Date: 2007-05-21
From: Charlottesville, VA

To: Charlottesville, VA
Miles today: 0.0

Waking up in a house this morning (and with the adorable dog Chance, who slept by my side all nite long) was a little strange. I am sleeping next to a glass sliding window, so guess what, the freakin birds fooled me into believing I was out on the trail, and I awoke at 6:00 a.m. I managed to go back to sleep though.My friend, Karen's, family all left today, and first thing this morning both her and Cindy were on the phone trying to pull some strings and get me into a doctor up here. First try, the earliest I could be seen was Wednesday morning. Hey, you take what you can get, it is beyond anyone's control. A little later, their neighbor, Judy, came over and Cindy asked if she could recommend a good doctor. Judy goes, "Oh, my doctor is wonderful, and I'll call them right now." She calls and gets me (a total stranger) an appointment for TODAY at 3:15 p.m.! Wow, talk about people helping people. I thanked her profusely (and she even called later in the evening to check on me to see how it went!) THANKS JUDY, CINDY, AND KAREN!!!So the morning was spent taking care of some other trail-related issues, like calling REI to make sure they received my 2 pairs of shoes (they can't confirm yet), calling the pharmacy in Damascus and asking that they mail the remainder of my prescription here to my friends' house, calling a local outfitter to see if they carried dry bags, etc. Amazing how much stuff I really needed to get done, so it is another reason I should be thankful that the timing has worked out this way.Cindy takes me to the doctor, and he is a really great guy. At first, he said, "I'm not sure I want to put a shot in your foot," but after a bit more explanation of what I'm doing, he had no problem with it. He was very curious, asked questions about bears and how I slept each nite, etc. So it was time...time to get a shot in my foot. YIKES! Dr. Sawyer said to me, "I can't believe you're actually asking for this." (not a joke!) So he knumbed the surface of my foot with this really cold spray, and he said he would slowly insert the needle, inject the knumbing stuff, push the needle in a bit futher, inject the knumbing stuff, etc., and do this over and over again until he was deep enough. He asked me to tell him if it hurt, so he could back off and let it go knumb first. (My friend, Cindy got pics of all this by the way...probably not for the faint hearted though when they go up).I have to be totally honest here. Getting blood drawn is more painful than this was. When he was finished, I actually thought he had to do an additional shot, and he didn't! I was totally amazed, and it was because the steroid and knumbing medications were mixed in the same shot. I didn't realize that. Cool huh?After a few minutes, it was all over. He told me to continue taking the Indomethacin and that it would probably start hurting tonight. THANKS DR. SAWYER!!!!! He said to take a few days to rest and then get back out on that trail! He even asked for my journal website, so if you're reading this, I truly appreciate your willingness to treat me. After it was done, Cindy took me to an outfitters, I got the dry bags I needed, and then it was time for some Ben n Jerry's icecream! Coffee Coffee Buzz Buzz Buzz....man what a perfect flavor!!! LOLWalking on it at this point wasn't painful, I'm just stiff, which happens when you take zeros. I got back to the house, got to get my craving fix (Caprese Salad, tomato, fresh mozzerella, balsmic vinegar, basil), and I spent a lot of time getting some things fixed in my journal so the stats are correct. I also got pictures attached to the entries as far as the when the pics are uploaded through 4.11.I thought about Persistent today, and how I figure she saw the wild ponies on the Grayson Highlands. I still feel pretty positive that I still have time to make it to Katahdin even with this healing period. It is afterall why I gave myself 7 months. I also posted a request for a ride to Damascus on Whiteblaze for next Friday or Saturday, just in case someone is going that direction. We'll see what happens. I'll get back down there one way or another, so I'm not that worried about it either.I can't wait to get back out there, that's for sure. I will say the doc was right though, the foot is pretty sore tonight, and I've been sitting on my arse, icing it down. It still isn't as bad as I thought it would be though (or maybe I have a ridiculously high pain threshold, but probably not). I feel positive, and tomorrow I'm planning on getting my guidebook out and figuring out my next leg so I can resupply up here before I leave. I'm so glad I am so excited to get back out. I do not feel discouraged, I do not feel fearful, I do not feel down. It helps to be around wonderful friends, and Cindy and Karen are definitely that.I am excited to redefine the "way" I do my journey, now that I'll be hiking alone essentially. I am going to try some different techniques to make more use of my daylight, like getting up maybe at 6:00 instead of 6:30, making dinner in late afternoon and then hiking a few more miles, etc. I know I was right on the cusp of starting to do good miles each day, so I know I'll probably not be able to go right out my first day and do 20 miles, but I'm now shooting for no single digit days, and preferably nothing below 13, but as always, my body will dictate this.So that's that folks. My journey (obstacles and all) continues. I am still focused, still excited, still wanting to hike, and I am learning patience, flexibility, and I am learning to let go of the (false notion) that I actually have control over anything. Tomorrow is a day for healing and spending time with good friends. ~Certain