OK, first of all, who in the hell deleted my previous posts? Granted, I haven't said a whole lot, especially lately but, now I have to start from the very beginning. Ah, what the hell, I like to talk.
I had gotten tired to my friend Myrna's smear campaign against me because I have never run the Chicago Marathon. So this year I signed up with the Team 2 End AIDS to train for the marathon. I was so proud of myself and very excited. I ran the first 3 mile timed run and hit a pace of around 12 minutes....ok 12.36 to be exact. It was down hill from their.
You see, before I could start running I had to have my shoulder fixed. I was involved in an accident in Amsterdam that tore a tendon in my right shoulder. Surgery was done and after a 4 week recuperation I was given the go-ahead to run. After the first timing run, we were given our marching orders of when to run and when to cross train during the week. I was just thrilled to start this journey....and then.
I decided that my cross-training of choice would be roller blading. before you go jumping to any conclusions, I did not fall. (I have to insert that because my pride is at stake.) Against all of Russell's objections, I decided that I was going to roller-blade AND get some exercise for two of our dogs: Zara and Zelda. I parked the car, got my blades on and got the dogs out of the car. Everything was good. Now I knew that the over-riding rule was not leashes in my right had as my shoulder was still healing but...I was getting ready to walk over to the parking meter and I was trying to balance the two dog's leashes into my left hand. For a split second I had Zelda's leash in my right hand. She took the moment in time to bolt after a squirrel/bird/blade of grass. Instead of dropping her leash I clamped down. She may only be about 45lbs but she's build like a diesel truck. My arm went straight out and the sound was like a .22 going off. (I didn't fall, remember.) I howled like I had been shot. I dropped to my knees cradling my are. I was terrified that I had popped the screw out of my shoulder.
By the grace of God, I had my cell phone in my pocked because once I was down, I couldn't get up. I called Russell and told him to please, please, please come get me. He jumped in a taxi and the rescue operation was on. He got me to my feet and off to the doctor we went.
I knew in my heart that I had popped that damn screw out of my shoulder. I also knew that I was going to get a dressing down from Dr. Saltzman. After the x-rays he came in and told me that I did not ruin the work he had done on my shoulder, it was actually much worse. That hard tug by Zelda had ripped apart the humerus in my right arm. It was going to be a long recuperation and there was going to be no running involved.
During the recovery period Russell and I took a two week trip to China and brought along his aunt and uncle. (Separate story but a great one.) In a city called Xi'an, the original capital of China, known for the Terra Cotta Warriors, I managed to pick up an infection on my left foot and lower leg. Mind you that this was not Beijing or Shanghai, so language was a definite barrier. We were graced with a hotel staff that had a solid command of English. The hotel doctor came up with a bellman to act as translator. She looked at my foot and made it clear that I needed to go to the hospital. The infected area looked like it could be an out-break of herpes. (Where in the world had that foot been!?!?) The bellman and I went on a little journey. We jumped into a cab and made our way to a local hospital. He walked me through the whole process which was very similar to our Emergency Rooms. I got checked in and we went directly upstairs to see a doctor. She, on the other hand, was far less dramatic about my infection(s). She prescribed an antibiotic cream and sent us on our way. The whole process cost us 50 yuan. That amounts to about 8 bucks.
I was not really confident in the diagnosis. What I really wanted was the advice of my doctor. Problem with that idea was that he's in Italy on vacation. Well, I had to talk to someone. I made a call to the on-call doctor at home. "You are 8000 miles away. I just can't help you." Not one to take no for an answer, I e-mailed him pictures. "OK, you've obviously got an infection going on. It is sort of presenting like shingles but without actually seeing you....." He recommended getting an antibiotic like Bactrim or Clindamycin. I had no luck on that front and we headed to Shanghai.
The infection had now turned purple and was very painful. I decided that going home was the best idea. I just didn't want to lose a foot to an infection that was getting out of hand. The worst part of it was we were in one of the most incredible hotels I have ever stayed in. I was going to miss out on soooo much. Oh well, back home I went. Saw the doctor and was given a 10 round of antibiotics. I have to say, I'm healing slower that I expected. My guess is that the infection was actually able to take a solid hold of my foot. I've done a week of the drugs and it's still purple and a little sore. It does look a little better but I still can run because it has formed a big scab that I know would rub off during a run.
I ended up having to make a tough decision. I'm not going to run the Chicago Marathon. What I am going to do is run the Honolulu Marathon in December. If I start training next week, I'll only have missed a couple of training runs. I should be able to work myself into the group easily. It will also give me additional time to raise money. Oh, and we get to go to Hawaii, one of my favorite places in the world.We'll get there, I'll run the marathon and then spend a week recuperating. How perfect is that?!?!
So, as of Monday, expect to be hit up for money whenever you come into Zspa/Zane +Zara's pet boutique. You can give me spare change, you can attach a donation to your purchase or you can go to my fund-raising web-site: http://afc.aidschicago.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=1092&frsid=17541. AIDS research is cause near and dear to my heart and no money means no research. In these days of budget cuts and desperation money needs to be raised wherever it can. Come in and give us a hand.
Thank you
John Ira
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