12 week update and timeline

Fabulous news- my orthopedist cleared me for running!!!!!!!! But let's take a step back.

It has been 12 weeks and two days since I was hit by a car. Currently this is where I am:

hip/pelvis- bone not getting sore even when being on the for hours. muscles around it can get sore.
rib- no pain. only noticed when lifting heavy weight and that is minimal.
lower back- no more pain.
ear- not convinced I have 100% hearing, but pretty close.
foot/toe- no longer sensitive to the touch. Calluses have stopped bothering me. Top of foot is a little sore and needs to be stretched out. Convinced my toe was broken. Slightly different shape than the toe on the other foot, but doesn't bother me anymore.
stiffness/soreness- in general muscles are no longer stiff. My hip muscles and calf muscles can get sore on occasion. Knees will get sore with long walks.

Timeline:
Super Bowl Sunday: While running, hit by drunk driver who hopped the curb (actually he attempted to do a U turn, went over the median, crossed two lanes of traffic then hopped the curb onto the sidewalk). Diagnosed with three fractures in my pelvis. Lost hearing in right ear for a bit and was required to take medicine to fully heal the ear drum. Told I could develop a fracture in my ribs up to 4 weeks after the accident.
1 week: Leg and butt is swollen. Black and blue all over my side. At the end of week, can get in and out of wheelchair on my own. Muscles stiff and have bad back and rib pain. American doctor confirms diagnosis. Pee has been a good color so kidneys are ok. 
2 weeks: Stop daytime pain meds. Still have back pain and am very sore and stiff all over. No longer need to take ear medicine. Start practicing on crutches. At the end of week 2, suddenly start feeling popping in rib. Can breathe fine, but rib is very sore. 
3 weeks: Notice muscle apathy in legs and butt. When laying down, cannot lift leg. Start going to PT at the very end of the week. Using crutches more and more. Was able to go up and down the stairs with crutches. Regular doctor visit. Heart rate and blood pressure are up significantly from normal numbers. Severe pain when sneezing. With rib and hip pain, feel very broken and in pain a lot.
4 weeks: Only took pain meds a couple of times at night during the week. Less hip pain, but still back pain. Still have trouble lifting head without support. 
5 weeks: No hip pain from coughing or sneezing. Completely off of pain meds. Back still sore and hurts. Started back at work part time, but foot is still swollen and cannot wear shoes. Starting to get calluses on hands from crutches. Started getting lightheaded. 
6 weeks: Still have bad back pain.  Cleared for weight bearing. Can put weight on right leg. Tingling in foot when putting weight on it. 
7 weeks: Slowly eases into walking using crutches- two then one. Able to use recumbent bike slowly. Foot still swollen, but going down. Able to shower by myself.
8 weeks: Off of crutches, walking unassisted. Using recumbent bike faster and longer. Attempted to walk .3 miles, rested for a few hours then walk .3 miles more. Had bad pelvic pain. Very sore in injured parts. Too much too soon.
9 weeks: Able to get foot into a shoe, but still slightly swollen. .45 mile completed without any pain. Late in the week, one mile walk completed. Regular doctor checkup- still have high blood pressure and heart rate. Still getting lightheaded, but doctor says because of the accident, symptoms could continue for months.
10 weeks: Two walks ranging from 2 mile to 2.77 miles. Started to feel like I was hitting my max for my hip during my 2 mile walk but a few days later could do 2.77 without issue. Getting better by the day. Getting less and less lightheaded. 
11 weeks: Knee and calf pain from standing and walking a lot with flip flops. Still needed cushioned shoes. No more back pain. 
12 weeks: Walked 4.63 miles in preparation for half marathon relay. Completed my first race post-injury. Walked 6.4 miles in my fastest pace yet. Bone is fully healed. Cleared by orthopedist to run. Blood pressure down from high, but not quite at normal amount. 


Today I had my 12 week checkup. I had more x-rays standing then with my leg to the side. At my 6 week checkup I couldn't stand up in order to take the x-rays. I also struggled to move my leg to the side. This week I did not have a problem with either. My orthopedist was very pleased with my progress and said I was fully healed. You could easily see how the new bone looked like the rest of the old bone. My pelvis will always look a bit disformed because the broken bones never really shift back into place. Luckily there will be no lasting effects. I can run and 'go crazy' as my ortho said. Now, I wait and see when my PT clears me. 

Lance Armstrong watch out!

My goal is to really add some cross training to my running schedule. Previously my knees were getting sore (whether it was runners knee or I just over did them walking in Spain a week before a half marathon, I’m not really sure) so I started doing more trail runs and exercising on my recumbent bike. However, I just always preferred going out and hitting the very hard concrete sidewalks. With my pelvis still recovering, my hip just will not be able to handle the pounding of running 5 times a week.

I view this as also the push I need to start training for triathlons. I have zero swimming ability… like if you ask me to jump in the deep end I’ll be fine, but if you want me to do laps in any stroke other than doggie paddle, forget it.

Somehow every time I narrow down my search for a road bike, my list grows. On my short list:
Trek Lexa SLX
Trek Lexa SL
Giant Avail 2
Cannondale CAAD8 6 or the women's version Cannondale Synapse  6

I have been practicing the motions on the spin bike at the gym. In an attempt to use multiple muscles while cycling, I bought clipped triathlon cycling shoes. I also purchased cycling shorts.

My PT reluctantly agreed to let me test out the bikes. She is worried about my balance and strength on my right leg. I took her words to heart and waited almost two weeks to test ride them out. The test rides were a little shaky at first. I am not used to riding and had not even ridden a bike in years. The one bike shop did mention that they just had a lady who had a broken pelvis and hip come in for a bike. She apparently could barely step up the stairs to get in the shop. This made me a bit more hopeful that my injury would not hold me back. I would swing my bad leg over the bike so I used my good leg for balance. I also would lean slightly to the left when stopping so I would use my good leg to get off the bike or in case I need to quickly put my leg down.

Narrowing down:

While I liked the other bikes, I narrowed down my list to the Trek Lexa SL or SLX. Unfortunately the bike shop did not have the SLX in my size (between a 47 and 50 in Trek; 48 in Cannondale… yes I’m short with short legs!). I really wanted to see if there would be a difference in the feel of the ride with the SLX’s ISO Speed decoupler. My pelvic bones could really use a smooth ride. There also is a step up in the quality of the parts on the SLX vs the SL. I just needed to determine if these are worth the extra cost especially considering this will be secondary to running.

Decision time:

Unfortunately it was raining by the time I got to the bike shop to test ride the SLX. I did get to try it out on the trainer (really want to invest in one of them). The SLX has a different frame and fit than the SL so the 47” was way too small for me. The 50” seemed to be the middle ground between the 47” SL and the 50” SL. I felt like Goldilocks saying it was just right. I should mention that these bikes were the 2013 models. The bike shop had an excess and were trying to get rid of them. Since this is my first bike and I really wouldn’t notice the difference between the 2013 and 2014 models, I decided to save a few (hundred) bucks and go with a 2013 model. The SL model they had was white and teal, however, it had the teal were prints of flowers (really Trek? Just because it is a women’s specific bike doesn’t mean it needs to be girly). I like white. I like teal. I do not like a flowery print. The SLX models were in a dark red and white and a black and gold. I loved the red and white, but they only had it in 47”.The 50” was almost all black with just an outline in gold of flowers (at least it wasn’t as noticeable!). In the end I decided on the 50” Lexa SLX. The extra $250 it cost me seemed to be worth the Iso Speed decoupler plus the upgraded Shimano 105 parts vs Tiagra. Also the frame was made out of a lighter aluminum.

I have two races on my radar:

Maryland Women's Sprint Duathlon

Tour de Chocolate Town

Once I get some miles on my bike I'll be able to determine if they are doable races. Until then- New Jersey Half Marathon relay here I come!

Back to reality

I have been a little lax on writing posts because I was lucky enough to tag along to the Dominican Republic last week as part of my husband's work trip. In my head, it was my redo of my Cancun. I missed three days of vacation because I was hit by a car so my goal for this trip was simply to relax.

While it was nice to relax and get some sun, it got me out of my recovery routine. There was no fitness center and no sidewalks outside of the hotel. The driving laws seem quite liberal there so it definitely was not safe enough to go for a walk on the side of the road. Since the beach was small, I was only able to do a short beach walk and some basic exercises. The extra standing and stairs while using flip flops seemed to hurt my knees and calves. They were sore by the end of the day almost every day. This is a good reminder that supportive running shoes need to be my go to shoe for awhile.

Speaking of running shoes… thinking about getting another pair of Nike Pegasus 30s. I really like either the yellow and gray or the coral and gray. 
                           

(source: Amazon)

I have an obsession with gray right now so all of my running gear has been oriented to match gray. I also just bought another pair of capris by Under Armour that are a darker gray. Thinking they’ll go nicely with a coral tank by Oiselle (on my birthday list!).

This weekend will be my first race post-injury. I was supposed to run the New Jersey Half Marathon, but instead downgraded to walking the second half of the relay (6.4 miles). The most I have walked so far is 4.63. I felt fine doing it, but I'm quite nervous that I am ill prepared. There are a number of things that can go wrong- my hip could act up, my knees/lower legs could get sore, I could be too slow to meet the minimum time... One positive: the weather should be ideal- about 50 degrees. The course also should be scenic. I do love the beach :)

Three more days...

Yoga!... sort of

One of the major drawbacks to a broken pelvis is loss of flexibility. For awhile I could barely move my leg a centimeter to the side. My three weeks of PT while my pelvis was still fractured helped me gain some up and down flexibility. I still struggle with the side to side especially if I need to twist my leg in any way. My muscles are just extremely tight and some movements aggravate my one healed pelvic fracture. I never really did yoga pre-injury. As I got more serious about my running, I needed deeper stretches so I incorporated some poses to my stretching routine. 

My attempt of yoga had mixed results. Certain poses I could tell were stretching me out while others I just could not do properly right now.

I can finally bend me knee enough to be able to do child's pose. 

I have been doing this pose for years. Great abs stretch. My back is well enough that this pose is not an issue.

I regularly do bridges at PT. This week I started doing one legged bridges. 

Things are starting to go downhill with the downward dog. My hamstrings and calves are still tight. I could not even get my feet to be flat against the mat.

I would like to be able to bend my upper body a bit more for this pose. 

First time doing this pose.

This was a tough pose. Previously I could hold it much longer. My upper body lost a lot of strength.

Not being able to complete this pose is tough. I sit like this regularly and previously was able to put my nose to my feet. I am pushing down on my right leg, but that is as far down as it will go. The twisting of the leg to the side is barely getting better. Gaining flexibility is not progressing as quickly as the rest of my injury.

This was one of my favorite poses pre-injury. I cannot even come close to completing it now. My right leg cannot twist far enough over and my hip flexors are too tight. I also tried doing this switching sides, but my right leg hip flexors are also too tight. 

I purchased  a strap and am going to work with that. My favorite pose is the Lord of the Dance. I really want to be able to do the pose. I can do a spinal twist so that my right leg is crossing over the left, but if I apply pressure on that leg to get a deeper stretch, it starts hurting my pelvis. Since it is not just that I am tight, but actual pelvic pain, I am avoiding this pose. Every now and again I try it to determine if my pelvis is feeling better, but that's it. Garland is another pose I did frequently that am working to be able to do again. My leg strength is not there so holding it is just not happening right now.

Off to the beach this week!

#TBT to running while on vacation

I have been lucky enough to travel a fair amount which means I have been lucky enough to run in some great locations. Early last year I had never run in any race, not even a 5k. Running a half marathon was on my bucket list, but I was not sure if I could handle that distance. I mean 13 miles seemed soooo far. The most I had run was 7 miles years ago. To ease into it, my friend and I decided that we should sign up for a 10k. I was running 10 to 15 miles a week at that point, but all on a treadmill. I had not run outside in quite some time and was worried about how my asthma would react to colder temperatures. A couple of weeks before the 10k while vacationing in California, I tried a couple of very short outdoor runs (about 1 - 2 miles) to prepare for the 10k (no, I didn't really train for the 10k, training was a new concept for me). I was hooked! It combined my two loves- running and traveling. Yes, I realize I was hit by a car while running on vacation, but it allows me to see different parts of the town, city, or country that I am in.

Side note: When I run away from home, I let my husband know where I am going and about when I will be back. I also take my phone with me even if I'm overseas (wifi still works). If I do not get service, I download onto my phone my route and surrounding areas using google maps. 

California:

First outdoor run in years. Down the Ventura Pier. Unfortunately never took a picture of my Napa Valley run.

Martha's Vineyard:

Beautiful 8 mile run in Martha's Vineyard along the coast.

Had water and sand on both sides of me.

Bermuda:

Railway trail- great trail going most of the length of Bermuda. Started my run on this trail before cutting over to the ocean. 

Ran at 6 am in 79 degree, very humid weather, but was rewarded with this spectacular sunrise.

Ran past my rental so I could get to 4 miles. Was able to see Horseshoe Bay before the beach was packed with tourists. 

Spain:

Seville had a great bike path along the river.

Ronda was built on top of a gorge. Decided to run down the walking path to the bottom and back. Definitely counted as a hill day!

Bottom of the gorge, besides a farm.

Cancun:

I ran two runs in Cancun. The first was a 5 mile run along the southern end of the hotel zone. There was a beautiful beach park that was visited by locals.

I took this about 3/4 of a mile before my run abruptly... There is a nice running path that goes along the resorts of the hotel zone. Literally right after this path ends and it is just the sidewalk right up against the road is where I was hit by the car.

Next up: hopefully I will be cleared to run in Hawaii :)

Another race missed

Days like this are the toughest. Today I should have been participating in the Cherry Blossom 10 miler. I was really looking forward to this race. Enough so that I signed up to run it for charity and fronted most of the fundraising requirement. Due to my circumstances, the race organizers were kind enough to let me defer the race until next year. Today I needed a reminder of how far I have come.

(yep my Garmin recorded the accident)

Checked up on all of my gear I had during the accident. My Garmin and heartrate monitor have a few scratches but seem to be working. I had a handheld water bottle that is now somewhere in Mexico. My compression shorts had to be cut to get them off of me. My white tank top has black marks that are not washing out. I was most concerned about my Garmin 620. I had just bought it to train for this race and by far is the most expensive piece of running gear I own.

I cannot believe it has been 9 weeks already. This past week I walked a mile without hip pain. This is HUGE for me. I still have a goal of walking 6.4 miles for the New Jersey Half relay. Originally I was to run the half, but had to downgrade. My fall race scheduled is all booked up. I signed up for the Wineglass Half Marathon in Corning, NY. The finishers medal is made out of glass and the course is point-to-point (my first one!). 

(course picture is from wineglassmarathon.com. Spots still available!)

The race starts near Campbell, NY while marathoners start further up in Bath, NY. *If* I can train for the full marathon I will need to tack on 3 extra miles to the race for my 16 mile run. Do you do it before or after the race? I assume after since before you will be waiting in your corral. I am very much looking forward to getting the champagne bottle and wine glass that come with the kit. mmm wine :)

Injury update: The swelling in my foot has gone down considerably. I finally fit into shoes normally although I still have some pain in my calluses and top of my foot. My Achilles is stiff and has a weird bump it (no pain though). My lower back is still hurting regularly. Unfortunately it does not seem to like being at work for 10 hours straight. I get lightheaded a lot, like pressure in my sinuses. I thought it might be allergy related, but it feels different. My doctor thinks it might be from the accident and eventually might go away in a few months (um thanks). My hip still has some tenderness to touch. If I place my body on my right side in just the right spot it will hurt. The bone is still healing even though new bone has formed so I assume this will still need a few more weeks. My bruised/cracked/something was wrong rib is feeling significantly better this week. It hurt the most when I would lay down and now I don't even notice it. Like my pelvis, it took about 6 weeks to feel better. There are crazy things that happen during a trauma that you never think about. My toenails on my right foot are finally starting to grow again. They simply stopped growing for almost 2 months. The PT says it takes 6 weeks to gain muscle back. If I start the clock at the beginning of week 7 when I started to walk this puts me at the beginning of week 13 (or a full 12 weeks after being hit). I started noticing that my right leg muscles are feeling more firm but still soft compared to my left leg.


Side note: one thing I regret not putting in my previous blog post was the power of prayer. I prayed often while being in bed. I truly believe this helped me heal closer to the 6 week mark. My faith helped me put the accident behind me. I do not hold ill will towards the driver nor am I angry. I am simply focusing on getting better and appreciating how lucky I truly am. There are people in my life going through much worse illness than my fractured pelvis. All of my injuries will eventually heel and I will get back to normal. Just takes time. 

Lessons Learned

One reason I wanted to start this blog was because the lack of information out there for a young person with a fractured pelvis. I found plenty of information about older people, but very little on a younger person's experience. Over the past 8 weeks I have learned a few lessons from my experience. I hope this can apply to anyone with a major injury especially a lower body injury. 

•  It does take new bone 6 to 8 weeks to form (hard callus). My CT scan showed my fractures were worse than the x-rays showed, but it still only took 6 weeks. The pain with the bone started going away at week 5 and mid-week 6 I really felt healed. It helps that I am young. Apparently it can take longer when you are older.

•  Go to PT as soon as you can. I started going at the end of my 3rd week and do not regret it. Even though I could not do weight bearing on my right leg, it helped me wake up the muscles that were left and slow down or prevent any further muscle loss. As someone who enjoys working out, I very much enjoyed PT. It was the closest thing I had to exercising while waiting for the bone to heal. Also, listen to your PT. Don't be lazy with the exercises, but don't be superwoman too. Have faith- you will get better with each visit!

• It helps being young and healthy. There is very little you can do about being older, but everyone can affect their health. I cannot imagine being in my 80s or obese and having a broken pelvis. Not being able to walk on one leg, having back pain, and being uncomfortable sitting literally affect every aspect of your life. Being in reasonably good shape helped me get around with crutches when I needed to. My body heart rate and blood pressure both increased, but from athletes’ number to normal, healthy people’s numbers. I truly believe the healthier you are, the better your body will react to trauma and healing. 

• Don't compare your current state to your old self. It's ok to look your old self as your goal to *eventually* get back to, but you have to focus on the little goals along the way. Think 'hey I can do 30 reps instead of 20' or ' this week I can pick stuff up off of the floor instead of having to wait for someone to help me’ (this is a big deal when apparently you have butterfingers).  I didn't think step 1- run at my old pace. I did and am focusing on many steps along the way including step 1- bone heals, step 2- walk, step 3- walk unassisted, step 4- strength the muscles to so I can use the elliptical, etc. I even set mini goals like being able to get myself in and out of the wheelchair by myself, get in and out of the shower without sitting on the chair and swinging my legs over the side; walking up and down the stairs normally without having to put both feet on each step, etc. Accomplishing these goals helped motivate me and gave me a pick me up. 

• You will lose muscle and you will gain weight (unless you have some crazy metabolism that can handle barely moving for 6 weeks). It is very tough to see all of my muscles wither away. All of those squats and lounges grr…. My right leg and right butt cheek obviously have the most muscle loss, but every muscle on my body has gotten weaker. I couldn't lift weights (main due to my rib injury), do any cardio, pushups, planks... nada. since previously I was running 20 miles a week in addition to doing squats/lounges/etc, my left leg has even gotten weaker.  I have come to terms with the fact that my body will look different and there is very little I can do about it right now. I also know I am dedicated and motivated so I will be able to get my body back once I can get moving. 

• Bad things happen period. You cannot prevent everything. I ran early enough that people were out and about, but late enough that it was light out. I wore bright clothes (white shirt, red shorts, blue shoes… just realized I was very patriotic that run). I ran on the sidewalk going against traffic. I didn’t even have to cross any roads on my run. Sometimes bad things happen that you have no control over. You just have to accept that fact. 

·         #1 lesson I learned:

• I am stronger than I imagined (and I bet you are too). My body protected me after the initial excruciating pain to the point where it was a manageable amount of pain until I had to be moved. The accident also raised my pain threshold (I view this as a very good thing considering I still plan on having kids at some point). Nothing these days hurts *that* much. My mind is more focused and determined. I am only looking ahead to my goal of getting healthy and back to running. I refuse to allow myself to think of ‘what if’ or ‘if I had done this differently’. It will not change the past. I always knew I was tough, but this just confirms it ;)

The only reason I do reflect back is thinking about if I had not been conscious how would the hospital known to call my husband? For the future, I am getting  RoadId band. You can add emergency contacts plus any other medical conditions just in case…