"Favorite Thing" Fridays - COME BACKS!

Everybody loves a come-back!

So, now that I've answered the question, "Is she still alive?", what about you? Are you still out there? :)

Wow! Well, its certainly been a while since my last post. I just got increasingly difficult to keep posting since I felt that most of my posts just focused on my hip/hammy drama. And since in the last (almost) two months, I haven't really been doing too much running and nothing had changed with my injury, well, there seemed to be little I wanted to write about.

Watching everyone gear up for marathon season has been so difficult. I'm okay with not running one this fall, but I'm not okay with the fact that I still can't run.... well, can't run fast and frequent like I normally would be. Also, my new career as a medical circus poodle has consumed my life and temporarily sucked the passion out of my very being. ...and yes, I have become a bit of a drama queen!! However, things in the circus poodle realm did take a bit of a twist a few weeks ago. Let me explain, but let me start from where I left off in the summer...

Since my labrum tear diagnosis in early August, I have been on a steady recommended diet of slow, flat, infrequent running. I have complimented this insufficient meal with a few servings a week of the elliptical and swimming. As you may recall, following my diagnosis my Orthopedist, Dr. Bharam said that he wanted me to go to physical therapy because he did not feel comfortable operating on me until he was certain that my symptoms could not be fixed by PT treatment. In his words, "I treat patients and symptoms, not MRI films". I found this very honorable, but frustrating since, in my mind, it meant that the saga would continue. He sent me to his "go-to" Physical Therapist, Ben Gelfand (owner to S.T.A.R. Physical Therapy) in midtown who spent a decent amount of time assessing me and asking questions. He prescribed two weeks of VERY slow and flat and short (could this get worse) running. Ben had a great sense of humor and I like his action plan, so I was content with backing off and logging my progress. After two weeks, I e-mailed my progress to him, which really wasn't all too promising. After a few weeks of phone tag and a long over due conversation, I was set up with an appointment to meet both Dr. Bharam and Ben together at one place.

Finally, judgement day arrived (or at least that's what if felt like) and I met with both Bharam and Gelfand to discuss my fate. After another evaluation and a significant conversation about my progress (or lack there of), they decided that surgery to repair my labrum tear would be the next best option. And so there you have it... I'll be going in for the procedure next month with the hopes that my symptoms have been related to this injury or that they will be better treated by first fixing this deficiency in my hip.

When I first met with Ben he promised me the Broad Street Run in 2009. And not just a "you can finish" the race, but a " you can race the race". When we met to discuss the surgery, Ben assured me that I would be underwhelmed with the recovery. A few days on crutches, a few weeks until I was returning to activity and then a few months (4-5) until I was out running.

Oddly, I had peculiar dream last night which concerned my recovery. I dreamt I already had the surgery and had just woken up in the recovery room. To my surprise, Coach Cane was in the next gurney and he had just had the same surgery. After saying hello and exchanging the normal niceties (of course) I jumped to my feet and started walking. Everything felt great! So great that I was like, see ya Coach Cane and I went in the next room where there was an indoor pool and I started swimming a few laps. ha! I mean Ben did in fact tell me I'd be underwhelmed by the recovery! Anyway, my hip and hammy started to hurt of course and so I went back to tell Coach Cane who immediately said, I told you so. ha! ...That Coach Cane, such a wise man!

So...back to reality and now it's count down to surgery day. I'm back bloggin' for now.. but the true comeback starts November 18th. Stay tuned!

"Courage + believe = life"

John Challis, the teenager from western PA who became nationally known the past few months, died of liver and lung cancer Tuesday afternoon at his family's home in Freedom Township. He was only 18, but he passed away with a sense of accomplishment.

John's story is truly inspirational. He had an amazing way of looking at the world and was able to touch so many people and change their perspective on life. I wrote about him a few times earlier this year after seeing him on TV at a Penguins game. He was an amazing young man and his story touched my heart. Hopefully he has touched yours as well.

"Life ain't about how many breaths you take. It's what you do with those breaths" - John Challis

Circus poodle

Over the past month, progress on my hamstring issue has been minimal while I worked to sort out a few billing issues with my health insurance (again). I'm not going to lie, a few weeks were also spent vacationing and trying to forget about it all. But this week I got the results of my third MRI and met up with "Orthopedist #3" again to go over them.

Basically, I got a call yesterday from my Doctor's office saying the results were in and that I needed to make an appt. immediately. All they told me was that they had found a "small tear" and I needed to discuss it with the Doc. Since this past MRI was a (painful) arthrogram, the focus was more on my hip/hip joint rather than the hamstring muscles. So when I got this call, all I could think was, finally a diagnosis!

Before my appt this afternoon I couldn't hold myself back from googling away to try and find runners with similar symptoms who were also found to have a labral tear. Just in doing a simple search, "hip labral tear and hamstring pain", I found Tim here who seems to have similar symptoms as me (sans the catching/clicking in the hip). Although thoroughly depressing, I felt somewhat relieved to finally know what was causing this pain. So, it seemed to me (at this point/earlier today), all I had to do was go speak with my Doctor about what I should do next.



However things took an unforeseen twist when I got to my Doctor's office. He showed me the films and confirmed the small tear in my labrum cartilage, but then explained to me how the symptoms for a typical hip labral tear really do not include hamstring pain. Considering that I do not seem to have the normal symptoms for this type of injury, he was concerned that this was not what was bothering me. He explained further that he "treats patients and not MRI films".
He mentioned that I could be experiencing displaced pain, but that basically "he really does not know". He confirmed that the tear will not heal on it's own and "could" get worse (yes, "COULD"). He also said that he could operate, but since my symptoms are "displaced", there is no guarantee that surgery would help the pain I'm experiencing.

So, what he suggested was sending me to a Physical Therapist for another evaluation and strength test. He said that after "his PT" evaluates me he will have a better idea of how to proceed. Well, damn-it if this news didn't make me well up with tears... again. I'm so fucking sick of this (sorry to cuss)! I'm in pain most days of my life and have cut my running back to a pathetic amount. If my hamstring looks fine but I have a tear in my labrum.. well, let's just get on with things. Let's just fix it if it won't fix itself. I'm so tired of whining about this and I just want to get out there and run, but I don't want things to get worse and I'm frustrated by the worsening pain and my inablity to run as fast and as strong as I know I can. I'm losing fitness and friends. ha! okay, maybe the last part was an exageration, but my friends are all out there running. I watch race after race go by.. and it plain out stinks!

But I guess I have no choice but to keep jumping through hoops until I find an answer.

Mighty or Mousey?

Did anyone else read this article, Couch Mouse to Mr. Mighty by Pills Alone ? The idea of a normal, healthy person popping GW1516 so they don' t have to get off the couch and workout is about as silly as a mouse who is dresses like Superman and has super powers which allow him to fly and defend the world from crime and disruption. Seriously people?!?!?

.

To be honest, I actually love the idea of mighty mouse, he's just so cute! But the idea of GW1516 or Aicar for use other than to help individuals in poor health (i.e. diabetes), I don't like so much.

Now if science could just redirect focus to engineering real life mighty mice to help stop the evil in the world, well, that would just seem like better use of their time. But that's just my opinion, I suppose. I guess some people might not like millions of flying mice with bulging muscles and capes defending us from crime. oh well.

.

Btw, the runner chick still alive! muhahahahaha! ...She's a bit more tan these days and still only running a few days a week on a bum leg. However, I'm happy to report, that she has continued to work hard to strengthen her own muscles the natural way ....and hasn't resorted to pill popping at this point (thank goodness!).

.

have a great weekend!!!

Afghan Female Olympian Missing

I know this is last week's news, but I'm just catching up to speed. I wanted to share this story with anyone who also maybe missed it last week or who is just interested in how it continues to develop. It saddens me when I realize that we still live in a world where not all female athletes are supported and encouraged to excel in sports and take pride in such accomplishments.

Mehboba Ahdyar, a 19-year-old track runner who competes in the 800 and 1,500 meters disappeared from the training center she was staying at last week. Her luggage and passport were gone and rumor has it that she is seeking asylum in Norway. She had been training on an International Olympic Committee (IOC) scholarship. The IOC scholarship program assists athletes from smaller, under -developed nations.

With the 2008 Summer Olympics less than a month away, it seems as though there is little hope of her participation this year. The Afghan Olympic body, Sayed Mahmoud Zia Dashti, said Ahdyar had suffered a leg injury and was receiving treatment in Italy. The linked article quotes Sayed Mahmoud Zia Dashti saying, "I can confirm that she has injured her leg and that she has will not participate in the Beijing Olympics and that her family in Italy is taking care of her,". However as of last week, no one had heard directly from Mehboba Ahdyar as to her where abouts.

This more recent article states that Mehboba Ahdyar has been in contact with her family she in formed them that she was seeking asylum because of fears for her life. She has received death threats on her mobile phone from Muslim extremists who object to a Muslim woman participating in sports. The article further reads that "...earlier this year, her neighbors called the police, claiming she was a prostitute -- a charge that landed her father in jail until the matter was cleared up."

And to add another twist, I found this article which states that her parents are "reportedly" under pressure from members of the Afghan Olympic Committee who are telling them that they risk being thrown in jail if Mehboba does not come back to participate in the games.

This sounds like an awful situation and my heart just breaks for this poor young girl and her family. Being able to represent your country in the Olympics should be a joyous event for everyone, but this is clearly not a joyous experience for Mehboba and her famly.

AWESOME!

I can totally get through 3 miles. :)
Almost Famous is one of my favorite movies!
What a great event! Go Nike!
LOVE IT!

.
"The only true currency in this bankrupt world...
is what you share with someone else when you're uncool. "
- Lester Bangs, Almost Famous

MRI - Arthrogram - Postponed!

Not that I was really looking forward to having dye injected into my hip (sounds lovely huh?), but I was very interested to see what this image would show. It seems that I will not have that opportunity, well at least not right now. As it turns out, the price of the Arthrogram was about $3,000! This is about $2,400 more than what the same imaging center told me it would cost the day before (when I called to find out). Plus, that price doesn't include the x-rays I'm schededule to get done as well.

Interesting how no one seems to know what they are talking about when it comes to medical billing and insurance. It seems like everyone just guestimates and hopes they are right. I imagin the United Health Care - customer service center as a whole floor of cubicals filled with customer service reps all sitting around chearping in the phone their best bullsh*t guestimates. With the corporate moto hanging on a banner over head, "Do your best to make sure the customer thinks you know what the hell you're talking about!" or "when all else fails, talk in circles until they give up".

Anyway, after going back and forth (on the phone) with my Doctor's office and the "peach" of a lady behind the glass at the imaging center, I decided to reschedule at a later time. I need to first figure out how I will pay for this.

It just frustrating knowing that I could shell out $800+ for MRIs and x-rays and have them turn out normal. Is that worth the peace of mind? I'm still trying to figure that out. Seriously, what do people do that have SERIOUS medical issues. On a scale of severity, my issue probably wouldn't even qualify as a "2" out of 10... and yet I want to scream.

I left the imaging center and sat by the east river watching a few trash barges and a couple yahts move up and down the river. I watched the happy runners trotting along the river path below and along the edge of Roosevelt Island on the other side of the river. I sat there for about 20mins hoping no one would come over and question why I was bawling like a big fat baby and that's when it started to rain, hard. nice. Anyway, the rain was enough to make me laugh at the entire situation. And then I started my trek back to the subway. Btw, who puts an MRI imaging center 3/4 of a mile away from any subway? idiots! This thought made me laugh too. The walk gave me enough time in the rain to notice that my leg hurt just walking home and that I probably need to cough it up and get the test done. Today just wasn't the day.

On a positive note, this morning is the most gorgeous day I've seen in a while. The skies in NYC are clear, bright blue and there's a slight breeze. GORGEOUS! :) Nothing like a fresh start of a new day to make you feel a whole lot better.