Medical Monday: Better Knee And Good Head!

   *giggle*
   Okay this is a Saturday but for the purposes of clearly delineating what this post is about and allowing the reader to either sit there, rapt, or move quickly on, I present to you another Medical Monday post! 
   I could almost have actually posted this on Monday but I really wanted to wait til at least Tuesday because that was the day I was getting the results of the excisional biopsy they did on my head three weeks ago. There was a spot on my left temple which an earlier punch biopsy had determined was squamous cell skin cancer. The excisional biopsy (a considerably larger removal of tissue around the affected area) determined that there were, indeed, no remaining cancer cells! So...basically...YAY! What I will have as a reminder of this procedure is about a 2 inch scar along my hairline (which will in the future be known as the "knife fight in the alley" scar!) I will now return to regular visits with my dermatologist and the adventures of The Old Man And The Sun will continue. I use a very light tone when talking about all this but, essentially, and as nice as it seems with its warmth and ability to gladden, the sun is a fucker....
   Now, back to my right knee.
   My physio appointments have ended and it is now my job to take care of and assess my knee on my own. It is quite clear to me that the knee is fine for hiking and trail-running, so that part is all good. What has not been so clear is whether the knee will hold up under the duress of sprinting and/or sports.
   

My taped right knee. I've learned how to tape
the knee so that the kneecap is tracking securely.

It was the nagging suspicion that it might break down while running full-out which took me to physio in the first place but I've had a hard time finding a way to test it comfortably. Some of this has been due to the weather, more of it has been due to the psychological barrier I've set up around possibly injuring it all over again.
   This past weekend, I decided to head to the nearest football field and try my damnedest to run hard on it. I wanted to run on grass---something has been telling me that if the knee gives out while I'm running my fastest on a hard track then I'm gonna be in much worse shape than if I'm on a soft, grassy surface.
   It sort of worked out okay.
   I headed to nearby St. Thomas Aquinas high school, slipped on a pair of football cleats, measured out about sixty metres, warmed up a little, and then tried running hard.

Where I ran--football filed at Thomas Aquinas

 
   The knee didn't give out and I was running faster than I'd run in the last two years. This was encouraging. There was no pain, just a nagging sensation that a part of my body was being asked to do something it had almost forgotten how to do. I am hoping that this sensation eventually goes away, with more training and practice. 
   However, I was not running at full speed. I was running very fast but not full speed and that is the remnant of the psychological barrier I was just describing. I have the funny feeling that I actually need to have a reason to run at full speed and I suspect this will only happen by getting re-involved in some kind of sports.
   Maybe ball hockey...
   Finally, to cap off the week that was, I made it out on to the Thames Valley Trail on Monday for a hike with my co-worker friend, Philip. Philip followed my last summer's tales of hiking the Trail end-to-end and was intrigued enough to purchase the guide book and also join the Thames Valley Trail Association. His plan is to do the trail as part of his Type 2 diabetes recovery so more power to him!
   

Philip's first visit to Kains Woods!

We met at the Kains Woods section of the trail, near the Oxford Street entrance, and left Philip's car there. We then drove to the other entrance off of Westdel Bourne and hiked the trail from there. It was pretty summery and an excellent day for hiking! We took a couple of water breaks and another break for munchies along the way. It was wonderful to see the very beginnings of the plant life starting to re-appear. It was also possible to see the aftermath of recent, almost historical, flooding in the area. Sections of Kains Woods go right through the Thames Valley flood plain and it was very clear that where we were walking was clearly underwater not all that long ago. The bases of the trees off to our right (the river was on our left) had piles of debris gathered around them, from where limbs, leaves and branches had been swept downstream and gotten caught. Quite the sight, really!

Piles of debris at the bases of trees!

   At the end of the hike, Philip seemed to have managed well and we agreed to get together again and hike another portion sometime soon. Looking forward to it!
   
   

Medical Monday--A Broken Leg, A Broken Head And An Update

   Okay, it's been awhile since I've posted here so there's some catching up to do!
   First of all, it wasn't my broken leg! I was hiking about a month ago in Komoka Park when I came across a young lady holding a couple of horses. You will occasionally see horses in Komoka but when I walked around her I spotted this other young lady lying on the ground. To make a long story short, she had been trying to ride her horse up an icy trail, the horse had slipped, she fell under the horse and her leg broke!
   

Where the horse landed on the woman. We think
her leg might have ended up between the horse
and that sharp rock you see in the middle of
the pic, causing  her leg to break.

Another couple of hikers came along and we stayed with her while one of her friends tethered the remaining horses and the other friend rode off to meet the EMS people at the park entrance. Eventually, nine firefighters and paramedics showed up and managed to get her on a stretcher and out of the park.
   Fortunately, this is the only time I've run into a situation like this but I do quite often think about something similar happening to me (likely minus the horse) while I'm out on my own, either hiking or running. In light of this, I am actively trying to decide whether a cell phone is enough of a safety net or whether some kind of beacon device might be in order.

My broken head, post-surgery.

   The broken head is mine however. You might remember awhile back when I told you I'd been diagnosed with a spot of skin cancer on my left temple. Well, two weeks ago I went in for day surgery and had it removed. I think it was likely the least painful procedure I've ever had done and I need to go back in about a week and find out whether they got all of it or whether they need to do a little more digging. Fingers crossed but I'm not too worried!
    If anyone still cares about my right knee, it's feeling better but still not 1oo%. We are having a massive ice storm in London this weekend, otherwise I'd planned on getting out and giving the knee a real test (my fears be damned) but, alas, unable to. Allison, my physiotherapist, keeps telling me there's nothing structurally wrong with it and that I should truly test it but the psychological end of it throws me. Okay, maybe when the ice is gone....
   On Monday of last week, something kind of cool happened. I had been contacted by a local blogger friend, Heather, from Explorationproject , who asked if I was interested in meeting her on the Thames Valley Trail and filming a segment dedicated to the Trail. I kind of jumped at the opportunity and so we arranged to meet at the aforesaid Komoka Provincial Park, which is part of the trail. We then spent about an hour walking and talking and filming. Heather is this amazing blogger who has hiked and explored all over North America and we ran across each other last year when we both realized we were hiking the trail at more or less the same time. She currently has become interested in vlogging and wanted to practise on me, so why not? 
   About three weeks ago I had an interesting appointment with my chiropractor, Zeinin. We kind of strayed beyond the usual adjustments and had a bit of a talk about my weight and health. I wrote about this in "Neanderings" and you can read it in my post called "Black Coffee".
   And today, I had potentially my final appointment with Allison. We agreed that my knee is much better now than when I first saw her and that I should test it out as much as possible and follow some of the guidelines she's given me. If, in the future, things seem wrong with it, I can always call for a follow-up. I thanked her profusely and am itching to get back out there!
   You are now all caught up, almost to the minute!