Have not posted in awhile

I have not posted in awhile due to a crazy summer. Here is an update. My surgery was back in April. My legs feel great. No more numbness or tingling. They took longer to heal than expected and even though the incisions looked great, the muscle needed some time. I can now run 3 miles without any problems, however I have been dealing with shin splints and a pulled muscles. Now that the fall is almost here and my legs feel great, I am going to increase my exercise level.
My word of advice for people is be patient. If you are young, you will recover faster than myself. At 42 yrs old, it has been harder to get back into running shape, but I still feel confident that I will get there.
No regrets... My legs feel better than they have in years. No pain or numbness!!!

its been awhile

I have not posted in awhile. Two reasons: I have been very busy at work and I have been very frustrated. Being 30 to 40lbs overweight has made it hard to get back into shape. I have muscle soreness, shin splints and edema in my lower extremities. I am picking up my compression socks tomorrow and hopefully they will help. I need to control my portion sizes and eat healthy. Exercise and Diet. Neither one works without the other.... I ran 3 miles on Saturday and got shin splints... arrrrghhh!!! one day at a time... Lord, help me!!!! please....

My Second Run

Tonight I ran for the second time. I was really suprised how much my quads hurt after the run on Saturday, but they were very sore. I did well tonight and I noticed that even my breathing felt better. Not great, but an improvement. I missed running so much that even these short 3 mile run/walks feel awesome. I felt refreshed as I finished. The pain that comes with sore muscles and fatigue is like an old lost friend. Goals... Keeping the eye on the prize.... For me it is losing 30lbs, getting back into cardio shape and running the Crim at the end of the summer. 10 miles of fun.... A great race that I have ran several times before, and if I had to do it today, I would die!!!! But, I will be ready...

http://www.crim.org/

Sign you are out of shape

Woke up this morning after I had run/walked that incredible distance of 3 miles yesterday, and I discovered that I needed my good old friend........ I'm pathetic.....

Yeah!!!! First one out of the way

I went to the gym today and ran on the indoor track. The track at my gym is very nice and soft. It is seven laps for a mile. That is approx 251 yards a lap. I alternated walking and running. I walked the first lap, ran the second, walked the third.... I think you get the idea. My legs felt light and full of energy for the first time in a very, very long time. I did however have some parastesia (numbness) in my left foot radiating to my 4th and 5th toe. Its probably an irritated nerve from the surgery. I noticed some burning type of feeling along my left lower leg (where I had symptoms before). This was concerning to me, but the more I ran the more it went away. I ended up doing 21 laps of which 10 of those I ran. That's 2510 yards or 7530 ft or 1.42 miles of running and 1.58 miles of walking.

By the way, has anyone seen my lungs.... I think I left them back in the gym.... going to take awhile to build my "runner lungs" back up.

First Run Today

Going to attempt to run today. I am supposed to wait another week, but as usual I am an impatient man. ....... Stay tuned for details......................

First Week Done!!!

Well, I just finished my first week back at work. I was very busy. I put about 1000 miles on the odometer and visited at least 10 hospitals and 15 Doctors offices. Picture of my legs below:

Of course I am kidding but it is the way they felt by friday night. I am swelling worse in my left leg than my right. Probaly because of the area of scar tissue that he removed and that is the leg where I had my infection. I need to get to the Medical Supply store and get some type of TED hose or compression stocking for when I am working. I spend hours in the car driving and it I believe it is worse for venous stasis. On the bright side, my muscles feel strong... Only 2 more weeks before I can start some light jogging.

Insomnia

Last night I did not sleep. I kept waking up because I was getting this cramping feeling in my calves. My toes kept jumping upward. I realized at 4am that maybe my first week back to work was tougher on my legs than I had thought. I sat on the bed, in the dark, and massaged the muscles along my shin. I could feel the the facial hernia's that come from the muscle bulging outward. The incisions are still sore.

I got home tonite and found that my lower legs were swollen. Maybe not like the elephant man, but I could tell the difference. Tomorrow, I will shop for some compression stockings. I guess 10 hours on my feet and 4 of those hours driving is too much for my healing legs.... It was still worth it!!!! I am so glad to be back at work.....

The Morning After

Ok, so yesterday I had my first workout since my surgery. I woke up this morning at 0600. There I was, lying in bed, and I could feel the covers rubbing on my incisions. I hate that prickly feeling I get when anything touches them. I expected some soreness from my first workout the evening before. I wiggled my toes and did some flexing of my foot..... no pain.. I then sat up and hit the floor with my feet and stood up... No pain.... I was a little stiff but there was no post workout muscle pain. I was very pleased. I have also been back to work for two days and my legs feel great. Today I put 200 miles on the car and went to 5 Doctors offices and two hospitals, and my legs felt great. The only discomfort I am having is on my incisions which should go away over the next couple of months... I'm hoping.....

My First Workout....

Tonite I went to the gym for my first cardio workout post surgery. I did 30 minutes of cycling and walking 3.8mph on the tread climber. I also did some weight training on my legs and calves as well as some stretching. It felt really good to exercise and have no numbness in my feet. Also missing was the burning feeling that I have had in my legs for about 6 months. I am weak and out of shape, but my legs felt better than I would have imagined.

My schedule for the next 3 weeks.

#1 week- keep cardio workouts to 30 minutes. incorporate stretching and light weight lifting.

#2 week- increase cardio to 45 minutes. continue with the stretching and light weight lifting. increase weight as tolerated.

#3 week- push cardio workouts to 60 minutes if possible. I will do this by interval training on several different machines.

Also, I am using a wobble board and half of Styrofoam tube to strengthen my ankle ligaments and calf muscles. The picture below shows how I use the wobble board. I usually stand on it one leg at a time and balance myself. On the half foam roller, I stand on the roller on the long axis with one leg at a time and balance myself. It may look easy, but it causes quite a burn.

Busy Week: My two week check

I have been so busy, that I have not had a chance to get on here and blog about my 2 week follow up appointment with my surgeon.

I went to see Dr. L on Thursday. As usual, it took about an hour before I got back to see him. He was very pleased at how well I was doing in terms of walking and activity level. I have no muscle soreness and I am walking with a normal gait. I can ambulate stairs without any problems. In fact, I have been getting yelled at by the wife for not taking it more easy. He was however displeased with the look of the incision on the left leg where I had the infection. It is still red and slightly swollen. I removed my steri stips on Wed. I could not take the itching and pulling on my skin any longer. I had some oozing from the infected site, although it was clear and had no odor. So, I finished my antibiotics this weekend and I am going to keep an eye on my leg to make sure that the symptoms do not get worse. I am a RN so Dr. L trusts me to care for myself and to come back sooner than my 6 week appointment if there are any other issues.

Signs of Infection:

• fever of 100.5°F (38°C) or higher
• severe pain in the area of the incision
• intense redness in the area of the incision
  bruising.
• bleeding or increased drainage of tissue fluid

Normal Signs after surgery include:

As an incision heals, it is normal to experience some redness, swelling, itching, minor skin irritation or oozing of tissue fluid, or small lumps in the skin near the incision. At first, the skin over the incision will feel thick and hard. After a period of two to six months, the swelling and irritation will go down and the scar tissue will soften and begin to blend into the surrounding tissue.

The good news is that I can go back to work next Friday and I can also began some light cycling at that time. No tension on stationary bike and no hills on my road or mountain bike. Got to ease back in slowly. He will not release me for any running until after he sees me on my 6 week appointment.

Not a fun weekend!!!!

My leg did not feel too good this weekend. Every time I try and stand, I feel this tightening, pulling on my incision. It is not unbearable, but it is a new type of pain that I have not had yet. My incision on my left lower leg still looks the same. Pink, but no oozing or separation of the incision. I think that the Keflex (antibiotic) is keeping my leg from getting infected. Nzlife on the runners world forum had surgery on the same day as me and is feeling the same symptoms. Its probably fine but I have been taking it easy all weekend. I don't see my Physician until Thursday.

Pushed it a little too hard today!!!

Tomorrow is one week since I had my surgery. I have been going nuts just sitting around. I am used to getting up at 5am and hitting the road by 0630 and going crazy until I get home at 6pm. Now I am expected to sit around, elevate my legs and watch the view. NOT TODAY!!! Today I went up and down my stairs several times. I took a walk in the marsh behind my house. I barbque'd chicken for the family and I drove my car to the store. I finally got home at 8pm and big surprise, my leg is aching.... not quite throbbing, but close... So I am watching a movie, legs propped up on three pillows and I'm waiting for the pain meds to kick in... My wife says I'm "one tough dude!" (interpretation: stupid)

Scar Tissue......

Staphylococcus aureus

As a clinical specialist for a pacemaker company, I know that anytime surgery is performed in an area where there is scar tissue from a previous surgery, the risk for infection is higher. My leg is no different. I noticed some swelling and tenderness in the suture line on my left lower leg this morning. It was a little pink around the edges of the incision. No drainage and I had no fever, however I knew that something was brewing. When my wife came home tonite, she looked at it and noticed that the pink area had become red and spread and was still puffy. I called Dr. L's office and let them know what was going on. Dr. L was in surgery, but he wanted me to come down to the hospital where he could look at my leg in between surgeries. Needless to say, he agreed with me that it looked like an early infection and he put me on some antibiotics. Word to the wise.... better to be too cautious than to wait too long and end up with a bad infection. There are some pretty nasty "bugs" that can cause tissue to become necrotic. We are talking hospitalization and debridment... Not fun.......

What motivates us to succeed?

Running... Its like a drug is for an addict. The first time I tried it, it was because I was talked into trying it. Did not really want to. I did not want to feel that sensation of breathing so hard my lungs hurt. I did not want to feel my legs ache, my shins become sore and my side cramping. Each time I began to run again, I found that my breathing became less labored. The cramping went away. Then one day it happened on a long run. I hit the zone. Like a junkies perfect high, I had become part of the trail. Part of the environment around me. My feet felt light and my breathing effortless.... As I begin my journey this summer to get back into the shape that I was, I look foward to hitting that pinnicle again. The feeling that nothing and no one can slow me down.

Check out this inspirational video: Whenever I feel down or bummed out about my injuries or my slow recovery back to running, I watch this story about a Man and his love for his Son. If this guy can do this for his kid, it makes my comback seem miniscule.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gm7XwtIJdM&feature=related

Third day post-op

I woke up this morning at 0830. The wife was running around the house going crazy trying to get the boys out the door so they don't miss the bus. She has been great. Even while I was asleep at 0700 she refilled my ice bags and placed them on my legs. The lack of swelling continues to amaze me. I expected so much more. I am going to keep elevating and Icing just as the Doctor ordered. I am walking with out assistance with a walker or crutches. I am taking it slow, but it feels great.

For four years or more I have felt this constant tingling in my lateral lower leg at the site of my old fasciotomy scar. Whenever I would tap the scar with my finger, I would feel a sharp numbness that radiated down into my big toe. This is called a positive "tinel". Now that the surgery is completed and the doctor has released the nerve from all of the scar tissue, I have no more numbness in the foot. The Tinel sign is gone. Amazing. Hopefully it will stay that way and no more scar tissue will form on the nerve.

I study birds, so I plan on spending my day sitting in the yard with my legs up and using my binoculars to "see what I can see". I can not stand sitting around. I cant wait until I can get off my duff and began rehabbing.... It will be here soon enough. I am thankful to God that my surgery has turned out great and that there have been no problems so far...

Ace Wraps off after 48 hrs... "warning: a little bit of blood and drainage for the weak at stomach"

Finally took my Ace Bandages off today at noon. I was supposed to wait until this evening but they are irriatating me and everyone knows that the worst patient in the world is a RN, because we think we know everything. I am very pleased at the swelling. My Physician makes longer incisions than most, but that is because he likes to make sure that he does a complete release. On my left leg he had cut a lot of scar tissue off of the nerve so the incision is longer. Not bad at all. I have really kept my legs elevated and have been putting ice on them since friday. I can take a shower tomorrow, which I will be very glad to do. Pictures below...

My night in the hospital

I am glad that I was admitted into the hospital for the night. My boys needed someone to be home when they got off of the bus and the last thing I want was my wife needing to babysit me postop. I have to say that the staff at the Michigan Orthopedic Specialty Hospital were great. From preop all the way to my discharge. They were very attentive to all of my needs and I never had to hit my call light once.



My room was a private room with a nice flat panel TV. I was placed on a Morphine PCA pump. This is patient controlled analgesia pump that allowed me to push the button and give myself morphine when I needed it. In addition to the pump I also had pain pills ordered. The first night I did not even attempt to get out of bed. I took a picture of my legs with my cell phone camera. They wrapped them in Ace Bandages and with only a couple of layers, my calves look huge.

If I can give one word of advice for those considering this surgery, do not feel that you need to be brave with the pain meds. The first 24 hours can be very painful, and there is no reason that anyone should have to suffer. The staff at the hospital that I was at had a goal of keeping patients pain level at a 3 or below on a 1-10 scale. I was a 2. Very comfortable, only hurt when I tried to move. Another word to the wise, Morphine can cause urinary retention. I found it difficult to urinate. I literally had to push hard in order to pee. The nurses told me that this is very common with Morphine pumps.

When I woke up this morning, I had breakfast and then the Physical Therapist came in to get me out of bed and see if I could walk on my two "carved up legs". I swung my legs around off of the bed and grabbing the walker stood for the first time. I surprised the PT who thought she was going to need to help me up, but actually the pain was not that severe. It is surprising how good you legs can feel after a night of Percocet and Morphine. I walked with the aid of the walker down the hall about a hundred feet and climbed some stairs. When Dr. L came in that morning he was surprised at how well I was doing. He was very hesitant on doing two legs at once because if I had no pain tolerance, how would I walk.

Dr. L talked to me about the surgery. He told me that the Superficial Peroneal Nerve in my left leg was totally entrapped in scar tissue. He told me that he cleared all of the scar tissue off of the nerve and hopefully the numbness I have been feeling in my left foot for several years should go away. The rest of the surgery was smooth with no issues.

I was discharged at Noon today. I went home with a bunch of prescriptions. Vicoden(pain), Ambien(sleep aid), phenergan(nausea), colace(stool softener) and Motrin. I am currently sitting here watching TV with Ice Bags on my Ace wrapped legs. I get to take the bandages off tomorrow. I have been constantly elevating and using ICE so hopefully the swelling wont be too bad.

April 11th. Surgery....

I arrived at the surgery center at 0930. After I was registered they took me into the preop area where they took all of my cloths, had me put on a beautiful hospital gown and my OR bonnet, and then the RN started an IV. The Anesthesiologist came over and did a quick assessment on me and informed me that I was going to have general anesthesia. I would be intubated and put on a ventilator during surgery. Sometimes the Anesthesiologist will perform a spinal for these types of surgeries, but since my Physician was doing a nerve repair, he wanted to be able to assess my neuro status afterwards.

Next came the PA (Physicians Assistant) who works with Dr. L. She asked me some general questions regarding my health history and medications. She also prepped my legs and marked them for the surgery. Shortly afterward Dr. L came by and asked me if I was ready. He reminded me that he was going perform two incisions on each leg. He would perform a fasciotomy on my anterior and lateral compartments on both of my legs. On my left leg he would attempt to release my superficial peroneal nerve from the scar tissue that had built up since my surgery in 2002.

My wife was allowed to come and sit with me in preop before I went in for my surgery. When the time finally came for them to wheel me in to the OR suite it went very quickly. I slid over onto the operating room table. As the nurses started to put equipment on me (blood pressure cuffs, grounding pads for electrocautery, etc...), the CRNA put an oxygen mask on my face and after about 30 seconds told me that he was going to put me to sleep now. That is all I remembered. This was at 1130am. Next thing I remembered is that I woke up in the recovery area at 330pm. Now for those of you who have never had surgery, it is a very weird feeling to wake up from anesthesia. It can be a little confusing at first. The postop Nursing staff will be asking you many questions regarding your pain statis. They will be taking your vital signs every 5 minutes. I had a plastic warming blanket on me to counter act the effects of the anesthesia which can often times make you very chilled and shaky. The warming blanket feels great. I did not have my glasses and I could not see. I had all these people asking me a million questions and all I cared about was seeing my wife. My legs hurt, and I could not see them since they were under the covers. The pain was not excruciating, and I think that they gave me some Morphine while I was in recovery. After a short while, when my pain level fell below a 5 on a 1-10 scale, I was taken to my room.

Surgery Tomorrow

My surgery is tomorrow. 0930 in the am. I am glad for the early time. I do not want to wait around all day for it. I picked up a couple of large reusable ice bags... I will post again after I get back home from the hospital...

Preop Appointment

Today I went and saw my Surgeon. This is the appointment where he explains what he is going to do and what my recovery time will be. The waiting room was packed at his office and I ended up waiting 2 1/2 hours to see him. Dr. L has been at spring training with the Detroit Tigers, so he had alot of catching up to do since he has been back. While I am there, a Detroit Red Wings player shows up to see him and my apt is further delayed while he See's him.

My surgery is this Friday, April 11Th. After talking to Dr. L it is decided that I will stay over night. He does not usually do two legs at once and is concerned about my ability to ambulate when he is done. I agree to staying over night and find out that I will be under "general anesthesia". This is a very broad term and I will get more details on the day of my surgery.

I ask Dr. L how much time does he think I will need before I can go back to work. He says it will be a minimum of 4 weeks. I am hoping for 3 weeks. I am stressed because I know that my team needs me. However, my health is more important. I will also need some physical therapy.

For some reason I am nervous about this procedure. I have had quite a few surgeries in the past, but this one has me nervous. I do not know why. I will put it all in Gods hands. I just look forward to being able to run again....

2 weeks to go

Two weeks from today I will have my surgery for CECS. If I said I was not nervous, I would be lying. I think that what I am most nervous about is the chance that the surgery will be a failure. Not in terms of getting an infection, or developing blood clots or some other weird complication. Failure in the sense that I may not regain my ability to run as fast and as far as I did in the past. Not that I was ever a great runner. Some would even call my 8:30 pace during a 10 miler quite slow. Oh well, the journey continues....

HIDE!!!! Its my doctor....

I was doing a pacemaker check today and I ran into my Cardiologist. He knew me when I was thin and running 40mi a week. Today I bump into him in the hall of the hospital where I am seeing a patient and we converse for a few minutes. He is a great Physician and worried about me because I have so many cardiovascular risk factors. I tell him that I will be having surgery in April for my CECS and he seems happy for me. He knows the long road that I have taken to get a Physician to seriously listen to me. I told Dr. S that I plan to lose this weight that I have put on and that with this surgery I can get back to running which is the way I lost my weight before. I am currently on two blood pressure medications. This is not about regaining my former level of exercise for my ego, it is about controlling a medical condition that could shorten my life. April 11Th couldn't come sooner for me.

Superficial Peroneal Nerve

Woke up at 5am today with leg cramping. I get it all the time. Took some motrin and sat down at the computer to do some internet surfing. In 2001 when the first fasciotomy on my left lower extremity was performed, I was left with some nerve damage or compression. Dr. L has warned me that when I have my left compartment released on April 11 that I may end up with permanent numbness to my left foot area. He is going to attempt to isolate the area where my Superficial Peroneal Nerve is compressed, but in doing so, I also risk permanent damage of the nerve. Personally, I already think that the numbness I have now is permanent. I found a cool picture on the internet of the sensory area of the Superficial Peroneal nerve.

The striped area of the picture represents the area of the leg that is provided sensory input from the Superficial Peroneal nerve. With Fasciotomy of the Anterior and Lateral compartments many people will feel numbness or tingling in that area until they are healed.

Sick of Winter

Went to the gym today for a workout. I would have rather jumped on my mountain bike or just went for a long walk around my house, but it is 20 degrees F and snowing with wind gusts at 20mph. I spent 20 minutes on an elliptical with no symptoms, however that changed when I jumped on the tread climber. After about 20 minutes of walking at 3.5 mph at various grades, my right leg began to cramp and burn as if I was running. I pushed it to 30 minutes. I look forward to working out and not being slowed down by this cramping type of pain. I also worked on some ankle strengthening exercises. I figure that the stronger I can make my ankle before surgery, the easier the recovery. Don't know if it will work, but I figure it cant hurt. A month to go......

Short Term Disability

Got the ball rolling today on setting up my short term disability. After spending 30 minutes on the phone with some guy from UNUM, I am going to get a bunch of forms mailed to me that I have to take to the doctors office, so I can get paid while I am off. I plan on being off for 2 to 3 weeks, even though the Doctor, with a wink, offered me 6 weeks...

Insomnia: too much on my mind

Woke up at 0300 today and can not sleep. Sitting here at my computer drinking a nice hot cup of coffee. As I peak out the window of my office, the street lights are reflecting off of the snow and ice that covers my subdivision. I can not believe it is going to be spring soon. I spoke to my neighbors yesterday and informed them of my impending surgery. Mrs. V is a Physical Therapist who is a stay home mom for now. She had some good ideas for equipping my bathroom with either a higher seat or using a walker to be able to sit down post surgery. I did not even think that with both legs being done, I really can not bear weight on one leg over the other... So something as simple as sitting could be painful... I also have to call Human Resources at my company today and figure out my medical leave. What a pain in the A**. I looked at some pictures of my last long race. I can not believe it has been 5 years since I was able to run a half marathon. These pictures were taken at the Rock n Roll half marathon at Virginia Beach. I ran hard for 11 miles and then I experienced foot drop. Totally lost the ability to lift my foot up correctly. Dragged it home for the next 2 miles and finished the race.



Mile 10. right before my foot drop. Like those compression socks?



The gang back in the room at Virginia beach. Notice the ice to my left leg. Foot back to normal within an hour after race.

I will get back!!!

Stryker Compartment Pressure Test

Wednesday, Feb 27th. I took the day off of work to go to the Hospital where Dr. L was doing surgery. He was going to test the pressures in the Anterior and Lateral compartment of both of my legs. Dr. L was well aware of the fact that every time I try and run, I have a horrific burning feeling in my left leg and a cramping pain in my right leg. About a 1/2 mile into a run, my leg starts hurting and soon after I can not run any more. My left leg feels numb below my Calf most of the time.




I went into the exam room and Dr. L and his PA came into the room and applied betadine to my bilateral legs on the lateral side of the leg near my calf. Then after Dr. L calibrated the machine he inserted the needle into my muscle compartments and measured the pressures. Here is the procedure being done on someone else.

After measuring the pressures in both of my legs at rest, I put my hat and gloves on and proceeded to go for a run in 14 degree temps and icy conditions. If there is any doubt that I want my legs fixed, then my commitment to running in those conditions should prove it!! I ran for about 8 minutes. My symptoms began occurring at the 4 min mark, but I pushed it a little longer since I was a 1/4 mi away from the hospital. When I got back, I jumped up on the table, pulled up my pant leg and the whole procedure occurred again.

Normal pressures in the muscle compartments of the lower leg are less than 10mm HG at rest. After exercise they should not increase very much. Any reading over 30mm HG is indicative of Compartment Syndrome. Dr. L was surprised when mine were in the mid 20's on both legs at rest. After I came back from the run and the test was completed the results were much higher. The Anterior Compartment in both of my legs had readings in the mid 40 range. My lateral compartment in my left leg was 66 and in my right leg it was 88. Dr. L was surprised at how high these were. I was just glad that I was not crazy or being a wimp.

Surgery is scheduled for April 11th. I am having both legs done. Dr. L thinks I am crazy (he prefers one leg at a time) but I just want to get it over with and I can take the pain.

For more information on CECS check out these links:

http://edition.cnn.com/HEALTH/library/DS/00789.html

Here is a link to what they actually do during surgery.

http://www.doereport.com/enlargeexhibit.php?ID=3478

EMG and NCS... Yikes!!!

So a couple of weeks ago I go in for these Nerve Conduction Studies of my lower extremities. For those who do not know what this is... The person conducting the test puts electrodes on your skin and then shoot an electrical current thru your legs and measure how quickly the nerve conducts... Each time the voltage comes the muscles contract and twitch... Not so fun... Not really painful, but the anticipation of the jolt drives a person crazy... Then the easier part, the EMG... Tiny needles are inserted into your muscles and you have to flex and tighten your muscles so that information on muscle weakness can be obtained.

My test showed delayed or slowed conduction at the level of my old fasciotomy scar from the 2002 surgery... No new surprises. Dr. L felt that the Superficial Peroneal Nerve was probably intrapped at that location in scar tissue.

I was then Scheduled for the Stryker Intracompartmental pressure test..

Diagnosis: 2008

In my previous post, I blogged about the first time that I was diagnosed with CECS. It would have been great if my story ended there and I had gone on to be this incredible distance runner. The truth is that with in one year of having the surgery, I was back to having some of the same symptoms as before. Whenever I would run too many miles, my lower leg would be come numb and sometimes swell. Over the course of several years I went Doctor shopping. I went to one Ortho who sent me to his partner who was a sports specialist who sent me to the nerve specialist but she did not know anything about muscle injuries so she sent me to University of Michigan and I saw doctors who recommend compartmental testing for high pressures but they cancelled my testing twice and I got frustrated and went to see Dr. Mendleson. If that sounded like the longest run on sentence ever, then you know how I have felt over the last 4 years. Multiple Doctors, many opinions and not much action. However when I went to see Dr. Mendleson, he was honest and told me that this problem was outside his area of expertise. I was bummed, but he told me that he knew the right guy. On to my 6th doctor....

When I walked into Dr. L's office, I was hesitant. I knew he had a good reputation and his whole practice revolved around taking care of only sports related injuries. But, so did the guy who operated on me in 2002. He came into the office and I began telling him about my last 4 years. He examined me and said, " we will find out what is going on here and I will fix it if I can". Oh, oh... been here before....

The start of my problems

Hi all,



For those who do not know me, I began running in 2001. I was trying to lose weight, life was stressful and I needed to get out of the gym into the outdoors. I cant say I was hooked from the beginning. Breathing so hard that I felt like I was going to cough up my lungs, shin splints, blisters, sore muscles and abdominal cramps... Running was hard work.

As the spring/summer progressed I increased my mileage to approx 30 mi a week. I had lost 50lbs. I felt great. My wife Debby and I ran several races together that year. A 10 miler and several 5k races. Racing had not only become a source of exercise for me, but it became a passion. I loved the feeling of a runners high. That feeling when I was into a long run and my feet felt light as a feather, my heart beating steadily and I am breathing effortlessly. It is a feeling I can not describe.

In 2002 my wife and I ran a half marathon in the spring. It was a trail marathon, wooded and hilly. It was tough, but I finished with a decent time as did my wife. I was pumped and my wife and I made a plan to train for the Chicago Marathon. I had increased my weekly mileage to 40. I was on a good pace to be ready for the Marathon. We ran with a group of experienced runners and they were helping in guiding Deb and I thru this process of training for a Marathon. Then my problems began.

I was on a 10 mile run during the weekend. I usually saved my long runs for Saturday morning. About 4 miles into the run, I noticed that my left foot was "falling asleep". I ignored it and kept on going. Over the course of several weeks, every time I would go for a run, I would get numbness to my left foot that extended into my big toe. When I would stop running it went away. On a Saturday, during one of my long training runs, the numbness came back. However, this time it did not go away.....

That week I got into see an Orthopedic Surgeon. The Sports Medicine expert. I told him my story. He examined me and did some xrays and MRI and diagnosed me with Exertional Compartment Syndrome. His diagnosis was based purely on symptoms. My numbness was due to the compression of the Superficial Peroneal Nerve as it exited my Anterior Compartment. In english, everytime I ran, my muscles would fill with blood, but the fascia covering the muscle would not stretch and the pressure went inward choking the nerve. He recommended surgery. A procedure call a fasciotomy. I agreed since he was the expert and I wanted to run. I was bummed out because I would miss the Chicago Marathon. The surgery went forward and my Left Anterior and Lateral Compartment were decompressed and I ended up following my wife around the course at the Chicago marathon on a mountain bike. She did a great job and I was so proud of her.....


Debby after the race!! Pete (in the hat) and I chasing Deb around the course

http://www.chicagomarathon.com/cms400min/chicago_marathon/