Friday, August 27, 2010

TORN



My conversation has run dry,
That's what's goin' on. Nothing's fine I'm torn...
I'm all out of faith,
This is how I feel,
I'm cold and I am shamed,
Lying naked on the floor,
Illusion never changed,
Into something real,
I'm wide awake and I can see the perfect sky is torn,
You're a little late, I'm already torn,
Natalie Imbruglia
After being in some serious knee pain for a week and having to walk off the volleyball court before finishing a match for the first time ever, I sucked it up and went to the Doctor this past Monday. After bending my knee, straightening my leg, checking my symptoms, and asking how I injured it, he gave me his old school diagnosis. Likely torn Meniscus, he said we could go with the new school diagnosis and get an mri if I liked. We talked about if the mri showed the same thing what the treatment would be and he said exactly what I am doing now. Said the mri would run in the $1800 range and Jimbo opted for the old school diagnosis. 4-6 weeks of no impact sports (volleyball) no running, fast walking or treadmill. Lots of pool and some biking starting in a week, but only stationary or flat surfaces. UGH!! Speaking of the pool here's a shot of me at the hotel pool in Chicago and no I'm not naked...I save that for the late night hot tubbing :)


I have been relatively injury free my adult life. And I have asked my knees to shoulder a ridiculous burden these past two years so I'm not mad at them. In fact I have two theories as to why the injury. The first and least likely is: I play volleyball 6 nights a week, workout, jogging and walking a bunch more, and never give my knees a day off to recover forgetting that they are almost 47 years old and have been hauling around way too much weight for all their lives. Or the more likely reason, God smited me for doing that wedding :)
I am bummed, I do stare longingly at the sand while my teammates play, I do worry about the long term prognosis for recovery. I worry that the November triathlon may not happen. I worry that the hiking portion of my next Ridge visit will be compromised. And then I just realize all I can do is rest it and hope for the best so that's what i will do.



Had a really fun weekend last week. I got to spend some time with my bestie Dan Rascher who came out to Chicago for a wedding. We spent two fun filled days at Arlington Racetrack. Had a fabulous meal together at Morton's and did what we always do...told stories of our exploits as kids and made each other laugh...a lot. One thing that kind of got lost in my parents moving to Florida is I never get back to DC. And I don't know when I will next be there. I really do miss the east coast, the Atlantic Ocean, and my friends. I would love to one day again take a road trip up to Maine and down to Florida along the shore. From Lobster to Key Lime Pie.


They held the Volleyball championship party Monday night and although slightly downbeat because of the afternoon diagnosis, I was happy to pick up two volleyballs for winning the Monday and Wednesday regular seasons. And then was extra proud on Wednesday when my teammates picked up without me and won the Wednesday post season tourney as well. Fall volleyball starts this week and I am on the injured reserve until I break down and get back out there. Doc says 4-6 weeks but I heal fast so we shall see. I sure miss sweating :(
My contest will end on September 10th I will announce the winner that day and you will have 48 hours to contact me. If I don't hear from the winner, than I will extend it to Nov 14th and do the same thing. Trying to be fair. Best of luck Have a great end of the month and start to September. If you're birthday shopping, I could use a Meniscus...Peace, Jim









4 comments:

Donna said...

And we miss seeing you in DC.
When's your b-day?
Oh...and another question. How exactly does one correctly do a "medicine ball sit-up?"

Jim Trudeau said...

My birthday is September 10th. Hold the medicine ball behind your head while lying down. Bring the medicine ball to your chest while doing the sit-up, and if you have a partner throw said medicine ball to them, they throw it back as you go back to the prone position. If you dont have a partner just take the ball back behind your head. Repeat a few hundred times :)

Dianna said...

Jim, so sorry to hear about your torn Meniscus....that is such a bummer! I'm sure hoping for a speedy recovery for you!!! Hope to see you on the Stop Sign hike again someday. Take care.

Sarah K said...

Sorry to hear that your knee is not feeling well. Rest up, and you'll be back at it in no time.