biathlon is cool!

It's like cyclocross with skis.

better

Saw the doctor last week and we are now, "cautiously optimistic." Since my knee quit hurting so badly and I have had no further episodes he thinks perhaps I irritated some scar tissue or something. It has been getting better since then. The swelling is less than ever I think and I am able to walk on it with one crutch with no problem. I still use two and try to take it easy on my leg. I want to take it easy on it for a while still and let it heal as best it can (assuming it still is).

About that femur transplant. I asked. It wouldn't be the whole bone. Doc would take a piece from a cadaver matching the area of my femur which needs repair. just a thin peice with bone and cartilage. Not that I want to do that but that doesn't sound so bad as replacing the whole damn bone. Still that would have to be the last resort I think. What if that didn't work either? then what?

In other news...
We have decided to tackle our attention deficit disorder head-on. Bridget's been reading a book on adult ADD and how to organize your life and home. Lots of good tips to retain order and maintain clutter. Those of us with ADD are mentally incapable of maintaining a system of organization. One big thing I have to work on is finding a place for everything. Right now there is so much junk which has no home of any kind except a pile on the dresser or counter or table or...

not so good

Last Monday I went to the gym to ride the stationary bike again and do some leg presses as prescribed in my physical therapy regimen. Great. I had been feeling good and walking with one crutch. Basically on top of the world. The world came crashing down on me after ten minutes on the bike. I developed some pain in my knee which grew progressively worse until Tuesday night. I hardly slept. Went to the doc's Wendesday and he was not optimistic at all. He fears that the catilage patch he put on my leg wasn't healing. That would be Bad. He mentioned "femur transplant." I don't know about you but I am not excited by the idea of replacing my femur because a bit of cartilage is torn off but I guess cartilage is like that; once gone always gone. I'm hoping for some new stem cells to find their way into my leg.

I am supposed to call him again tomorrow and let him know how my knee is doing. Right now I would say it is doing pretty darn good. The excruciating pain I experienced Tuesday night disappeared almost completely and every day there is less. Of course, I haven't ridden and have protected my leg from putting much weight on it. Basically I feel like where I was two or three weeks ago. We'll see what he says tomorrow and Wednesday after I go to see him in person.

The upshot of it all is that it may be a while before I walk let alone ride.

back in the saddle

I rode on one of those fat-saddled computerized "exercise" bikes today. Five minutes, 34 seconds total time. I have permission to ride my bike on the trainer again starting at 12 minutes a day.

rehab begins

Got my new knee brace today and I can start putting weight on my leg. It (the brace) is cool in that it takes the stress off the part of my knee that was really messed up. It actually separates the bones so they don't rub each other. That way I can start regaining some fitness and continue to let my knee heal.

Here is my starting point (sorry, I know it's not pretty). Note the disparity between my right and left legs and even my good leg has shrunk!

global upheaval

See this picture:

The only place in the entire world to not have any forecast change in "horrible things" is Missouri. Sure it'll be hotter but overall not as bad as _______. Time to get prepared for all the refugees who will come to steal our food and homes and women. Start forming militias. Here come the new feudal ages!

masters cyclo-cross world championships

Yo! Check this out.

[Kansas City] Area finishers at the World Masters Cyclocross Championship in Mol, Belgium on Saturday:

Official Results

Mens 35-39: David White, 27th

Womens 40-49: Teresa Jarzemkoski, 9th

Men's 45-49

Mark Thomas: 21st

Dan Hansen: 55th

Bill Anderson: 57th

(Editors note: These finishes are under contention by your own on-the-scene Slimen News Team. They should be listed as Dan 30th and Mark 40th)

Mens 55-59

Dean Parker: 20th

Yet more evidence that the KC cycling scene is more vibrant (if not larger) than the StL scene.

1 more week

Then I start learning to walk again!

olive branches

Christmastime 1989. I was visiting a good friend in Freiburg during my year in Germany. Though I don't recall how she got there, there was an American girl with us in his apartment. I was "entertaining" her and while I don't remember her name and how or where I met her, I do remember she wanted to read each and every day of his daily Far Side calendar for 1990. Much to my friends distress, I humored her since she was female and I was a bachelor seeking companionship (it soon became obvious that once again I was looking in all the wrong places). I ended up escorting her home and leaving her there alone.

Every once in a while I am reminded of my friend's agony at having his entire year read out in advance by this girl and his "friend." Usually it happens when Bridget is upset that someone (we in her family all know better now) reads ahead in one of her daily calendars.

So I sent him a new Far Side daily calendar as a way of making up for this old faux pas.

4 weeks down...two to go!

Needless to say the closest I have been to a bicycle lately is watching the Tom Boonen win the Tour of Flanders on dvd.

I have been somewhat disturbed (but not surprised) by my complete adaptation to being cooped up in the house and on the couch for the past 4 weeks. I seem to be perfectly content to lay on my couch watching television and reading. "Made for TV" you might say. Nevertheless I am looking forward to the day I can move about again without crutches. The ability to carry a plate of food from the kitchen to, say, the couch is something I will never take for granted again. If I knew this injury was permanent I might be more freaked, that is for sure.

Just last night I was laying on the couch with my knee in the CPM last night thinking that even if I don't ever regain use of my leg and lose my job and house and have to go on welfare I would feel really happy because I have such a great family. My kids are the greatest and I know that when they grow up and are rich and famous they will take their ol' Da and Mum in off the street.

riding again

Went on a great ride this afternoon. A bit chilly at first but with the gorgeous sunshine that didn't last long. Explored the roads off of M west of Ashland down toward the river. Needless to say this was a gravel road ride. It was nice to be back out after the holidays when I didn't get out on the bike much. The hills sure didn't get any less steep during the same time! Damn there are some steepies out there!

three weeks down...three to go

Then I hope to start walking and eventually riding again.

two weeks down!

lowlander outdoor adventures

Check them out.
http://www.lowlanderoutdooradventures.com/index.html
Props to Paul for having the balls to go for it and start an adventure tour business. More power to ya, Paul!

operation and recovery

Here's a drill going into one of my bones in preparation for attaching my new ACL. (which it turns out was the simplest part of the entire surgery)

And here is my new ACL.

Here's my ripped and broken femur. Turns out I basically broke a bone. So six weeks no weight on it while it heals. See that pink part in the middle? That's exposed femur bone. It should be covered in a nice white cartilage.

Here is the cartilage reattached (with nails). It was floating around in my knee joint area.

Here I am on the couch with my newly reconstructed leg watching the 2006 Tour of Flanders (thanks John!).


Headed back to the doc today for an update.

post-op report

Finally go to ride with John B. again on Tuesday. At our usual time, 5:30am (0530). Unfortunatly, it was a short one, only a couple of miles, and, even less exciting, in a truck owned by MU. And the ride was to the Institute for Outpatient Surgery. My knee was repaired Tuesday morning. John graciously agreed to bring me in and stay with me until Bridget could get there after dropping Nora off at a friends house at 7:30. She didn't miss much as I didn't get out of there until 2 p.m. The staff of the IOS were great. (At least the ones I remember) Last thing I remember before 2pm was thinking that my glasses which were laying on my lap before surgery needed to go in my bag o' stuff under the bed. Evidently I chatted with John and the nurse for quite a while afterthat, even giving John some sort of emergency authorization (probably one of the smartest things I have ever done). Then Before I woke up I was chatting with the anesthesia people about Sam and Nora. If one gives out deep dark secrets under anesthesia, it sounds like I have a pretty clean life. Dr. Smith did one heck of a job fixin my knee. Evidently it was worse than expected and I think he expected pretty bad. I was in the OR for about 2.5-3 hours. A long time I later learned for a simple ACL repair. My ACL repair was simple but the rest was not. I had shorn off a bit of the end of my femur. Fortunately Dr. Smith was able to find the piece and replace it (Cool!). But that meant that everything will be a lot more complicated as far as recovery goes. I have to be off my left leg for 6 weeks. After that I have no idea what to expect. No weight on my left leg at all. That will be a trying time for all in our household. Started some electroshock therapy tonight. two little electrodes on my quad for half an hour. 10 seconds on, 10 seconds off. Kinda like a little massage. Anyway, enough pounding away at the keyboard. My knee is starting to hurt and I gotta go ice it again.

Pictures soon.

snowy day

bmi and sports

Girls sports. I had been thinking that Nora would like cross-country (she says otherwise). The Columbia Track Club has a youth xc program which looks like a lot of fun for the kids. She competed in a race recently with them and did really well but did not enjoy it. Now I read of Propam's experience in women's xc and I think Nora would be better off sticking to soccer. At least it seems that soccer doesn't have the obsession with weight that other sports such as xc and cycling have. Eating disorders that lead to lifelong problems. Sometimes I think that Nora may be a little small for soccer because some of those women are big. Not fat or anything but stout, obviously in good shape when you seem them running around out there. Since ACL injuries have been on my mind lately, I have found out that they are more prevelant among female atheletes than male. Especially soccer players. But a torn acl is nothing when you compare it to the problems that the eating disorders can create.

Now to male eating disorders. It's holiday season and for the first time I can't run or ride off the food I eat. If I didn't want to be competitive I wouldn't really worry about it at all but it will be that much harder to get back in shape after surgery if I have to ride off extra weight too. Just ask Jan.

surgery

Wednesday December 6 is the first day of next season. Training for Fall 2007 cyclocross racing starts then. That is also the day after I have knee surgery to repair my torn acl, ripped medial meniscus, and the worn-out covering of the medial condyle of the femur (in other words, osteoarthritis). I will be receiving an allo graft. That is a piece of ligament from a dead guy (now I'll have to sign the back of my driver's license!) and physical therapy starts about 24 hours after my outpatient surgery. Actually I already have started therapy as I have some pre-operative exercises to do 2x per day; leg lifts and other quad strengthening exercises.

this really sucks

Well I ain't going to St. Louis to race today. My knee which is now the size of a grapefruit was totally screwed up yesterday trying not to fall off a damn mound on the downhill course which was included in the cx course that we raced yesterday. I guess I'll go to the doctor tomorrow. I can hardly walk. The best I can do is shuffle around stiff legged. Dammit dammit dammit, I suppose this probably means that the entire cx season is blown. Dammit!

I did see Bubba. He looks a fine hound.

Friday, Nora took an IQ test to see if she qualifies for Triple E, EEE, the advanced education program here in Columbia. We should hear the results in a couple of weeks. Talk about a test, "Here kid, we know you are smart but let's see if you are smart enough to earn the official label of Smart Kid."