Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Confession Wednesday: Workout Confessions!
I'm so excited to welcome all of you newcomers to my blog! Thank you so much for following along and I look forward to getting to know you.
For those of you who are new, Confession Wednesday is a weekly meme I started a year or so ago. Every Wednesday, I pick a topic and we all confess. Your confession can match up with the weekly theme or you can make up your own. Grab the button up above and link your posts (if you so choose) down below.
And now, on with the confessing.
Once upon a time, I fancied myself a runner. Every morning for an entire summer, my friend Melinda and I got up early and ran on this great trail around the Ogden Golf Course.
When the fall semester started and homework piled up, those early morning runs were the first thing to go. But, every so often, I'd get this urge to get out and stretch my legs. I really loved that running trail.
One Saturday morning in the spring, my roommate Amy and I headed out together and got about a half mile down the trail when I felt a small boulder under my right foot and I was suddenly sprawled, face first, across the dirt path.
"No, no, no!" I shouted, knowing instantly that I'd sprained my ankle.
When I managed to roll myself over into a seated position, though, it wasn't my ankle that made me gasp. It was the blood pouring out of the open wound on my left knee.
"This is bad," I told Amy, who reached down to help me to my feet.
I wasn't sure which foot to put my weight on. The one with the bloodied knee or the one with the swelling ankle that had already started to turn purple?
The most direct route back to our house meant crossing the golf course. On a sunny Saturday morning.
It's actually kind of a miracle we didn't get hit by any wayward golf balls.
It took awhile to get home. A half mile is surprisingly far when you can barely walk and each step sends pain shooting from your toes to your ear lobes. But we finally made it.
I suffered the rest of the weekend. There was no major damage to my knee below the surface, which was a relief. But my ankle was swollen and changing to shades not found on any normal color chart. I would have been impressed if I hadn't been freaking out.
The following Monday, I hobbled into the health center on campus. I'd never been there, but I'd heard all about Dr. Mc"Quacken". I can't remember his real name, but the doc got the nickname because his answer to EVERYTHING was surgery.
Constant sore throat? Those tonsils are going to need to be removed.
Persistent abdominal pain? The only way to ensure an accurate diagnosis is exploratory surgery.
A splinter that hasn't worked its way out of your thumb? Going to have to cut it out. And possibly remove your thumb.
(Yes. I actually knew three different people that had these real experiences.)
So I wasn't that excited at the prospect of facing Dr. McQuacken.
Luckily, it was a nurse that took one look and ordered me into another room for x-rays. After several minutes of being twisted and prodded and forced to hold still for about a thousand x-rays of the swollen mass at the end of my leg, she ordered me back into the exam room and promised she'd return soon.
And she did. With a pair of crutches. Which I'd already expected, even though I dreaded them.
And then she said the doctor would be in to talk to me.
A few minutes later, I was introduced to Dr. McQuacken. He prodded my foot a little, looked at the x-rays and pronounced that I had, indeed, sprained two ligaments.
I'd also strained my Achilles' tendon.
At least, he was pretty sure I'd strained it. Although he couldn't rule out the possibility that it was actually torn.
And then he said, "If it's not better in three weeks, we're probably going to have to operate."
Three weeks later, I had gotten pretty good at hiding the grimace and the limp. I'm sure he was disappointed that I didn't give him the chance to approach me with a scalpel.
And now it's your turn! Share your confessions in the comments or link up your posts down below.
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Ouch, he sounds like a terrible doctor! I hope you healed up alright - I've never been a runner myself, but I admire those who are. But it can't be easy if your feet aren't cooperating!
ReplyDeleteI was thinking of starting running, but you've just listed like 10 reasons not to.
ReplyDeleteBut I do walk a lot, so that's okay. Sort of.
As for the doctor.. well.. some doctors are pretty awful.
I'm surprised he didn't recommend amputation! I had a lump on my neck once and the doctor I saw said I would need to have it surgically removed. This was after looking at it and poking it for 5 seconds, no bloodwork, nothing. Thank goodness he gave me antibiotics and it went away.
ReplyDeleteYou know what they call the guy who graduates last in his class at med school? Doctor. Scary, but true...
I confess I hate to workout. I make all kinds of excuses not to. And, as I sit on my duff every day at work and dream of crocheting when I get home, I realize that my tush is getting flatter and flatter by the day. I try to compensate with a few leg lifts from time to time, a spin class or three for a few weeks in a row, but I know I'm not doing myself any favors. Oh well, maybe someday that light bulb will go off in my brain and cause me to dream of working out regularly. Until then I will dream of yarncrafting. (I'm such a nerd!)
ReplyDeleteoy, that is NOT a good situation with the DOC. What is the doc thinking?? 3 wks and you might need an operation?? jeezzzz.
ReplyDeletebut i do think there's a runner in you yet...;)
My confession is that running is stupid.
ReplyDeleteWow! Pretty crazy experience all around. My confession is that I've been very bad at reading and commenting at my favorite bloggers' sites, and so today I'm following Comment Like Crazy Wednesday! It's a brand new meme, as of today! I'm going to try and hit all the ones I follow and leave a comment and let them know I was here and that I love reading their posts! So, thanks Karen, for letting me take a "peek at your world"!! :)
ReplyDeleteThis shouldn't really be a confession, because seriously...hasn't everyone farted in yoga at least once?
ReplyDeleteCome on peeps, don't leave me hangin'.
That sounds terrible! I've never hurt myself exercising, but one time my mom and I were doing the Body For Life program. We were in Oklahoma City at a hotel with an indoor pool. We had brought our weights, so while my kids were swimming, we did the weight part of the program next to the pool. Well, my then two-year-old decided to take off his life jacket and get back in the water. By the time my mom and I noticed, he was bobbing up in down with terror in his eyes. We took off running. Unfortunately, my mom slipped on the damp ground and cracked her knee cap. My son survived, and we learned a valuable lesson, but my mom's knee still bothers her.
ReplyDeleteI would have to work out in order to have a Work Out Confession. So...no dice.
ReplyDeleteOh wow, what a confessions... sounds so painful!! I think I would have to fid a different doctor!! :)
ReplyDelete~Tabitha
Sounds like my pediatrician: do you know what amputate means?
ReplyDeleteSo glad you got to keep all of your limbs!
Another prime example of reasons why I don't go to the doctor unless I'm on my death bed. I'm sure I have plenty of working out stories but I just started doing P90X again and my muscles hurt and I can't think.
ReplyDeleteYikes..he sounds really scary! My exercise confession is simply that I don't. But I am working on it. ;)
ReplyDeleteHe's awful! My medical department's just the opposite. Their answer to everything is ibuprofen. If that doesn't work, they send you to physical therapy. After several months of that they finally do an MRI to figure out you need surgery and you're condition is complicated because they waited so darn long.
ReplyDeleteI've got an award waiting for you today right here.
Oh, I used to run on that trail. Maybe I should start doing that again...the question is...when? I've actually really considered starting daily yoga- it's harder than it looks people!!! However, I will have to watch out for those wayward sneaky farts!!! LOL Kris you make me laugh!
ReplyDeleteOooh, ankle pain is the worst! I remember those crutches. :)
ReplyDelete