Crutches!

Well...those are going to be my mode of transportation for the next 6 weeks. Yup, 6 WEEKS.

I finally went in to the doctor on Monday to get my leg checked, because the pain was pretty constant. When I originally walked into the office, the doctor told me that I wouldn't be leaving that day without a cast or a boot, but we'd need an Xray to determine which. She felt down the bone and was surprised by the excruciating pain I was having about 3 inches above my ankle on my left tibia.

I walked all the way to the other side of Kaiser, into the hospital, and had my xray done. I then had to walk back to the doctor's office (not very nice for someone with leg pain!) and waiting in a room for 45 minutes for the xray to come back. The doctor found nothing in the pictures. She went and talked to the podiatrist and the orthopedist, and the three of them decided that I most likely have small tears in the muscle that runs along the tibia, and that crutches would be the best option. The orthopedist was adamant that the muscle needed to move and that it needed to recover with no body weight on it for a significant period of time in order to fully heal. I was also told that if I chose to be stubborn and run my half marathon in April that I would most likely break my leg in the process. That was enough for me...no half in April. (However, I'm planning on driving up the morning of the half and cheering on the group that is still running it. I can't wait!)

Before leaving the doctor's office, she told me that in 6 weeks if I'm still having pain, then we should do an MRI. In my opinion (and many others at work that I have talked to), I should just get the MRI done now so that I don't do a whole 6 weeks with these crutches, and then have it be for nothing! Crutches are not easy or fun!

My students have really stepped up to help me out. They get me everything I need, and they really enjoy being little helpers! That's the good part about this. We'll see what else comes of it!