Something to whine about

I thought I did something to my toe when playing tennis on the hard courts last week, but when the pain migrated to the top of my foot, I realized it was more than that.

My podiatrist had a cancellation yesterday morning, so I went bright and early. He said it is most likely a stress fracture in the left metatarsal.

He gave me a compression boot and, like the last time I had one for a stress fracture in my leg, it worked quickly to ameliorate the pain. To confirm the cause, I need to go to the hospital tomorrow for an injection of dye, followed three hours later by an x-ray and bone scan.

I will probably have to leave the boot on for five to six weeks, which obviously amounts to that same amount of time without exercise. I asked about swimming, and my doctor said not even to do that because of the pressure it would put on my foot. I can basically lift weights and do some core-strengthening exercises, not my favorite activities.

Katie asked me what makes a stress fracture heal, and I said basically wearing the boot and whining.

When I told Diane about it, she said a friend had recently reported suffering from plantar fasciitis, and Diane, a fellow past sufferer, told her all the remedies we had tried. We laughed about the fact that I complained more bitterly about plantar fasciitis than I did about leukemia. A stress fracture can have the same effect.

It is already taking its toll on Maddie. She keeps looking at me expectantly, as though she thinks we're going for a walk. But it's hard to navigate with the boot on.

I have already planned a few play dates for her.

At least one of us will get some exercise.