Date: 2007-05-18
From: Damascus, VA

To: Damascus, VA
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

Happy Birthday Rachael!! (she's seriously OLD now LOL) I hope you had awonderful day today!I don't know about you all, but the season finale for Grey's Anatomy was prettydisappointing. The woods are far more entertaining than anything on the tubeanyways. Woke up at 6:00 a.m., but this time no birds! Ahhh!! I don't want to be amorning person! We layed around, caught up on journaling, and I decided to see if I could get adoctor's appointment today. YES! They could fit me in @ 1:00 p.m. Oneproblem, we're in Abingdon (15 miles away), and I have NO idea how we're gettingto Damascus.The Trail Day program said there is a shuttle from Abingdon, but gives no infoon where or how to catch it. So, at 11:30 a.m., we decided to walk towards mainstreet and see if the red shuttle signs were down there. I'm not too happy atthis point, because I really want to see the doc today and don't want the lackof transportation keeping me from getting my foot checked out.We get to a shopping center intersection and cars are pulling out. Next thingwe know, a vehicle pulls up, a lady rolls down the window and asks where we'reheaded. I say, "Damascus," and they wave for us to hop in! It was a retiredcouple from Georgia, Leonard and Betty, who go to Trail Days every year and whohelp hikers anytime they can!! What are the chances we'd be at thatintersection at that time!? They were super nice, and they got me to the doctor with 15 minutes to spare! ILOVE it when things "randomly" work out.So, I see the doctor, and she was very cool as well. She couldn't believe I hadhiked over 100 miles with my plantar faciitis, but when I told her all of thestretching and careful stepping, etc. I'd been doing, she said I had been doingeverything right! So thanks to all of you (both in my guest book and in person)who gave me that advice!The verdict was this. She said taking 1 or 2 weeks off would make it feelbetter, but it would just come right back, so that really wouldn't be the firstoption in my situation. She gave me a prescription for some beefieranti-inflamatories, and then we talked about a steroid shot.I asked about it, because Diana C-Shot's awesome mom (the nurse practitioner)told me to discuss it.My doc told me that was definitely an option and that it could work for 6 monthsor 1 week, it all depended on my body. She could do it immediately, but then Iwould have to stay off it starting immediately for 3 days.I told her I wanted to try the prescription first, and walk around @ Trail Daysto see how it felt, so I could think about the shot (which I hear is reallypainful). She told me if I wanted it, I could come in Monday morning without anappointment and do it then.Cost of going to see a doctor without the benefit of an insurance co-pay: $103.00Cost of a prescription without the benefit of an insurance discount: $68.00Seeing a doctor that is so cool and understanding of a hiker's specialcircumstaces....priceless.THANK YOU DR. KUDYADI!!So I got my prescription (Indomethacin if anyone was wondering), and we headeddown to Trail Days.We could barely make it 5 feet before we saw someone we knew, or who knew us. Itwas awesome! We ran into Tony Tiger (formerly Lotus) who was the hiker that caught theshuttle with us out of the Smoky's on that horrid snowy day. He had been @ HotSprings too, and was ill, but he's doing good now.We also talked to Chuck Norris and Tigger, and Tigger had been very ill inErwin, but they're both doing great now. I was walking down the sidewalk, and a man comes up to me and says the usual,"You're Certain aren't you?" It was Doctari, a fellow hanger who I've talked toin Hammock Forums and who offered me gear help if I needed! He rode down withHammock Engineer (both from Ohio), so that was very exciting. I had rode downto the hamock hangout last fall with Hammock Engineer, so I was really hoping tofind him too.Well, after all of the socializing, we were STARVING so we went to Sicily's andI got a huge plate of spaghetti and meatballs. mmmmmmm They have a publiccomputer there that you can use for 30 minutes, so we both quickly checked ouremails, and then I needed to go to the RV where John and his students from AlmaCollege were doing the 2nd round of testing.I opted out of the stair-stepper with weighted pack test due to my foot, but Idid everything else. I've lost 14 lbs, my blood pressure (which had been a bithigh) was normal now, and the when John calipered my fat in different places,there was a HUGE difference. Pretty stoked about all that. He told me the 2biggest problems he's seen with his subjects is plantar faciitis and achillestendons problems.His students were all really fun and next time we're tested will be in Maine!So now we're finally headed down to the vendor area, and next thing you know,Gadget and Scribe are there with their parents, Scott and Eileen! We havn't seenthem since Hot Springs and now Scribe's foot is better, and they're startingback from Damascus!The next social stop was seeing Tim and Ms. Janet who we talked to for awhile. And then it happened..I saw hamocking boothes and everything in my worlddisappeared. I was being drawn to them like a tractor beam from the StarshipEnterprise!Persistent braced herself, because she KNEW she was amongst "my people" now, andwould be out numbered! LOL First stop, the Jacks-R-Better booth. "The Jacks" as we all call them (and who Ihad never met before) knew exactly who I was, they both walked up to me with bigsmiles ad gave me a hug!! What nice guys! They were unvieling their knewprototype hammock which stands out because it can be used for stomach sleepers. It's got some really great features (sleeve for a sleeping pad, detachable bugnetting, top loading, and because of it's shape, you lay perfectly flat in it)and these are features many people look for. I (of course) had to lay in it. Then they told me they've had at least 3 sales from people who said they hadread my journal and learned about JRB that way! HOW HILARIOUS IS THAT! I toldthe Jacks I'd need a job when I complete my hike! LOLI talked to them about my pack cover\gear hammock that in hard rain has atendency to soak thru. They explained that Silnylon has a low psi (pounds persquare inch) rating in that it doesn't take much pressure for the water to bleedor "mist" through the material. They said it is most functional as a gearhammock, and is not going to waterproof anything. These 2 guys have ALWAYS been100% honest with me and I 100% trust them and their products. So after some pics, (I tried to get Persistent in the hammock..she refused!She's so stubborn! LOL).Then I saw Karen, Ed Speer's partner, and I went over to chat. By the way, Iwant to make sure I am perfectly clear in that although I personally prefer myHenessy Hammock, there are some other GREAT makers out there, and Ed Speer isone of them. He also wrote the only book I know of about how to Hammock Camp,and it is a good book (I bought it the day I decided to buy my Hennessy).Anywhoo, Karen is also a nurse, and I told her about my foot. She said sheknows a thru-hiker from last year that got the steroid shot in his knee, and heas able to complete his hike. Then she told me of someone else who continuedpushing thru injuries, and even though this guy made it to Mt. Katahdin, he wasunable to climb the last 5 miles because his feet were so screwed up. It was agood conversation for me to have, thanks Karen!And of course, next stop, the Hennessy Hammock booth! I am totally drooling bynow, Persistent is just laughing at me because I'm so excited to see all ofthis. I met and talked with Tom Hennessy, and told him how the one and onlynite on the trail I did not sleep in my hammock, I just didn't sleep. He goes,"Hey, would you be willing to tell that story on tape?" Well, of course I will!So picture this, I am almost bleeding excitement from my pores, Persistent is"having" to endure "the cult" as she calls it, and now I get to give a testimonyabout my hammock that is supposed to be on the Hennessy Hammock website!! LOL Does it freakin get any better here people?So I do my video, and then a man walks up and goes, "I'd recognize that nosering anywhere, you're Certain!" It was the one and only (drum roll please)ATTroll, who is the person that spends countless hours keepingwww.Whiteblaze.net up and running! WOW! I'm amongst celebrity now!What a humble and down to earth guy. He's planning a 2009 thru-hike, and he'sgoing to hang all the way too. He said he wanted to get a pic so he could prove he met me. What? I thinkthat's the other way around man, YOU are the one who allows an entirecyber-community to get its AT fix everyday. Thanks for ALL you do, I would havebeen lost without being able to access information on WB!Then, it was the next icon...Leif from www.trailjournals.com was there with abooth! Leif is one of two people (zipdrive being the other) who created and runthe site you are on right now to read my journal. Again, awesome laid back andhumble guy. We walked up and he goes, "You're Persistent and Certain!" Howcool is that? He actually knew us.We all talked for a bit, we thanked him for all he does too, and then I had onebit of biz to discuss with him. Over in the hammock forums site, we've decidedwe would like to have "hammock" as an option in our journals where you choosehow you slept out on the trail. Currently there's only Shelter and Tent, and Iexplained that each time I had to click on "tent" my hand got a sharp pain and Ifelt nauseated (Persistent is really enjoying this conversation by the way). Leif was like, oh yeah, I've gotta add hammock as well as cowboy camping andtarp too! So he said he'd take care of it!! He even said he might be able togo in to my journal and change all of my "tent" clicks to hammock in 1 step! LOLSeriously, this day has been just a blast. We ran into Scout and Bear Killertoo, who are both doing great.So after walking around, we rode back to Abingdon with Gadget, Scribe and theirparents. We went to dinner, and then went back to our room and crashed. I hada message that Fuzzy Monkey is @ the motel now too!So I get my ice bag and after having walked around today (with no packobviously), my foot was pretty achy, and after considering what others haveshared and just how far I still have left to go, I've decided to get the shot inmy foot. YIKES! I want to be able to know in my heart that I did everrything Icould to continue hiking and at the same time try to find a balace betweenmoving north and taking care of myself. Now, my current issue is this, I have to stay off it for 3 days, I can't stay inAbingdon, but Damascus has no super cheap accomodations other than a hostel,which would require me to walk everywhere to eat and everything. So tomorrow, I need to find someone at Trail Days who might be willing to takeme in for a few days while I recover. I also have a friend who lives inCharlotesville, VA but I have no idea how far away it is from Damascus. Logistics logistics. I've got to believe it will work out, so I can do theright thing for my body.I feel that if I respect and care for this shell that I ask so much of, it willindeed get me to Maine. I have to stay focused, however on the journey not thegoal, and this foot thing (like it or not) is now part of my journey. Like Isaid a few days ago, so much of the mental side of this is being able to findthe energy to solve what initially sems like impossible problems. Lucky for me,I'm pretty good at finding solutions, so we'll see what happens tomorrow. If Ican find help anywhere it will be at Trail Days. I've got that going for me.~Certain