Date: 2008-07-28
From: Back Home Again Hostel

To: Back Home Again Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

White River Junction Veterans¢ Hospital and CasinoBack Home Again Caf©/Hostel I got up and went down for breakfast which was breakfast burritos that were very good despite the fact that it¢s the East Coast. Someone around here must have spent time in California. I needed a ride to the VA hospital to get my Hernia looked at and to figure out what my next step was. Should I go back to Philly and get the operation there so I could recoup at a place where I had full amenities? Should I get the operation here since there are less people around here I could probably get the operation sooner and then I could either fly home or recoup at the hostel and then maybe get back on the trail? Maybe I should just fly back to San Diego and get in line for an operation there so I could start working again and making money. Four months with no income has left me in a pretty tough predicament financially. I have gigs coming in so I¢ll be fine once I start working but I¢d have to lay low for a few weeks until that happens; not to mention the price of gas is so horrible that I probably would have to walk everywhere so I might as well stay on the trail. I did some work here at the hostel to earn my keep and I caught up on blogs. I talked to Yohanan and Ranan and they said they would take me out to the VA after the lunchtime rush. We didn¢t get out til 3:30 and I figured they would be closed. White River Junction is about an hour away by car and Indy came with me since he¢s going to catch a bus back to Boston and get off the trail. It sucks when money runs out. It de-motivates you. You figure, ¢What¢s the use in doing big miles today? I¢m not going to make it to the finish anyway.¢ I hope he can finish it next year. I hope I can finish it next year. At the hospital they were waiting for me. For some reason my records were messed up and it says I don¢t have Combat Status History which is BS so I talked to the guy and I¢ll have to get that fixed when I get back to San Diego where I have my records. I¢ll have to get all that updated. The wait was pretty short (compared to San Diego) and I was seen within an hour. The doc was a woman and I was thinking, ¢this is the first time in a long time I¢m going to have my pants down in front of a woman. I hope nothing weird happens.¢ Well, that¢s not exactly what I was thinking but you know the deal. I managed to keep things under control (probably because I was afraid of the pain she might inflict on me during the examination). She said I definitely had a hernia although it wasn¢t an emergency to fix it. I asked the big question, ¢Can I stay on the trail?¢ She looked t me for a minute and then said, ¢let me see if I can get surgery down here to take a look at it.¢ It turns out she was a hiker and knowing I was a Marine she called surgery to get them to tell me their opinion. The guy came down and did the examination and actually said that many people live a regular life without getting the surgery; however, climbing the White Mountains of New Hampshire is far from a regular life and he recommended that I not strain it and get the surgery when I could. He didn¢t say NOT to hike The Whites. I was really listening too. The conversation went a little like this: Doctor: You have a hernia but it¢s not an emergency. You can get it fixed sometime in the future.Me: I¢m climbing the ATDoctor: What¢s that?Me: I¢m hiking over 2000 miles through the mountains with a backpackDoctor: That¢s insane. Really?Me: Yeah; but what I really want to know is, can I keep going? I only have 400 miles left; but, it¢s really the toughest terrain coming up. The White Mountains are very strenuous.Doctor: UmmmmmmMe: If I¢m climbing and moving my legs would that make me more susceptible than doing something like bench presses?Doctor: No, any strain will cause it to pop out. The position of your legs shouldn¢t make a difference. Right now it¢s popping right back in on its own once you relax your abdomen.Me: If it pops out and stays out, should I just push it back in?Doctor: YesMe: What if it doesn¢t go back in.Doctor: Go to a hospital. Immediately.Me: Can I keep Hiking.Doctor: UmmmmmmMe: I mean, I¢ve hiked a hundred miles since I noticed it.Doctor: You should try to avoid straining it.Me: OK sounds good! I¢m going to keep hiking for a while and see how it goes. Ranan came and picked me up after I gorged myself at the China Moon Buffet next to the Vermont Bus Station in White River Junction. These guys are unbelievable in their accommodational behavior. He drove an hour back just to pick me up and take me back to the hostel. I¢m going to have to come back here for sure. I was in the bus station and looking at all the destinations and I kept thinking how easy it would be to just jump on a bus and go to Boston and fly back to Philly or San Diego and just chill out. I¢m having trouble distinguishing the right voice to listen to here. I don¢t want to bail out if I could have done it. I don¢t want to do it as a matter of pride or Machismo. I want to keep going if this is nothing to really worry about; otherwise, I¢ll be lamenting my decision until I come back and finish it. It will be hard to get back to New Hampshire to finish it. To be honest, the odds are probably slim that I finish the rest of this trail. I feel like I should get it while I can and knock out The Whites and as far as I can go into Maine. This is such a hard decision. I guess I¢ll have to sleep on it. It talked to my Mom and she¢s obviously against me continuing on and she brought up a good point. If I strangulate it in the wilderness I could die. If I blow it out I could mess up my ski season and I wouldn¢t be able to teach this year. I just got my Level 2 PSIA and I was really looking forward to teaching this year up in Tahoe. Leave it to Mom to find the one leverage point that could undermine my recklessness. She¢s a darn smart one, my Mom. I think I¢ll hike to Hanover (23 miles) with my full pack and see how I feel. My knee has been really bothering me and if that is acting up too, I may just pack it in for the year.David AKA ¢Mister F. Gentle Spirit¢ Website http://www.wbafinc.org Photos: http://www.photobucket.com/brotherproofVideos: http://www.youtube.com/WBAF1