3/10/08 The nerve!

I had my follow-up appointment today with the sports medicine podiatrist. He echoed something the physical therapist said too: my ankle problems might not be in my ankles. Boom. Really? The initial injury certainly was, it had all the earmarks of tendonitis, though today the doc summed it up as "shin splints." And the initial pain has basically faded away.

What's left is some odd buzzing and tingling sensations, punctuated by pangs, sometimes painful, always uncomfortable, and they shift around a lot. This isn't characteristic of tendonitis, but it is of an irritated nerve. Could this be related to my tricky sacro-iliac joint? So, I have a referral for a "physiatrist," a doctor with a more overall body view, to investigate further. I've been meaning to see someone about my back anyway, since I'd really like to start cycling. But before I set foot on a pedal, I want to have a team in place in case my back goes doy-yoing again and disables me for days.

I guess it's good news that my ankles are OK, but bad news that something else is strange. Indeed, even as I sit here, I notice the buzzing and weird sensations, while sitting. That's not tendonitis, and it's not ankles. Sitting doesn't bother ankles, but it can affect backs. The fact that I'm working now, and hence sitting a whole lot more, could be part of this.

Last night, we tried a wake-up experiment with Julian. Dave woke him up around 11pm (old time), got him to go pee, let him drink some water (! well, Julian asked, it's no time to get into a fight!), then back to bed. And he was dry this morning! First time! Nowhere close to done, but it's a nice start. That was in Pull-Ups, but tonight, he's going to try underpants.

We're making a huge deal of it, and Julian's soaking up the attention. But the fanfare isn't just for his benefit. I have this far-away hope that his un-pressure-able brother will want to join in the fun. The direct approach won't work with Gabriel, but there's a very small chance that he'll be piqued....nah. That's just not Gabriel. Well, if we can cut our Pull-Up bill in half, that's a big improvement.

No remodeling progress, we're still waiting for construction drawings and permits. Every day of waiting is slower and slower and more and more painful!

3/10/08