Appointment Today!

On Sunday it will be two months since I took my first serious tumble while running.  And my right index finger STILL hurts.  I finally have a doctor's appointment today.  I'm a little nervous that I'll have to cancel since I have a huge work meeting at 10, and my appointment is at 1:30, but I think I'll be able to do both. 

One of the cool things about my running buddies is that I've gotten to know a lot of different people.  Which means all kinds of free advice for all of us.  One friend manages a paint account for a large home improvement store.  One is a teacher.  One has his own UPS store.  One stays home with her kids.  Several techies.  Lots of doctors.  And tons of lawyers.

Well, one running friend who is a doctor gave me the referral to the doc I'm supposed to see today (my ortho's office onlly has one hand guy, and he's not seeing new patients until June). 

Even better, when I was running on Sunday, I was running with a guy who does a lot of bone work and actually testifies frequently as an expert witness.  After we crossed the finish line, he looked at my finger and asked me a few questions.  He told me about what kind of fracture he thinks it is, but he said only an xray will confirm that.

But all that really matters is that he said eventually, it will be fine.  I might have to wear a splint religiously (I've been kind of half-hearted about it lately).  I might need surgery.  I might need PT.  But eventually, he thinks it will be as good as new. 

I can't do pull-ups, but right now, the thought of even attempting one just makes my hand ache.  I can't imagine trying to grip a bar with that much force.  So hopefully after today, I'll reallly be on the road to recovery.  That will be nice! 

Especially since today was the start of my "back to normal pace running" plan.  I ran a few miles with a friend, then ran solo to the SMU track for some repeats.  800 meters, 400 meters.  One of each.  Yikes!  They felt tough, but speedwork should.  But only one of each!  Wow, I need to do a lot of work.  I think I could have done more, but I might have slowed down a bit (and I was already slower than I should have been), but I didn't want to overdo it.  Playing it smart...