Lick the pavement...

I suspect licking pavement would be more pleasant than going to two doctors in less than 24 hours but I don't want to be sick or injured any longer than necessary...My birthday is coming and I want to be *H*E*A*L*T*H*Y*!!!

Friday, I woke up with a sore throat and thought "Post Nasal Drip" ... something is blooming (probably mold) that my body does not like ...Took some Tylenol Sinus and "sucked it up ..." add to that some *feminine* issues and I am pretty uncomfortable but all these problems can be handle "over the counter" ... I thought my immune system was supposed to be SUPER-BOOSTED now?? What the heck ...

Saturday, still have the sore throat but I have a workout planned, must stick to the plan...

My intentions were good, aren't they always? The plan was to run/walk to Power Yoga/Pilates class. It's not very far, just over 2.5 miles from the house on a slightly hilly route. I have run this route before.

I got up and out of the house at 6:50am to make it to class by 7:20am. I strapped my yoga matt on my back, tucked my cell phone in my pocket and headed out the door.

The first mile went well, I took my time warming up to my pace and simply took the time to wake up. The day before, my right calf had been bothering me a little.. It was a little sore but I thought nothing of it. Two miles passed with no pains of any kind.

Just as I took a left, heading on the long down hill half mile to the Rec Center, my right calf seemed to cramp and tighten up. It was enough to make me stop and gently stretch and decide to take it easy on the downhill run. I resumed my run and got less than one block before I felt a sharp pain in my right calf that caused me to yelp (much like an animal) and hop onto my left foot. I gingerly put my right foot back down, already thinking, well I will just gently walk to class and modify my workout and get a ride home from my friend Liz. It was only after I put my right foot on the ground and tried to walk, that I realized that I couldn't.

A phone call to Jim, brought him and the car to my rescue. I hopped into the car and once home we immediately wrapped my calf and began "Ice and Elevation". I tried to stay off my calf all day except when absolutely necessary. The cat's seemed to love knowing their was a warm lap to return to all day.

Sunday, my leg was already much less sore and I am "hobbling" well ... My nickname could be "Gimp" ... I did some reading on line and Jim and I think that I have a calf strain - as opposed to the alternative which is a ruptured Achilles tendon (Calf Strains (which are essentially muscles tears) are a whole lot less severe than a torn Achilles but the symptoms are exactly the same. ) - Only the Doctor will be able to say for sure and I will be seeing him first thing Tuesday.

Sunday was also "Book Club" day and I was the hostess! We had a wonderful time and my home-made gazpacho soup was a hit! The girls surprised me with a cheese cake and flowers for my upcoming birthday and the house was FULL of estrogen! It was wonderful.

Sunday night the sinus infection has moved to my ears, my lymph nodes are swollen and I have a cough!! ARG!!

So I see my GP (general practitioner) today and the Orthopedic doc tomorrow. The hope is for some antibiotics to kill the sinus infection and stop the cough AND news that I just have a sprained calf and I should take it easy for 7-10 days.

So here is the catch.... this is the first time that I have been "sick" since I was diagnosed with Melanoma. This is the first time that I have had symptoms that I could not *blame* in the Interferon, Celexa, Celebrex, Birth Control or any other of the numerous drugs that I was on and it is *freaking me out* just a smidge.

My thoughts were random and panic-driven: Oh my gosh, my immune system is in overload ... Is this really just bad timing to have a sinus infection and another "FEMININE" issue OR is this masking something? What if this isn't a muscle tear but a stress fracture? Do I have BONE METS?......

Don't worry, I am managing my anxiety well ...I know it is totally silly and so that is why I am not taking any of my "anxiety" seriously but I want to be honest about how I am feeling because I would guess that other survivors have felt this way at some point and now I do too.

It is in this time that this quote that I read from "There is No Place Like Hope" comes in so handy...

"I always think Brain Tumor, until the Tylenol kicks in."

Still I would rather Lick the pavement than go any Doctors .....DAMN!

I'm Living STRONG!