The Stress Is Getting to Me

It broke my left foot.

Let me clarify. I got foot pain now and then. I jogged on average two to three times per week. Since I probably didn't get new shoes as often as I should, I occasionally got foot pain that would improve with just some rest. I never bothered to change my habits.

Last night, I developed pain in a slightly different location on my left foot. It was very painful to bear weight on it. Despite that, I just blew it off and went to bed. When I awoke this morning, it was a lot worse. The slightest movement made me scream in pain and bearing weight on it was tortuous. I swore it was broken. It hurt in a way and in a location that, to me, couldn't have been anything else but a fracture. However, I could not remember any incident of actually injuring it.

Megan and I agreed to go to the E.R. to get an x-ray, just to be sure. Of course the x-ray was normal. Like I said, there was no discrete injury to it. I was starting to feel like a fool for coming. Luckily, one of the orthopedic doctors was already there seeing other patients and he popped in to see me. After a short, efficient and painful (to me) exam, he immediately said "stress fracture," which immediately explained both the symptoms and the normal x-ray.

So now, I'm sitting here typing while wearing an orthopedic cast show. Dr Mattern, the orthopedist, predicted a recovery of six to eight weeks, which is a bummer, because I'm going to Costa Rica in two weeks. But I must take good care of it. I can't let this injury ruin snowboarding this winter.