It’s been a while since I update this blog thingie. That’s partly because I work a lot and partly because the whole typing thing was impacted for 8 weeks due to my hand being in a cast. So here’s what happened:
1). May 18th, 2013 during a group ride returning from watching the Amgen Tour of California I got in an accident and hurt my thumb

2). May 19th I swam Sharkfest with my hand taped up because I figured it was just jammed up – no biggie

3). May 20th I got to the doctor, demure on getting an x-ray, am told to go get an x-ray, end up in a cast.The cast was waterproof so I could swim and run and spin and I did

4). June 7th I decide I need to check my cast and get new one because it’s sore under the cast and my thumb has too much movement (why I waited that long I will never know!)

5). June 7th I return to the doctor, ready to get the cast off – yay! Cast is removed, thumb is x-rayed- bad news… the bone slipped and I need surgery so they can pin it together. I am very, very sad. She wants to do the surgery the following Friday, June 14th but I have a 1/2 marathon to run so I beg to put it off until Monday and she agrees.

6). June 16th I have surgery – the full blown deal where you are put under. I wake up and have this enormous plaster 1/2 cast wrapped on to my hand with an ace bandage and I’m grateful that God invented vicoden.

7). June 25th it’s back to the doctor to remove the crazy plaster thing and get a real cast. I now have 4 pins sticking out of my hand and it’s gross.

8). July 5th I go in for surgery follow up and I’m all excited because I’m SURE they are going to take the pins out! WRONG!! She just wanted to get a look and make sure it was healing well. I am devastated because training in this cast is not good and it hurts and the not waterproof cast gets wet and gross and, like I said, it hurts. So my training goes to hell and I feel my Ironman slipping away. Not happy but grateful I have a hand to be unhappy about.

9). July 19 – FINALLY!! I go to get the pins out and she pulls them out without benefit of any anesthetic. That was pleasant – NOT! But they are out and my hand is going to be perfect!

10). July 20 – my hand hurts so much I think I need to go to the ER. It’s Saturday night and the local hospital has a trauma center and decide I’ll probably wake up the morning so I take some blessed vicoden and go to bed.

11). July 21 – I wake up and it feels better but I am confronted with the reality that my hand isn’t just going to come back in a flash – it’s going to be a while.

12) July 22 – Aug 2…. I get back on the trainer, I swim a little, I run a little but my hand is a weak, whimpering shadow of its former self and I can’t squeeze the brakes on my bike and I am sad. But I am grateful to have a hand to be sad about.

My Ironman dreams are very dim at this point but the IChing tells us perseverance furthers and so I hang on for a better day……