The bad news: Partial tear confirmed, 3-6 weeks in a cast, out at least four months.
Hey, it's not a rupture
I met with the Orthopedist this morning and got the word; surgery not required but get ready for a long Spring. Could of been worse. The final diagnosis is that I have a partial tear in my left achilles tendon, but there's enough still attached to expect a reasonable chance of a near-full recovery. "90% use" anyway. I'll take it.
This injury didn't come as a complete surprise. Last year I had to turn back at the top of Palmer Snowfield on Hood due to intense pain in my leg (Jess went on to summit solo. Humpf. Stinkin' kid). Later in the year I spent two self imposed weeks on the shelf when I overworked my achilles while training for the Portland Marathon. Naturally, I didn't consider these episodes injuries. I merely chalked it up to the price I had to pay in order to reach my specific goals. It comes with the territory. However, soreness is one thing, while a tear is definitely another. I knew as soon as it happened that this was the latter.
Purple, naturally. Now if I could just find a gold sock....
On the positive side, my entire body probably needs a break anyway. I fell like the staff at Kaiser Permanente knows what they're doing, so my outlook is good. I work with a young lady that is making some major changes in her life, and it's inspiring. Her mantra - it's not what happens to you that matters, it's how you handle it - seems apropos in my case as well. Right now I'm just trying to handle the thought of crutches for the next six weeks.
Ivan The (not so) Horrible
Finally, since we're on the subject of cliches and famous sayings, how about this one from the Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
Hmm. As soon as I'm cleared to take a single step, my journey to recovery will begin.
Was there ever any doubt?
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