Date: 2014-09-08
From: Rangeley, ME

To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Michael and I spent about two and a half weeks in Maine resting, icing, compressing, elevating, and babying my foot in hopes of returning to the trail. After no relief, we decided I should see a podiatrist. At a restaurant in Rangeley, I asked our server where the nearest podiatrist is. She, in turn, asked Randy (we think he's the owner), who not only gave us an answer, but also set us up with Greg. Greg is a trail angel who drove us from Rangeley to Farmington (the nearest town with rental cars), 45 minutes away! So, Randy and Greg, if you're reading this, thank you again! We'll definitely return to 45th Parallel Barbecue next time we're in Rangeley!We rented a car to drive to a bigger city to see a podiatrist. Before we left Farmington, we happened upon-of all things-a podiatrist's office! Although I didn't have an appointment, I thought I'd at least give seeing the doctor a try! To our relief, she agreed to see me on short (actually NO) notice. I had a copy of the X-ray that was performed earlier at the Rangeley Medical Clinic. After she looked at it, my heart sank as the words filled the room: "You need to go home and get your foot seen about now. I can't tell much from the X-ray, but I can tell that you have a bone injury. If you continue the hike, it'll only get worse, and eventually, you'll have to have surgery. I'm putting a walking boot on you. Go home and get an MRI."With many thoughts and emotions and a few tears, I very reluctantly agreed with Michael that we'd drive our rental car to Boston Airport and fly home to have a more thorough exam. As we were driving through Portsmouth, New Hampshire, my persistence (Michael calls it stubbornness) to get well and continue our hike led us to another foot specialist for a second opinion in hopes that she'd see something different.She said she didn't see a bone injury on the X-ray, and that I probably just had a pinched nerve. She did warn me, though, that X-rays are not completely reliable, and that there could be a problem lurking in an area of my foot not visible on the image or that there could be an injury too small to show up. Her method of treatment was a huge cortisone injection in the top of my foot (Yikes!), and rest for the next four days. She said if I was still in pain after that, then I should return home and have an MRI done. Michael and I were ecstatic to have a ray of hope!We decided that since we had a car and time, we'd make the best of it! We had a four day driving/wheelchair excursion around New England and New York! Here are some of the things we did while "making lemonade with our lemons":-went to the former home of Robert Frost in Derry, NH-drove through the Presidential Range/White Mountain National Forest in Sargents, NH-visited the National Baseball Hall of Fame Museum in Cooperstown, NY-saw Niagara Falls in NY-drove through the Adirondack Mountains in NY-saw the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, NY-took the Lake Champlain Car Ferry from NY to VT-watched the sun set at Acadia National Park near Bar Harbor, MEYou can find pictures under "Photos" to the left.I continued to experience pain, burning, discomfort, etc. in my foot during this time, so we agreed to fly home and have my foot examined by Dr. Waldrop, my podiatrist in Birmingham. Although I'd rather have been on the AT, surprisingly, I had a great deal of peace about leaving. Michael being so kind, flexible, and also at peace about it played a major role, but the main reason was that I knew that God was/always is in control, and that this hike (or attempted hike) was in His hands, and clearly not mine.We flew into Nashville, where Michael's dad picked us up and took us to his house, where we stayed for the next few days. During that time, we borrowed Michael's stepmother's car to drive to my doctor's appointment and car dealerships (I'll explain that later), and enjoyed visiting with them and his siblings, Chloe, Nathan, and Zack.Dr. Waldrop didn't see any damage based on the X-ray, but he, like the other doctors, said that X-rays don't always show everything. Instead of an MRI, he recommended that I have a nuclear medicine bone scan performed. His nurse called Michael a few hours after with the results. I was in shock when what I thought was one slow-healing compressed nerve suddenly became two stress fractures-one in the third metatarsal and one in the fourth metatarsal. She explained that I'll have to wear a walking boot for eight weeks, during which time I am to stay off my feet as much as possible. So, that's where we are now. One and a half weeks in the boot down, and six and a half to go!If it's the Lord's Will, Michael and I will return to the AT this spring and hike Northbound to where we had to stop, completing our hike. In the meantime, we have rearranged our "year off from work" adventures. Originally, we were going to hike the AT, go on a mission trip, travel in a camper, then go back to the "real world" of jobs, cars, houses, and bills. Now, we still hope to do those things, just in a different order. That leads me to the car dealership that I previously mentioned.Because we sold our vehicles before the hike, and since we planned to eventually get a camper for traveling, Michael and I purchased a Ram Promaster in Nashville. While I'm resting my foot, he is going to convert it to a camper. We also picked up a Honda Grom that we'll transport in the camper to use as a shuttle vehicle for hiking, kayaking, and camping. As an industrial engineer, Michael is enjoying researching about and building the camper that will eventually become our home for the next few months.I'm so thankful for the time Michael and I did spend on the AT, for the friends we made along the way, and for our family members' and friends' support and encouragement. Thank you to:-all the trail angels who provided us with food, rides, toiletries, and kindness-Mike for picking us up from the airport at nearly midnight-Gina for letting us borrow your car-Chloe for loaning me your cute zebra-stripped crutches :-)-Nathan and Zack for loaning us your music room and futon to sleep in/on-Michael's parents and my parents for giving us a place to stay while we get the camper ready-Bud, Joyce, and Geoff for the "Welcome Home" dinner-Cherri for planning to provide us with trail magic in NH. We'll be back!-everyone who checked on us-everyone who prayed for usI could never thank my amazing husband for the support he's given me. He had to practically force me get off the trail, then he had to convince me go to the doctor. I'd probably still be hiking with a swollen, stress-fractured foot that would've become a swollen, broken foot, if not for his persistence to get me well. He wanted to complete our hike like I did, but he never complained about having to stop. He never complained about having to change our plans. He never complained about having to push me in a wheelchair, either! He's helped me to know that it's okay to be hurt, and that it will get better. I'm so blessed to have Michael as a hiking, camping, traveling, and life-long partner. Michael, you're my best friend and I love you so much!Most importantly, I'm thankful to God. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, "In everything give thanks. . ." Honestly, I found that difficult to do when we initially stopped hiking. However, through time, prayer, and God's awesomeness, I am now able to be thankful for everything that happened and for everything that didn't happen during the past few months. I know now, more than ever before, that God is in control. According to Proverbs 19:21, "Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." We're saying that we're going to travel in our camper, go on a mission, trip, and then complete our Appalachian Trail hike for mental health research, but what the future holds is ultimately up to the Lord. And I am okay with that!