the end (and I don’t have any metal plates or screws–so far, at least).
I had also started riding my bike again, doing 20-25 mile rides on nice days in March and April. I usually ramp up the frequency of rides in May and the weekend rides’ distance. No riding whatsoever in May this year, though. I also need to cancel my registration in the Blood Sweat and Gears ride–100 miles in the NC mountains near Boone–which is scheduled for the end of June, right after I get off crutches.
2009 May 04, Monday – Orthopedist gets the MRI report and confirms the fracture but there is no soft tissue damage. The treatment plan is to stay on crutches for 8 weeks, keeping the right leg non-weight-bearing, and get some physical therapy. Crutches are a bummer, but no surgery and not even a cast is required. Not great, but it could be a lot worse.
2009 May 05, Tuesday – My 41st birthday. Apparently year 40 could not just go by quietly.
2009 May 07, Thursday – Cub Scout leadership planning meeting. Lots of ribbing from other Cub Scout leaders ensues. Also, I forgot to take my ibuprofen (now 3 pills) until late that morning, and again 8 hours later just before the meeting, but I manage ok. Thus, the pain has dropped off considerably. By early next week, I’m down to 2 pills in the morning and 3 pills before going to sleep.
2009 May 14, Thursday – Go into the office for the first time since the accident on 4/24. Lots of ribbing from co-workers ensues. I drink a couple cans of Coke, but miss going to the cafeteria to get large cups of ice water a couple times a day. After a full day+ of work, I head straight to church to chair a Finance Committee meeting. No ribbing there.
2009 May 15, Friday – The worst part about this whole experience is just being on crutches. Not being able to carry things like a plate or a drink from room to room, or doing so with great difficulty, is the biggest pain. The knee doesn’t hurt much: It was uncomfortable at first if I moved or bumped the leg the wrong way, but with the PT (or despite the PT!), it’s fine now. I have not forgotten and suddenly tried to stand on it, which is good but a little surprising.