My Right Foot

This summer has been a tough one. April 21st, while enjoying a staff event at the indoor bike-park JoyRide 150, I broke my foot. I didn’t realize I’d broken it, though, assuming(wanting) it be just a bad sprain. The next day I went to a local clinic. There I was told what I wanted to hear: “nah, not broken, just a sprain. No need for x-rays. Stay off of it for a few days, should be back to normal in a month.” Six weeks later, it wasn’t back to normal. I started to see a sports-focused massage therapist. After two weeks, he suggested I get x-rays taken, just to be sure.

I had indeed fractured the navicular bone in my right foot. The orthopaedic doctor I saw said that the bone had healed and thus, was in-operable. His strategy was to stay off the bike, take lots of anti-inflammatories and give myself warm-water massages. While the anti-inflammatories helped greatly, I knew I needed more than just time off the bike.

So, I went to Athelete’s Care Sports Medicine Centre and saw a sports medicine doctor. More x-rays, an ultrasound and more questions. I started seeing Lindsay; a physiotherapist who was keen to help me get back on the bike and out of pain. It would be a very slow endeavour, frustrating for myself and her.

I can now ride the road bike nearly pain free. While I am able to clip out–both mtb and road pedals–standing on the pedals is still painful. Walking up and down stairs is no longer a problem, so too is standing on my feet at work for 10+hrs. But I still walk with a bit of a limp and am having to train myself to walk properly; I guard my foot and roll to the outside when my foot strikes the ground.

Yesterday I got the MRI results back. Basically, there is still a bunch of damage in there but it’s not operable. There are some surgical solutions–like plasma/platelet injections–but their odds of success are about 50/50 at best. So, now the doctor wants a CT scan to get even more defining images of what’s going on. In the mean time it’s daily exercises, more anti-inflammatories, orthotics, heat, compression stocking, tape while riding and rest.

While I did go mountain-biking last week for the first and only time since March, it was on soft, easy terrain. After the doctor suggested any impacts like jumping could cause me lots of damage and set me back a great deal, I acknowledged to myself that mountain-biking is out for the foreseeable future. If I crash or have to put my foot down in a hurry, under load and awkwardly, I could really mess things up. The riding in Colorado and Texas is rocky and technical; prime territory for re-injury.

This has been tough. There have been days of unbearable pain and discomfort. There have been many days of frustration and disappointment. Yesterday’s MRI result was another of those. I have cried, more than once; and not often for pain but because I can’t ride. It’s affected my mental health and my social life. But there have also been triumphs, I see them everyday and over time. Lindsay’s efforts are paying off and I am hugely thankful to her. All of my friends, co-workers, customers and fellow cyclists have offered tremendous support and encouragement.

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We all have challenges in life. Facing and overcoming them is what defines us. For we control only our actions in response to those challenges. And I will overcome this challenge, as I have so many others in my life.  One pedal stroke at a time.