To Infinity...and Beyond!!!!

Well, just this week I acquired the first piece of my cosmonaut's uniform, as part of getting ready to shoot off into outer space. That's what the scientist told me, anyway.



Okay, he said he was a doctor, and that I had a stress fracture in my foot, but I knew what he really meant.


So you know my foot's been in a lot of pain over the last couple of weeks. I finally went to the doctor on Thursday. Why the long wait, you ask? Insurance. Long story. Ask me some other time if you really want to know, even though I can probably already tell you it's not worth the boredom.


Anyway, after prodding and stretching my foot and a good number of "Hmmmm"s, the doc thinks it's a stress fracture, but takes a couple of X-Rays for more information (not my actual foot below).


No cracks visible on the X-Ray, but that doesn't mean the doc was wrong. Convinced I do have a stress fracture, or at least the beginnings of one, the doc explains it to me like this. Imagine a paper clip (here's a picture to help you :)...

There are two ways to break a paper clip: cut it with wire clippers, or bend it back and forth a bunch until it breaks. My injury, Doc says, is like the second one. Usually it happens when someone dramatically increases their physical activity level. I figure, in my case, it's one of these "damage over time" (DoT) (wink, Joe) situations.


Anyway, to help my poor little foot heal, Doc has me wearing one of these crazy moon boots. It's actually really comfortable and keeps the presure off my entire foot, except for the heel, but it's extra-padded, so it's not uncomfortable.


I have to wear it for three weeks, after which Doc will re-evaluate and see if I need to keep it on longer. Until then, I have set up a strict training regimen, designed to prepare my body for the rigors of zero-G activity.

To Infinity...and Beyond!!!!!