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. 

Philadelphia Marathon here I come!

I did it! I finally signed up for a marathon! 

This is something I honestly never even thought I would come close to doing so it should be an interesting 29 weeks of training (assuming I am cleared to run by May). I realize there is a high change I will not be able to complete this race. There are so many questions marks right now- will be knees hold up for 26.2 miles? will be hip stop being sore by the time I need to start training? will I be cleared for running in time to start training? will it be too much from starting at ground zero? At least signing up gives me the option to try. 

I had some ups and downs this weekend. The up: adding miles, time, and speed to my recumbent bike ride.

It felt great. Planning on doing the recumbent bike three times this week, 15 minutes each. If things go well then I will keep adding time. I am also going to try out the spin bikes at the gym. If I want to get into cycling I think I need to see how I hold up on a spin bike first. Now the down: I walked .3 miles from my friend's house to a restaurant, sat for 4 hours then walked .3 miles back to my friend's house. The walk to the restaurant felt fine, but I could tell I was getting to my limit. The last .3 miles really did my hip in. It felt sore and needed to be rested into the next day. It is very frustrating to know my muscles could handle the .6 total miles but my hip is not there yet. With the bone healing I had a timeline, but with the soreness I just have to wait and see. This all just makes me very nervous about my race I plan to walk at the end of April. I downgraded to the New Jersey Half Marathon relay and will be walking 6.4 miles.... or at least I hope to be. I know I can prepare my muscles in time, but the wildcard is still the hip.

Plan for this week: research bicycles, decide on October race, look into road bike races in the mid-Atlantic. 

Every day I'm shuffling

The orthopedist said over the next seven to ten days I need to ease weight onto my leg. The first couple of days I used two crutches to put some weight on but not quite an even amount. I started practicing using just one crutch and by Thursday I was only using one crutch. The switch to one crutch has really improved my life. I can shower by myself and carry things with my free hand.  This means I can organize my laundry, wash dishes, do basic cleaning, etc.

There are still a lot of challenges. When lying on my side, I can barely lift my leg. My inner and outer thigh muscles are pretty weak right now. My leg gets stiff after keeping still all night. I have very little flexibility twisting my leg. Somewhat disappointing considering one of my favorite stretches is the yoga position pigeon. 

working hard in PT

The next phase in my recovery is to be to walk unassisted. The PT said we will try this on Monday. Each day has been easier and easier to walk so I am very optimistic that I will be able to achieve this. The doctor did say I am cleared for no and low impact exercising so I managed to *slowly* do the recumbent bike as well as some arms and abs exercises. It was amazing to feel somewhat normal. 

gotta start somewhere

This has also motivated me to look into triathlons. I can work on cycling and swimming to get me back into shape and train. I have NO experience in either so I started searching for the smallest triathlon I could find. Here are some I am debating:

Maxon Dixon Sprint- .5 mile swim, 18 miles bike, 3.1 miles run

PA Warrior Tri & Du- .4 mile swim, 12.5 mile bike, 3 mile run (also optional 3 mile run instead of swim)

Keystone State Triathlon Super Sprint- .25 mile swim, 9 mile bike, and 2 mile run

TriRock Philadelphia Triathlon Sprint- 800 meters swim, 15.7 miles bike, and 3.1 mile run

7 weeks down...