Freak Accident Injury!

T 4 Nov 03

I was climbing stairs as usual on Tuesday, doing my second set of time
trials. I went up pretty fast on the first one, and by the time I started
the third I was tired even after 4 minutes of wait time, but I still felt
good as I started. A few floors in I feel my left calf kind of pull
(muscle pulling, like you when you stretch really hard) and it immediately
went away, and then I felt the right calf pull, and it went away. As I
turned as started going up again, suddenly my left calf CLENCHED, like it
tightened up, but it was unlike any other experience of pulling a muscle
I've ever felt (as a dancer I'm very used to pulling the mucles in my
feet, which hurt like hell for 10 seconds and then start to subside).  
After a few seconds of immense pain I thought it would go away, but it
just kept getting worse and worse, and my face was frozen in shock as I
tried to figure out how to contort my body to sit down in the immense
pain; it took at least a minute. Clutching my calf with my hand, I felt it
pulsating with blood, like a little miniature heart. Very scary. It took a
few minutes of sitting through pain before I was able to attempt to start
going down (at first I felt a tad guilty that I didn't finish the time
trials, but then I realized it would be a workout just trying to get out
of the stairwell). Walking down stairs was very difficult. Fifteen minutes
later I was still hobbling to the AAF meeting, where I massaged it for a
while and was able to stretch a little. Didn't ice it, which wasn't very
smart.

W 5 Nov 03

Still hurts a LOT. To watch me walk is like going to a freak show circus. 
I can't even limp. I have to bend both legs down and drag my feet across 
the floor with a pathetic hop every other step. Drove to class and had to 
get a ticket because it hurts even to bike (it hurts to extend my foot, 
i.e. contract the calf) Hobbled along. Took ibuprofen at mom's house and 
picked up Icy Hot (like BenGay but stronger) and rubbed a huge amount into 
my leg before going to sleep.

Th 6 Nov 03

Damn, after the Icy Hot, my leg was KILLING me this morning. I used it 
instead of icing but now I figured it was time to ice it, since I've only 
got TEN more days until the Sears stairclimbing race! Grabbed a big hunk 
of ice from the freezer and iced for 1-1.5 hours at work, and boy did it 
feel great. Just numbed it all up, but could still feel the pain coming 
through. Then I bummed an ACE bandage from the Dept. of Recreational 
Sports and it didn't hurt so much hobbling back to my car, but every now 
and then I can feel it bubbling inside. If all goes well I won't have to 
amputate. Canoeing, anyone? :)