I am here in the land of the injured athlete. I know this is merely a visit, I will not stay forever, but that is little consolation at the height of summer when I want to be swimming in open water and outdoor pools, climbing hills on my bike with Mr. BP and my friends, and running on the dirt while taking in mountain views. But something stepped in to say "Not today, sister, not today."
I have a rib injury, caused by a bout of excessive sneezing. It wasn't a fall down the trail or off my bike, it wasn't a tree root that snagged me on a run, but a stupid, unexplained, extended sneeze frenzy on a Monday afternoon. As it wound down, I joked to Mr. BP "Can you die of sneezing, because I feel like that is a real possibility, here." Of course we had no idea I actually injured myself, then. Everything seemed normal once the sneezing stopped. The next morning, I had an abnormally high HR during track, which clued me in that something wasn't right. I backed off the intensity - WAY off - and finished the workout but I knew something must be going on. That night I walked the dog and I started to feel a stitch in my right side. Odd.
I woke up Wednesday morning and the stitch was still there. It got progressively worse throughout the day. I Dr. Googled myself and came up with possible gallstones or pulmonary embolism. This is a perfect example of why you should not Dr. Google yourself; there are trained professionals who can come up with the correct answer much more quickly. I figured if this thing didn't calm down by the next morning, we'd better seek one out.
Sure enough, there was no calming. In fact, there was no sleep due to the pain, which overnight had radiated to my back and shoulder. I knew as soon as Mr. BP woke up, we'd get ready to head out. I reached out to my Dr. friend to see if we should go to Urgent Care or ER, given my symptoms. We settled on Urgent Care, also because we are in the middle of insurance confusion with the switch at my husband's employer. I was reluctant to eat breakfast in case I'd need to head to a hospital and be admitted for emergency surgery (another example of why checking with Dr. Google is silly) but I had some oatmeal and took a shower. The shower was non-negotiable in case I WAS admitted, it could be days before I got another one.
The Urgent Care staff was great. We had to go two, because the first one informed us even though it says they are still in-network, people are being charged because it is NO LONGER in network. To be safe, we drove across town to the center that was definitely still in-network. Didn't take long to be seen, they went through a lot of questions and did a physical exam and came up with the issue pretty quickly: stuck rib/pulled muscle, costochondritis. And based on the timeline, it was the sneezing and then it was exacerbated by running. Take ibuprofen, use a heating pad, stretch often and you should see improvement in 1-2 weeks, recommend rest 2-3 weeks.
Are you f*cking kidding me? I can fall down an entire flight of stairs and be ok, I can trip and somersault down Bergen Peak with just one bruise to show for it, but SNEEZING is what actually takes me out? And right as I'm in the height of training for Wisconsin, which is only 7 weeks away! Of course, I'm very relieved the pain wasn't due to anything worse, and grateful that I didn't have to go to the hospital or have surgery. But this diagnosis hurt, and as we walked to the car, I stopped to sob in the parking lot. The cruel irony was how much worse the crying made the pain feel... but even so I couldn't quit, as I saw my season washing away with my tears.
Rib injuries are difficult. You use those muscles for so many things. I'm now just trying not to laugh, cry, breathe too deep (or sometimes, at all!), sneeze or cough. Also, no bending, twisting, reaching, pulling, carrying. Yikes. Sleep has been upright (no laying down, too painful) and fairly intermittent. I am VERY GRATEFUL to the makers of Aleve and Biofreeze, that's what I've been taking and they are a huge help. Yesterday I was able to do a short, very slow walk and today felt a lot more normal, so we went further, HOORAY. I took a friend's advice and got a manicure and pedicure - I hadn't done that in years, and it felt super nice. I've been catching up with friends on the phone. I'm writing. I'll make progress on new nephew's baby blanket. So. All is not lost.
I won't make any decisions about the season before next Sunday. And while the negative thoughts keep coming, I WILL NOT sit down and have tea with them in my head. I'm getting better at just ushering them out the back door. This is actually quite exhausting, but with all this practice I can see the improvement. I'm just going to keep the faith and do my best to focus on the positive. My nails look great, it's fun to talk to my friends, I get to catch up on my writing, I get to start doing our budget for the rest of the year. This, too, shall pass.
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"Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart." - Proverbs 3:3, NIV
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