Tuesday, January 31, 2012

No Funny Moles! (Just Semi-Ironic Racoons)


Went for my annual physical yesterday. (You know, the one I have every two years.)  And the doctor, who I have always loved since I know she is a runner, shows up in a boot cast.

A stress fracture caused by running sidelined her for 8 weeks. AHHH!!!

Something very cool and ironic about my PCP showing up with a "training to run the Cleveland Marathon" stress fracture. Learned  much by listening to the cause of the fracture and her treatment.  Shared this with a friend who quipped "yes, show me the doctor who says 'if you're not icing something, you're not training hard enough' and I've found my match."

But, more importantly, everything was just fine!  As I get older and older, it's always more of a relief. No funny Moles that look like cancer, no 'nodules' to send me to a specialist, no reason for concern except how am I going to save up all the money for my long retirement.

One year I went, and I was sent for a whole battery of tests for some irregular heart beats and then had the whole deal, ekg, stress tests. My family had been hearing about those who were dying of heart attacks running marathons  (you know, 2 or 3 in probably 800,000 marathoners a year). Well, I do have a lazy valve that was leaking a bit, and a thickened left ventricle, but this thickening of the ventricle is apparently a result of distance running, not a threat to it. (disclaimer, not a doctor here.)

I have the full green light to run, but if not, in order to stop, I would need to see the negatives and risks that far outweigh the positives. Of course, with a doctor who has a stress fracture from running, I'm in the right hands.

Speaking of hands, sorry for the picture below.
I've always trusted female doctors more anyways.

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