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Amy and I took a walk along the beach in Destin as our food coma wore off. Here is a map that RunKeeper on my iPhone made of the walk. If you click the "view details" link in the black box you'll get a map you can zoom and pan. It was really a round trip, ending where we started, but, RunKeeper shows us not getting all the way back - not sure why.

It has been a long time since I posted an update regarding my calf. Here is an abbreviated update:

Tuesday, September 23 - I played in the first night of our Tuesday coed league. Felt fine.
Tuesday, September 25 - I played in the third night of our Thursday coed league. Felt fine.
Over the weekend things got worse.
Tuesday, September 30 - By Tuesday it was a lot worse, but I hadn't lined up a sub, so I played Tuesday coed... trying not to jump much. It didn't work too well... it still hurt quite a bit.

... lotsa PT ...

Week of October 19 - We were in Vegas. Lot of walking. Quite a bit of swelling.

... lotsa PT ...

Sunday, November 2 - I played in an open gym. 1 day of swelling, no pain.
Tuesday, November 4 - I played in Tuesday coed league again. 1 day of swelling, no pain.
Thursday, November 6 - I played in Tuesday coed league again. 1 day of swelling, no pain.

Its pretty much been like that ever since. I didn't have PT last week, due to scheduling conflicts... but I do have PT this week. Looking forward to hearing how they receive my status.

Amy and I spent a week in Vegas, most of the time with Sam and Pat. Here are my 30 Best Pictures and All 263 Pictures.

I had a good week. On Thursday I did an 8 mile bike ride. I had no pain after that. Friday I had a good PT appointment - 90% strengthening.

On Saturday I biked to 4 Lakes where Amy was playing in a charity blind draw. I played a pickup game. After an hour I had no pain, so I played another one. After another 45 minutes I still had no pain, so I played 3 more pickup games. I wasn't going all out, probably somewhere between 50% and 75%. I didn't jump a lot, maybe a total of 8 or 9 times. I also wasn't very fast to dive/adjust forward. At the end of the day I biked the 4 miles home.

Sunday the whole leg was a bit stiff - mostly in the upper leg, which I attribute to a lack of use the last few weeks. The lower leg feels good.

I have 3 more weeks of twice a week PT. I think it is helpful, but, I'm not sure I'll need to go to all of the remaining appointment. We'll see.

Things keep getting better with my calf. I haven't used my crutches since September 5th. Each day I am walking better, I am now able to walk heal to toe, instead of shortening the step or putting the foot out sideways.

On the 5th at PT I did a recumbent stepper. When I started I was going at a pace of about 12 steps / minute. After 10 minutes I was up to 24 steps / minute. At the next PT on the 9th I started at 24 steps / minute and finished at about 50 steps / minute. And then on the 12th I started at about 50 steps / minute and finished at about 100 steps / minute. That is about the limit - the machine also moves my arms, and, that is about as fast as I can go without rocking the machine violently.

The last week we've been focusing on enabling me to straighten my leg without pain. That is no longer a problem. Now we are focusing on strengthening the leg and stretching it.

I have two more PT appointments this week, and a doctor's appointment too. I'll see what the doc says - I'm optimistic that I'm on schedule to return to volleyball by October.

On Friday I went to my second PT appointment. It went very well again. I went in being unable to bear any weight on my right leg, and came out able to walk (very badly) without crutches.

I have continued to limp around since then without crutches around the house & office. Longer distances I still use my crutches. Each day the pain and swelling have improved. Now the only issue is that it is difficult/painful to straighten the leg fully.

On Friday I received an ultrasound treatment, in addition to the "normal" heat, massage, stretching and ice. I didn't notice any immediate result of the ultrasound, but, I guess I can't argue with the results.

My next appointment is today, Tuesday. I'm expecting more improvement.

I saw my PT (Physical Therapist) today, Kelly. I was somewhat skeptical going into the appointment, but, I think it helped and future sessions will continue to help. Today the focus was on two things: 1) trying to get me to straighten my leg, and 2) reduce the swelling (the calf, ankle and foot are all very swollen). I got a few exercises to do, and she encouraged me to elevate the leg whenever possible. I am going to try to figure out how to elevate it while at work.

As far as treatment today, it started with moist heat and some massage. Then we worked on some of my exercises. At the end she wrapped it in a large ace bandage for 5-10 minutes, to squeeze out some of the swelling. That was also the point of most of the massage.