UNFROZENCAVEMAN
New member
Well, as many of you know I had double foot surgery not too long ago to correct tailors bunions that were causing me a lot of pain. I was advised that I would be in a wheelchair for at least 6 weeks and most likely 8 since they cut the 5th metatarsal (pinky bone) in half, re-allign it and then screw it back together. Push too hard too early and "snap" it goes and the "healing clock" gets re-set - not what you want to do.
At week two I was in the doctors office with my Mother who was asking the doctor when I would be walking again - he said probably 3 more weeks if I only had one done but at least 4 since I had chosen to do both and couldn't really put a "little" weight on both feet. Less than two weeks later (about 3-1/2 weeks in) I was back at the office, had another round of x-rays done and was encouraged when the doctor said that my bones were fusing really well, quickly even. I mentioned that I had been standing on them already to reach for stuff on shelves by putting most of the weight on my heels and the pads behind the big toes, he asked me to demonstrate. I showed him and he said that was fine to which I responded, "I can walk like this!" He replied, "You can if you're really carefull but if you make a mistake it could REALLY cost you." He then encouraged me to start using crutches when I left the house (in other words, leave the wheelchair at home - he didn't have to tell me twice) and experiment with "some" pressure on the feet to get used to it again. I used the crutches for the next 2 days and then threw them in the corner - crutches suck, plain and simple.
About 10 days later I was back in his office and he gave me the clearance to start driving and to go back to work advising me to wear my mountaineering boots for support and protection and said that he'd see me in a couple of weeks. He said I could walk a little but to keep it to flat terrain and indicated that in two weeks, assuming all was going well, he would cut me free to start getting more agressive.
Well I never read the appointment card so last weekend I was thinking I'd like to get wood for the winter gathering out by the pit before the snow came in so I did, I figured, he's going to cut me loose on Monday anyway. Actually, I spent both Saturday and Sunday loading and hauling wood of various densities, shapes, and sizes - most of it was pulled from log landings where the ground isn't exactly flat. When I went into the appointment on Monday encouraged by what I had done and how good my feet did they looked at me with a "why are you here look." I said, I'm about 20 minutes early, they responded, "Try a week and 20 minutes!" Ooops. He wanted to see me at week 8 and I was there at week 7! Guess I should have read the appointment card
They squeezed me in anyway since I was there (yea, not your typical doctors office for sure) and he said, "You seem to be doing fine, work your way up in intensity of activity as your feet allow but don't go crazy." Uhh huh, right.
Well, I wanted to get a 4K'r under my belt by the Winter solstice - that was a goal that I was shooting for when I got cut, and it looked like Saturday was going to be the day. Youngblood had invited me to a dinner/dance the Littleton Bike Shop was putting on Saturday night so I figured why not get a hike in during the day and then go to the dinner that night, we decided on Cannon.
My feet were hurting before I even put the boots on but I wanted to give it a shot. The problem that I've been having is mostly related to muscles that got weak while I was laid up so they (the foot muscles) get tired and knot up pretty bad - I roll them around on a golf ball and a big wooden dowel to loosen them up but they still hurt.
We got to the parking lot accompained by a woman named Suzanne and started up the Kinsman Ridge Trail around 12:30. The plan was to hike up and then sled back down the trail. Charles and I put snowshoes on immediately, Suzanne traveling light walked behind us and graciously carried two sleds (one of them being mine) so that I could assist myslef with poles while we climbed.
Charles asked me about the pain level several times throughout the asscent and I started at around a 3-4 and quickly put it at a 6 but pushed on. "Say mercy if you want to turn around at any point" he said many times. I figured I'd get to the lookout that gives the grand view of Franconia Ridge and that'd be enough but when I got there I just couldn't allow a 1/2 mile of rocks to stop me from reaching my goal - we decided that we could walk a slope down to go a little easier on me and so summit we did. I was pumped!
We then walked over to the trail map billboard and figured out how we could descend via ski trails and wind up over near where we parked. Of course the sleds came out at that point, we intended on being "good" and walking down (figuring it HAD to be against the rules) but I mean come on, you're at the top of a mountain, you got a sled in your hand, there's virgin snowfields with like 20 inches of fresh powder, whadda ya gonna do? You're gonna point that sucker down hill, push off, hang on, and smile from ear to ear like a little kid! Yea, I let out more than one WOOO HOOO before we hit the bottom, talk about a blast! All of us laughed, all of us crashed, and all of us had a great time doing it. Needless to say, we got down a LOT quicker than we got up - in fact, round trip was 4 hours and 3 of it was getting to the top.
When we got back to the house and I got my boots off I was in a fair amount of pain and my feet were swollen but I had done it! I had summited a 4K'r less than 2 months after double corrective foot surgery - heck doc had said I might still be in a wheelchair at this point, I'll deal with a little pain, no problem - especially considering I hadn't walked more than 1/2 mile at a stretch in the past two months, and that was on a road!
And, after 1600 mg of ibuprofen, a big dinner followed by an even bigger desert, I found it in me to learn contra dancing - if you've never done it try it, it's another one of those "wooo hooo" activites that'll make you grin from ear to ear!
In summation.... Wow, it sure did feel good to get back on the trail.
At week two I was in the doctors office with my Mother who was asking the doctor when I would be walking again - he said probably 3 more weeks if I only had one done but at least 4 since I had chosen to do both and couldn't really put a "little" weight on both feet. Less than two weeks later (about 3-1/2 weeks in) I was back at the office, had another round of x-rays done and was encouraged when the doctor said that my bones were fusing really well, quickly even. I mentioned that I had been standing on them already to reach for stuff on shelves by putting most of the weight on my heels and the pads behind the big toes, he asked me to demonstrate. I showed him and he said that was fine to which I responded, "I can walk like this!" He replied, "You can if you're really carefull but if you make a mistake it could REALLY cost you." He then encouraged me to start using crutches when I left the house (in other words, leave the wheelchair at home - he didn't have to tell me twice) and experiment with "some" pressure on the feet to get used to it again. I used the crutches for the next 2 days and then threw them in the corner - crutches suck, plain and simple.
About 10 days later I was back in his office and he gave me the clearance to start driving and to go back to work advising me to wear my mountaineering boots for support and protection and said that he'd see me in a couple of weeks. He said I could walk a little but to keep it to flat terrain and indicated that in two weeks, assuming all was going well, he would cut me free to start getting more agressive.
Well I never read the appointment card so last weekend I was thinking I'd like to get wood for the winter gathering out by the pit before the snow came in so I did, I figured, he's going to cut me loose on Monday anyway. Actually, I spent both Saturday and Sunday loading and hauling wood of various densities, shapes, and sizes - most of it was pulled from log landings where the ground isn't exactly flat. When I went into the appointment on Monday encouraged by what I had done and how good my feet did they looked at me with a "why are you here look." I said, I'm about 20 minutes early, they responded, "Try a week and 20 minutes!" Ooops. He wanted to see me at week 8 and I was there at week 7! Guess I should have read the appointment card
They squeezed me in anyway since I was there (yea, not your typical doctors office for sure) and he said, "You seem to be doing fine, work your way up in intensity of activity as your feet allow but don't go crazy." Uhh huh, right.
Well, I wanted to get a 4K'r under my belt by the Winter solstice - that was a goal that I was shooting for when I got cut, and it looked like Saturday was going to be the day. Youngblood had invited me to a dinner/dance the Littleton Bike Shop was putting on Saturday night so I figured why not get a hike in during the day and then go to the dinner that night, we decided on Cannon.
My feet were hurting before I even put the boots on but I wanted to give it a shot. The problem that I've been having is mostly related to muscles that got weak while I was laid up so they (the foot muscles) get tired and knot up pretty bad - I roll them around on a golf ball and a big wooden dowel to loosen them up but they still hurt.
We got to the parking lot accompained by a woman named Suzanne and started up the Kinsman Ridge Trail around 12:30. The plan was to hike up and then sled back down the trail. Charles and I put snowshoes on immediately, Suzanne traveling light walked behind us and graciously carried two sleds (one of them being mine) so that I could assist myslef with poles while we climbed.
Charles asked me about the pain level several times throughout the asscent and I started at around a 3-4 and quickly put it at a 6 but pushed on. "Say mercy if you want to turn around at any point" he said many times. I figured I'd get to the lookout that gives the grand view of Franconia Ridge and that'd be enough but when I got there I just couldn't allow a 1/2 mile of rocks to stop me from reaching my goal - we decided that we could walk a slope down to go a little easier on me and so summit we did. I was pumped!
We then walked over to the trail map billboard and figured out how we could descend via ski trails and wind up over near where we parked. Of course the sleds came out at that point, we intended on being "good" and walking down (figuring it HAD to be against the rules) but I mean come on, you're at the top of a mountain, you got a sled in your hand, there's virgin snowfields with like 20 inches of fresh powder, whadda ya gonna do? You're gonna point that sucker down hill, push off, hang on, and smile from ear to ear like a little kid! Yea, I let out more than one WOOO HOOO before we hit the bottom, talk about a blast! All of us laughed, all of us crashed, and all of us had a great time doing it. Needless to say, we got down a LOT quicker than we got up - in fact, round trip was 4 hours and 3 of it was getting to the top.
When we got back to the house and I got my boots off I was in a fair amount of pain and my feet were swollen but I had done it! I had summited a 4K'r less than 2 months after double corrective foot surgery - heck doc had said I might still be in a wheelchair at this point, I'll deal with a little pain, no problem - especially considering I hadn't walked more than 1/2 mile at a stretch in the past two months, and that was on a road!
And, after 1600 mg of ibuprofen, a big dinner followed by an even bigger desert, I found it in me to learn contra dancing - if you've never done it try it, it's another one of those "wooo hooo" activites that'll make you grin from ear to ear!
In summation.... Wow, it sure did feel good to get back on the trail.
