The NERVE...!!!

   Tonight, I did a 5k run to to celebrate my normal Electromyography (EMG) test this afternoon. "Celebrate" is a strong, word though, because the result was bittersweet. I didn't want nerve damage, of course, but it's just one more dead end, leaving my 20+ year-long ankle pain unexplained. Between the x-ray, MRI and EMG we've ruled out a fracture, soft tissue damage, ligament tear, and nerve damage. The only potential culprit seems to be the large cyst deep inside my ankle joint. (I know, lovely, right?)

   But back to the EMG… if you've never had one, take my advice: DON'T. Unless you like the idea of having needles stuck in you while simultaneously being shocked repeatedly and stronger in succession. It was so intensely painful that it was impossible to keep my leg from jumping off the table, and I had fantasies about jumping out the 4th story window. Anything to escape!

   This is an illustration of an actual conversation between myself and the doc:

   He laughed—hard. I laughed nervously while wincing through the pain.  When I left, I still had tell-tale pen marks all over my right leg and my lower back, and my leg was still singing as if it still contained needles and shockwaves. The run tonight helped stave that off, and the dogs enjoyed it too. It will be interesting to see what my doc says tomorrow afternoon...
   Update: nerve damage in my ankle. The bad news: Need to start a neuropathy med to see if it helps. Ugh. The good news: No surgery for now. Yay!!!

Quote of the Day

   I received plenty of funny looks & funny comments about my ridiculous boot today, but Mike had my favorite: I walked past his desk, and without missing a beat, he turned in his chair to face me, eyebrow raised, "Did you kick someone's a** this weekend?"

   Runner-up quote goes to one of the maintenance guys, who chuckled and said, "You've gotta turn some lights on when you're getting dressed in the morning!"
   If there's anything good at all about the boot, it is making me all the more excited for snowboarding season... the other occasion on which I squeeze my feet into contraptions as tight as a bear traps.