Good For You - Good For Me

Mama and Papa were lyin' in bed
Mama rolled over and this is what she said:
GIMME-SOME!
PT!
OOH-RAH!
GOOD FOR YOU!
GOOD FOR ME!

-- A Marine Running Cadence

That sort of oozed out of my head. It comes from back in the day, when I used to run to those (and other) cadences. They started in recruit training, and the drill instructors used them for a few reasons. One was to get the minds of the recruits off of the pain of running, at least in the beginning. After that, it was used to maintain a proper step (even though you're running at a "double time" pace), as an aid to developing lung capacity (which actually makes a lot of sense if you think about it), and, more notably, as a team-building tool. And it worked effectively, no matter whether you were a brand new recruit or a member of the Fleet Marine Force somewhere out in the wide world. When I was stationed on Okinawa the unit I was with (the III MEF Band) ran PT every day that we were on station. The running cadences sounded especially good because of the fact that we weren't just Marines, but we were also musicians. Our quarters were in the middle of the buildings that housed the 12th Marine Regiment, and depending on who you talked with they either liked having us around or they hated it. Probably it depends on one's point of view, but it was, and continues to be, the living arrangement of the band over there.

I have my first physical therapy session today. The way it was explained to me, I will be evaluated by the physical therapist to see what my baseline is, in terms of my ankle and calf. Based on his findings, a therapy plan will be developed, and I think it will include range of motion and possibly some strength training. And since the surgeon cleared me for full usage of gym apparatus, I will be able to start working out on an elliptical machine and a stationary bike, but I don't plan to do that until I know what I have to work on. That will be a little more clear this afternoon.

I saw the wound guy yesterday, and we are definitely making progress. The wound has started to close, and it has shrunken about a half-centimeter in each direction. Initially, it was 3.1cm wide X 2.8cm high, and yesterday it was 2.6cm wide X 2.2cm high. That is good healing. While I was there he disrupted the little bit of bio-film that was present on the surface, plus he trimmed the callus on the edges down and took some of the granularity off so that the new tissue would have a place to go.

I always end up a little sore after a visit because of the debriding that is performed, but at least now I have something to show for it. And it's only been two weeks! For three months prior I felt like I was getting absolutely nowhere, and while I will acknowledge that it took all of that time for the tissue to fill in, it could have been handled better by the doc I was seeing before. I have no regrets changing providers, and I now have something to look forward to. But I know he won't clear me, regardless of what the ortho guy does, until I am able to put a shoe on. And I don't see that happening for at least another 6-8 weeks.

But for now, we press on.