MRI results

I went this morning to meet with my doctor about my MRI and how my foot is doing. I have had an increase of pain this week (in a different spot) so I was eager to talk to him. He came in and told me that the MRI showed the bone was fine.. no fracture! It did show some soft tissue swelling around the tendon next to that bone and a bone bruise on the bone that the metatarsal attaches to. He was slightly baffled and not sure what to tell me. He gave me some suggestions on what to do and how to go forward with walking and on into jogging. He told me to not wear the boot anymore since that might actually be making things worse (worse! can you believe that? the very thing I was told would help was actually making it worse).

I came home and wasn't sure how to feel, the good news is no fracture, the bad news is we don't know the source of the pain. After talking to Brent he told me this: (and I think I agree) in the x-rays I had taken you could see the stress fracture.. in the MRI, nothing. I had been given a priesthood blessing and said countless prayers (not to mention the prayers on my behalf) and Brent said it probably healed and that the Lord blessed it as I had asked Him to.

So for the next week I am to be without my boot and I can walk up to a half mile, slowly increasing to a brisk walk then continuing on to a mile. If I can walk a brisk mile without pain then I can try a slow jog for a half mile and so forth. I really am not sure how it is going to go because as of now I still have pain when I put weight and walk on that foot but I hope that it will all go away and go back to normal. I don't want to even think about the alternative (which would be more tests and more money and more more more).

..

I haven't heard anything about my MRI. I thought I would hear something yesterday and didn't. When I called the doctor's office at 4:30 they were already closed. So I still don't know what the MRI revealed, I kind of think that if it had shown something serious I probably would have gotten a call quickly, so maybe it's a good thing. My foot has been feeling much better these past few days and that gives me hope that the fracture is healing well.

We had a nice day today. The weather was gorgeous and sunny so we joined several friends for a BBQ in a nice park and had a wonderful time. It was some much needed fun family time. Jacob had so much fun playing with the other kids and playing on the playground. It is so much fun to watch him grow and and I love him so much.

Right now we are watching Speed Racer - it is silly and must be meant for 13 year-olds.

I give up... anybody know of a tree that money grows on?

After more than a week of staying off of my foot as much as is possible for me to do, my foot is still hurting me. So I am going to get the MRI. I have a lingering fear that they won't tell me anything I already don't know and that I will just be adding $500 to our already large medical debt. But I am doing this just so that I will definitely know that nothing more serious is going on and that if there is something then I can get it taken care of and healed properly.

::sigh::

Short update

I had have a nice weekend listening to conference which I always enjoy. That also meant that I was able to take it easy at home and have Brent help with the boys. I was hoping my foot would be doing better than it is by now but it is only better while wearing the cast. When I'm without it I still have a significant amount of pain and I can't walk normally. I'll be getting a temporary handicap sticker for parking that will last a month, if I can ever make it to the DMV (I have to go alone as they close before Brent gets home). I've been told to all but completely stay off of it this week and I got crutches (I hate crutches) yesterday and used them while I went to two stores. Today my arms and underarms are already sore and I can tell it will only get worse.

After a week of taking it easy and keeping my weight off of my foot, if I am still in pain then I will end up needing the MRI to see the extent of damage and what else needs to be done. I'm still holding out with a little faith and hope that I can avoid it (I would be required to pay 20% of the bill which would be fairly large).

Today I went to the gym and did my first workout since getting my cast/diagnosis. I stayed on the stationary bike for 30 minutes while my trainer simultaneously gave me various upper body exercises to do. It felt so good to work up a sweat again! However, it also made me realize how weak I am as some of the arm exercises hurt or were too hard.. but that is the whole point of training - to find your weaknesses and get better.

Good grief!

Ok.. so if you know me you know that I often get thwarted in my effort to do just about anything. Take today for yet another example. I just finished writing my blog about how well I'm doing with my fitness and weight loss goals and now there has been a wrench thrown into the picture. You need to understand some history first; I started consistently running in January and starting about the end of January or the beginning of February (I'm not sure which) I would get a sharp pain on the top of my left foot. After a day or so it would go away and then come back after almost every run. The pain was dull sometimes and sharp at other times, even to the point of making me roll my foot to compensate and avoid the pain. Well, I have a lot of aches and pains I don't talk about (to avoid driving myself and everyone around me nuts) and so I was hoping this one would just go away like some of my other pains. Yesterday I did a killer workout with my personal trainer at 24 hour fitness and then at home I ran 2 miles on the treadmill (he made me promise I would). Today I woke up and my foot hurt so bad that I was limping, wincing and could barely walk on it. So I decided to go to a podiatrist to have it checked out. After examining my foot he had 3 xrays taken to confirm what he thought it was. I have a stress fracture! It is on the bone that connects to my second toe. He ordered me to wear an aircast for the next 4 weeks and the only exercise I'm allowed to do is stationary bike or swimming. If the pain doesn't alleviate by Monday I need to go in for an MRI to really see the extent of damage. I am praying I won't need to. He did say it was good that I went in when I did because I would have eventually fractured it completely if I continued aggrivating it (the exercising was keeping it from healing).

I was in tears by the time I got into the car and called Brent. You have to understand how depressing this is. I am in the zone! I am in a good pattern and doing well and to have this happen is just rotten! I spent a good part of the afternoon depressed, crying and feeling sorry for myself. After talking to my trainer and getting some motivation from him and after taking a nap I felt a little better.

Here is a picture of my new foot apparel (it looks like a fancy moon boot to me):

Workout update

When I purchased my treadmill from Nordic Track I also purchased the "Loose weight with Jillian" iFit card 3 pack. Each card has 24 programed workouts (8 weeks worth) and Jillian coaches/motivates you during each one (the card is programed to adjust your speed and incline and it works without you doing a single thing besides pushing the start button).


- Jillian Michaels... the mean-as-a-bear trainer on The Biggest Looser (my favorite reality tv series) -

Today I did the last workout from the level 1 card. Level 1 was a good place to start but overall was easier than I expected and I hope to get more of a challenge from level 2. I work out 4-5 times per week switching off between a treadmill workout and weight resistance training with some dvds I have. Here is a list of what I have accomplished over the past 10 weeks;

• I have lost 10 pounds
• I have overcome a weight plataeu
• I can now jog an 11 minute mile (I started out with a 14 minute mile)
  
• I haven't gone down a size yet, but my pants definitely fit me better (and go on much easier, even straight from the dryer)
• I am feeling much improved, physically, from where I used to be.

It is exciting to see my work pay off. I know that if I got my diet under better control I would see results even faster, but I just don't have the self control for that yet. Food is a constant battle for me. I do well getting in my fruits and veggies and I eat healthy snacks and well rounded meals.. it is the sweets that get me! They are my down fall.

I have to give a shout out to my friend Angela (AGshorty). She and I are long-distance workout buddies and it is so wonderful to have someone to go through this with and to check in with every day. It has motivated and strengthened me so much. Thank you, Angela!

We are going to California for the Turner reunion on June 19-20. That is 11 weeks away (80 days to be exact) and I'm using that as a short term goal and hope to loose another 10 pounds by then. I average a 1 pound weight loss every 10 days and I hoping to rev that up to 1 pound per week. When I reach that goal I will be just under what I weighed when I got pregnant with Daniel. Reaching your pre-pregnancy weight is always a BIG milestone so I'm looking forward to that.