Upbeat

Today, I am feeling pretty upbeat in general. Which is kind of funny, considering nothing has really changed. I think what has triggered this is that I feel I am on the way to some certainty and a more definite plan. That’s all I need–a plan, somewhere to focus, knowledge of what I can and can’t expect.

Yesterday, I saw the new doc for the second opinion. He did an X-ray, which cleared me of all kinds of big things; I don’t think I’d realized how worried I was about hearing something like, “You’re got some kind of growth” or “Looks like arthritis–learn to live with it” until I heard, “Everything looks clear on the X-ray–no fractures, tumors, anything like that.”

After the exam, the doc told me there were basically two courses of action: 1) take it easy and see what happens over time, or 2) get an MRI. Since I’ve been taking it easy for a month now and I’ve only gotten worse, of course I opted for the MRI route. That happens this afternoon, and I go back on Monday for the follow-up.

A friend of mine has been going through something remarkably similar (though his condition has been going on longer and with more effect)–yes, we’ve compared our “butt pain” extensively, and we’re both feeling the same things in our sit-bone area–and he finally got his diagnosis yesterday. While his recovery involves 4–6 months of not running, there was a definitive answer and a course of treatment. I can live with something like that. If I have to stop running, I’ll just plan to spend that time doing the things I can and being as productive as I can in areas that will benefit me when I DO get back to running.