February 23, 2012

The Worst News Ever

Today, my doctor said the words every runner prays they'll never hear.

I have a stress fracture.

He followed that up by telling me I have to use crutches for at least 4 weeks. I am now completely useless around the house and I have no idea how I'm going to manage the monstrous campus of parking lots and buildings where I work.


The doc also said I should focus on the short-term and recovery, and pursue running goals "later in life." What is that supposed to mean? He said fractures like this typically heal in 6-12 weeks, but everyone's experience is different. 

I saw my MRI and he showed me the tiny hairline going across the top of my femur where it enters the hip socket. He didn't give it a name, but the Google tells me it's a compression stress fracture of the hip, which is the least complicated of stress fractures that occur in this area, and usually doesn't require surgery like some fractures could.

My MRI looked like the top image in this group. But not all red and nasty like that.
It was a tiny white line that you can barely see. 
I'm upset and freaking out, but I have been having hip problems for a while now, so I have barely run in 2 months. Sadly, I'm almost a little bit used to not running. My biggest problem is that I can hardly do anything, especially now that we know what the problem is. The doctor says I can use the recumbent bike on the lowest setting with no resistance, and not to pedal quickly enough to break a sweat. (Then what's the point?) He also said I can swim, but I can't kick. Um, what? So basically that leaves me doing nothing for AT LEAST 4 weeks. After that, we'll do another MRI, but not another arthrogram, thank God, and see if it's getting any better. 

Until then, I just wait. 

Thanks so much to all of you who have called, texted, tweeted and commented. Your words of encouragement mean more than you know. I'm trying not to throw myself too many pity parties because I know things could be much worse, and in the grand scheme of things, this isn't that serious. It's not like I was training for Boston or anything. I'm trying to keep a healthy perspective, but thanks for indulging me and letting me be sad for a while. This just sucks, and it's going to get harder before it gets easier. 

3 comments:

  1. Oh Anna, how disappointing. I'm so sorry you are so injured. I kow this will surely bring many more frustrations as you hobble around but I AM glad to hear its not something that will require surgery, just time.
    It's okay to be sad and mopey a bit too. You are hurting and you just received bad news. BUT. But there is a light at the end of this tunnel. You WILL be better! And we'll be here to encourage you along the way.
    Promise.
    *hugs*

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  2. Good thing you don't need surgery. Give yourself time to heal and you will be back to normal in no time!

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  3. Just found your blog - I live in Little Rock and blog as well. Nice to see another Arkansas blogger. So sorry to hear about your injury. I'm on the do-not-run list right now as well due to heel spur, so I understand your frustration. I go through many crying spurts and mini-meltdowns.

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