dave and i awoke all too early that next morning to make it to UCLA. i was immediately taken back to the pre-op area, amidst all the other nervous nellies awaiting their surgical destinies. i wasn't psyched. i was nervous, but not as scared as i was 2 months ago when i was in that exact same situation.
the very nice, albeit inept pre-op nurse proceeded to blow my first IV, and had to call in reinforcements to start another. that's never fun. i try to hold off telling people of my occupation until after i have my IVs in, since it adds some undue pressure to the whole situation. but, this time they were treating me like an average joe, and there's only so much i can take of that, especially in my own environment. so, really, her blowing my first line was my own fault. not in any way, shape or form, but hey. giving her the benefit of the doubt.
they rolled me back to IR (interventional radiology) and got started with ultrasound. as it all turns out, the bubble of fluid is very flat, over a wide area, so her ultrasound tool would compress it, so she had a hard time finding it. when the doc came in, he took over and found it immediately. since i'd only talked to my other doc over the phone, i was completely unaware of the actual location of the fluid, and i assumed it was where i'm having all the pain. turns out, nope. my pain sits below the bottom side of the old incision. the fluid pack is all the way at the top of the old incision. this means no drain. proceeded to my regular doc's office, where he agreed and decided it was time to send me to an ortho/sports med doc.
had my first appt with him last week. he's puzzled by what's going on, and the amount of pain i'm having. he was very straightforward in the plan, stating that since i'd not yet received any sort of rehab since all this started, he wanted to start there. he didn't know what i'd be able to get out of it, since i already have a lot of strength to that leg, and strength isn't really an issue to begin with. but he wanted to try the least restrictive measure first. understandable. irritating but understandable. i will begin my 8 sessions of PT shortly. he also warned me that if PT didn't help, he would want to go back in, and complete the exact same procedure i've already had done, complete with drains. in the back of my mind, i'm pretty sure it's going to come to that. and at this point, my irritation stems from wanting the damn thing just fixed. if i'm going to just have to be in pain for the rest of my athletic life, i'll be one pissed off mofo, but at least i can start to move forward from that. if it can be fixed, well then fix the damn thing already. being up in the air with it all is infuriating. same ole, same ole....
dave has been taking me to the last couple of sunday morning ocean swims, and i've gotta say, they could've gone better. the first time, i had some seasickness and found myself burping up some stomach acid, which isn't pleasant. but hell, i finished the mile. the next week, i found myself completely vomiting in the middle of the ocean. i've NEVER had this issue, and i panicked a bit. needless to say i didn't finish that swim.
about a month ago i was contemplating oceanside for 2011. dave and i talked about it, we looked it up and it sounded great. but i didn't have the money ready. so 6 days later i logged on all ready to pull the trigger, and it was closed. i was so disheartened. i waited for dave to come home, and i'd already worked myself up to the point of tears. i was completely bummed. i bitched and complained to him for the next hour. he finally said that if it made me happy, i needed to take one of the very high dollar corporate slots still available, for more than double the price of a regular slot. it wasn't really an option to me, but when he put it that way, it made total sense. sure more than $600 is a lot of money for a race, too much probably, but it's brought me something to plan for. i proceeded to email 3 of my closest friends/teammates about my decision, and their response (or lack thereof) was very telling. it solidified my decision to find a new coach.
i went out for nautica malibu, to help eve and max out, and to do the swim leg of the relay as i'd signed up for. it was the first time i got to do an open water swim without the need to vomit. the difference from last year was amazing, and bittersweet. last year i was injured from overtraining in very bad shoes, and bummed that i wasn't able to perform in my A race. this year was much worse, obviously. but, i'm alive, and i got to swim. for that i'm thankful. here's a pic of max, eve and apparently shamu race morning!
it was a very crowded race, just as last year, but the energy was awesome, just as last year. i was bummed that we didn't have a pre-race team meeting, i thought the stretching session we did last year was really cool. but, i was just there to help in any way i could. i was able to see some triclub friends, and cheer on everyone i knew, and some i didn't. dave decided to stay home so he could get his long run done, and it turns out neither of us were happy with that. race morning isn't the same without him.
the next weekend, dave had a race with a co-worker down in san diego. at the last minute we decided to get a hotel and go down the night before. the minute we realized we would setting our alarm for 2am, we got in the car and headed south.
it was a beautiful morning, a bit cold though. very overcast, but after this summer in LA, it's something we're used to. dave had a great race. this is him coming out of T1. he'd rode 50 miles the day before, and ran a half marathon the day after. impressive. i'd safely say he's on his way to IMAZ.
i, on the other hand, am a bit tired of being a tri-wife. i love dave, and i'm so thankful to be able to be there to cheer him on, but i want to race. i want to run. at most of the races he's competed in this season that i've had to watch, i've figured out how to get into transition to help him and just be with him. i've volunteered. vineman i was a body marker, and actually had a great time. this time i volunteered to be a 'wanderer' and walk around transition to help. i stood on the bike course and yelled at the athletes to slow down before the dismount line. the weather continued, which was actually a blessing in disguise, because on our way to the car the sun finally came out and it was seriously strong.
i'm currently hunting for a permanent job position at my hospital. keep your fingers crossed.
i've almost completed my halloween decorations at the house, much to dave's annoyance. mama jones is coming to town next weekend, so that means i need to get my ass in gear and get the spare bedroom livable.
life is moving forward. in some ways good, and in others not so much. what can ya do?
