Light at the end of the tunnel

At the risk of jinxing myself, I will say out loud that I think my luck is finally changing. Evidence:

1. I got my stitches out last Monday and I'm back in a brace until Thursday, then I'm free to start riding outside and swimming again. Of course my hand looks a little deformed, but at least I can start using it.


2. Last Thursday was my last day as Assistant to the Controller at this crazy-ass company I was part of since February. Mike got a promotion and a raise, so I can leave the workforce.

3. Because of #2, I have started working at the new YMCA that just opened across the street from our neighborhood. I work a couple of shifts a week as a Wellness Floor Attendant, which to me is a step towards becoming a personal trainer, which is My Dream Job. I don't make very much money right now, but I get to work in the fitness industry, and that's where I truly belong. I also am going to teach two indoor cycling classes a week, starting tomorrow morning. I've done that in the past, and I love it. I'm excited about getting back into that.

4. I'm knitting!

This is the beginning of an Hourglass Pullover using Classic Elite's Miracle. It's a slighty fuzzy alpaca/tencel blend, and I love the color. (Green is all the rage this fall.) The gauge is smaller so I'm doing the 37" size, but according to my calculations, it should work out alright.

5. The other night I ate an old fortune cookie that had been in our fruit bowl for months but I had never bothered to throw away. Here's what was inside:

"Use your abilities at this time to stay focused on your goal. You will succeed."

I am TOTALLY taping that on the top tube of my bike during Ironman.

Roller coaster

This last month has definitely been an emotional roller coaster ride for me. When it finally stops, I think I want to run out of this Amusement Park of Hell, screaming, never to be seen again. In short, it goes like this:

8/17 - Bike wreck. ER doc says hand is sprained. Ice, Ace bandages, ibuprofen.

8/21 - Sports medicine doc says my hand is broken in 3 places and I've got torn ligaments that may give me trouble later on in life. Casts it, makes follow up appt for 9/21.

9/1 - My friend, an orthopedic surgeon, persuades me to see him at his office. He determines, after looking at my xrays and my CT scan, that I've definitely torn my scapholunate ligament and I'll probably need to have surgery. Schedules an appt for me with one of his partners, a hand specialist.

9/5 - Hand specialist examines me and sends me for an MRI.

9/6 - Hand specialist calls and says I definitely need surgery and I'll be out for 12 weeks but I can run a marathon.

9/11 - Go in for surgery. Expecting it to be a repair, but understanding it may be bad enough for reconstruction instead. When I wake up, my mom tells me that the doc was really shocked - when he cut my hand open, he found that my ligament is just partially torn, so he did nothing. I'm going to be in a cast for 2 weeks, and I can do my Ironman.

WTF???

I'm very confused. I haven't had a chance to talk to the doctor myself, but I'm obviously going to do that. If he doesn't call me by 2 (I left a message for him yesterday), I'll call again. I want to know exactly what happened, exactly how long I'll be in a cast, when I can start training again, what I can do when, etc. Everyone is saying, "You should be happy! You're going to be able to do your Ironman!" I am happy about that, but I'm still in such confusion about what has gone on that I'm not doing cartwheels yet. And I'm freaked out that by the time I'm out of the cast, it'll almost be time to start tapering. I have confidence in my coach that he'll get me ready as best as he can, but it's going to be crazy.

And on the knitting front, I'm having trouble picking something to do. I really want to finish my Deciduous so that I can wear it in Florida, but I'm scared if I work on it in my cast, my gauge will be totally off and it'll look wonky. So then Saturday I decided to pull out some purple Soft Kid I have in my stash. Purple makes me happy, and so does mohair. And I thought mohair might hide little gauge issues I might have. But I can't find anything I want to use it for except this allover lace pullover. I started a sleeve, thinking it may be okay because it's a simple lace pattern, but it takes me FOREVER to knit it. So then I pulled out my Nature Spun Worsted I bought last year for a Fair Isle cardigan and have contemplated using it for Tubey from knitty, but I'm scared because I've read about too many people having issues with the fit. So now I think I need to just start something completely fresh - new pattern, new yarn. I'm contemplating a Marilyn's Not So Shrunken Cardigan from Knit & Tonic, or an Hourglass Sweater from Weekend Knitting, or a Rusted Root from Zephyr Style. Anyone have any thoughts?

I took drugs a little bit ago, so maybe I need to lie down. Bye for now.

Vibrate

Outkast put an album out a couple of years ago that was a 2-disc set. One disc is Big Boi's stuff; the other, Andre 3000's. Andre 3000 has a song called "Vibrate." In it he says: "And when I say motherf*cker I do mean motherf*cker."

That sums up how I've been feeling lately.

Long story short, I am having surgery Monday morning to repair the scapholunate ligament that I tore when I wrecked my bike 3 weeks ago. I will be in a cast for 8 weeks (in addition to the 3 weeks I've already spent in a cast) then a brace for 2-4 more, then I will have surgery again to take the pins out. No biking outside. No swimming.

No Ironman Florida.

Motherf*cker.

I have worked SO HARD this summer for this race, only to have it taken away from me by a flat tire and my inexperience in wrecking. ("Steph, don't you know you're supposed to tuck and roll?") My surgeon has given me clearance to run a marathon on November or December, so I guess I should be happy about that. That will give me some athletic goal to shoot for. I could run the marathon my husband and his training partner are doing in November and kick their asses. However, I prefer my marathons to be preceded by a 2.4-mile swim and a 112 mile ride. Is that too much to ask? I think not.

Anyway, during this time period in which I will not see my left hand (I am left-handed, by the way - and I repeat, motherf*cker), I have been told that I can knit. He actually was very enthusiastic about knitting - good therapy for my hand, he says. The cooler temperatures are bringing out my sweater-knitting urges. I think, for my hand's sake, I will do something simple and stockinette stitch-y on not-so-small needles - size 7 or 8, maybe. Maybe an Hourglass Sweater? If I use the right yarn, hopefully it won't be too boring. Maybe another Weasley Sweater for Hayden? Definitely not the Michael Kors sweater from Vogue Knitting that I've been eyeing. And what about the Deciduous top that's about 60% done, lying patiently beside my bed? Do I continue with that and hope my post-wreck gauge isn't different than the pre-wreck?

Motherf*cker.

Wish me luck.