Just when you need it...

First there was a glorious Sunday.  Annie and I headed out for a road trip (for me that consists of anything further than the doctor's office or grocery store) to spend the beautiful afternoon roaming south down the coast from Solana Beach.   It was great to spend time with Annie, it's funny how you forget how good it feels to do things like sitting on a park bench watching surfers and the waves in the warm sun.


Yesterday (Monday) was another visit to the doctor.  In the last week we've not had as much progress in the healing department as before, which is to be expected.  Needless to say it's been a little rough with the lull.  HOWEVER...Sandy removed the woundVAC and dressing and felt like it might be time to REMOVE the damn thing.  The doctor concurred and I could hardly contain my excitement.  In addition, the doctor told me to get off the crutches completely unless fatigued or pained.  I left the appointment on "cloud nine".

To top it off Pat Herbst, a good friend and fellow runner from Portland, Oregon was in town for a business meeting.  I can't say enough good things about Pat and his family.  Jean, his wife, hosts us with Pat, once a year for Hood to Coast both in Portland for the start and Seaside for the finish.  This isn't a few runners sleeping in their house, it's 12 guys and in some cases more.  In short, she ROCKS!  She's the sister we all wished for and it's great to have her as part of a very special weekend. Not to mention their children are exceptional.  Mallory, Patrick and Ronan have benefited from good parental genes, but Pat and Jean are phenomenal parents and create an incredible environment for the children to flourish.  Each of the kids made homemade "get well" cards for me, two times over. One set mailed to the house in Boulder and when they found out Pat was going to see me, they made another set.  Hallmark could take some lessons from these three.


Thank you Mallory, Patrick and Ronan !  You guys are amazing!

Pat is one of those friends that is always there, just when you need him.  He's the guy in the van before an important leg of the race getting you psyched up or after a tough leg offering congratulations or solace.  But Pat goes way beyond the short weekend we spend together, running.  He flew into San Diego and made his way up the coast to Encinitas.  Even though he's a keynote speaker on multiple days of the meeting this week, he still made time to come see me.  He's just that kind of guy.  Thanks Pat!

With that I need to give a quick shout out to the entire Hood to Coast crowd, who have, as they always do rallied behind a fallen runner.  Tim Hammill hooked me up with a consult to make sure I was on the right track with the locals; multiple phone calls, posts and emails of support from all the guys have helped sustain my positivity, just when I needed it the most.

To cap the evening off, Emily, a good friend from Boulder who now lives in Santa Monica, was in the area and stopped by for a visit.  It's full circle. Emily was actually with Annie and me, six years ago when I broke my leg.  Her dad saved the day.  We're lucky, she'll be back with Scott for the weekend.

Thanks to my family and friends for all the support through this, we are past the halfway point and I feel great!  While it might be a while before I'm running again, I am comforted at the thought of just being able to live a "tube, pump, catheter free" lifestyle. 

I see the doctor again on March 8, two days before the antibiotic cycle finishes and the PICC line is pulled.  We most likely will stay in the San Diego area through mid-March to make sure everything wraps up, but who knows maybe it'll be longer.