Chondromalacia

I had my post-surgical appointment with the orthopaedist today and everything is in order. He showed me the images from inside my knee of the problem and the repair job that was done. Basically the cartilage under the patella or kneecap was damaged- the image showed it looking as if it had been shredded! Chondromalacia is the term usually used to describe damage to the cartilage under the patella and it generally affects young people who engage in physical activity. I have to do physical therapy twice a week for eight weeks which should help me regain full mobility in my knee. At the moment it is quite tight and I cannot bend or stretch it out fully. I also have some pain that varies between mild discomfort and bad and which he said would take time to go away, with some days being bad and some being good! I have had a few rough nights already and I hope that is the worse it gets. He said I could go back to work next Monday, the same day I see the podiatrist and once he gives me the all clear, I will be back to work on July 23rd.

It has been six months now that I have been home! I honestly never thought I would have been away from work for so long when the MRI results in January showed a torn tendon in my foot! I am thankful to Allah that the problems with my foot and knee were diagnosed and that unlike millions of people around the globe, including right here in the richest country in the world, I have been able to receive treatment. The next step is to work on strengthening the different tendons and muscles in and around my foot and knee while avoiding over exertion. It will probably still be a while though before I can go back to the gym and resume my training programme.

Of Podiatric Progress, Vacation Days and Captaincy Quarrels

I had a doctor’s appointment along with therapy yesterday. I can now basically walk alone without the cane except for when I go up or down stairs so the doctor told me I could stop using the cane and also try to get accustomed to using the stairs without it. I am still not supposed to do any unnecessary walking. I still have tendonitis in parts of my foot and I am still feeling some pain and stiffness in different areas. Overall there has been much progress though. I hope when I see him in two weeks time I am given the all clear to go back to work on July 9th. Beyond that I also am looking forward to going back to the gym. I weighed myself on Monday night and I have put on fifteen pounds!

I also have to take at least fourteen days vacation each year or I will lose them and since I can’t take any time off from September to December because of the UN General Assembly I have to take the days sometime in July and August. There is no way I am losing my hard earned vacation so I guess the office will not be seeing me for two weeks in July or August!

Yesterday I spoke about the pathetic handling of the captaincy issue for the upcoming one-day series and this morning the news media reported that the WICB board as a whole had sided with the selection panel against the Executive Board and therefore Gayle will captain the side with Chanderpaul as his deputy. The Barbados Nation and cricinfo.com both carried stories which can be read here and here.

UPDATE June 15th

Tony Cozier has an article in the Weekend Nation on the captaincy situation which can be read here.

Insurance Battles and a Superpower’s Dim-witted Population

I had another doctor’s appointment yesterday- cortisone shot, reminder that I was not to be tempted into going out in the nice weather and advised to keep on alternating between boot and sneaker with a view towards giving up the boot. I am now up to three hours a day in sneakers. It has been ok, although the ankle strap and still slightly swollen foot means that the shoe starts to feel tight towards the end and my foot hurts a bit. My therapy has been put on hold this week as the therapist battles the insurance company to get authorisation for more sessions. For physical therapy, the insurance company works through a middle man company that assesses the therapist’s progress reports and makes a determination on the number of sessions required. In the first instance twelve sessions were authorised and upon a further request for twelve more, they only approved three. So some guy sitting in an office decides that someone who has only now reached the stage of walking with a cane and boot doesn’t need anymore physical therapy. I am far from regaining full mobility in my foot, I still cannot walk without assistance, my big toe still does not have the range of motion it should have, I still have tendonitis and pain in various parts of my foot, but this idiot in his response to the therapist has said that I should do foot exercises at home. What is worse is that when I called the insurance company, I was told that my plan allowed for as many sessions as the doctor and therapist thought I needed. However the request for authorisation must go through the middle company hired by my insurance and they have taken it upon themselves to be anal. I would like to see the fool face to face- my cane can be used for much more than helping me walk! I can only sympathise with the millions of people who cannot afford insurance and must suffer in the world’s most prosperous nation!

And speaking of the world’s most prosperous nation, have a look at these two videos posted on YouTube. There are other similar videos there so help yourselves to a laugh. I have lived in New York City for 2 ½ years and each day it perplexes me how this country remains a super power with such a stupid populace!

Podiatric Problems Continue, West Indian Reality Check and Slinga Malinga’s Beaver Trick

*Photo from www.cricinfo.com

I got up on Monday feeling some pain and lots of tightness in my heel, especially the back of it. I couldn’t even wear the boot with my foot in the position it should be in because of the pain and tightness in my heel. I decided that I should seek a second opinion just to make sure that I don’t end up with my foot in a worse situation than it was in January so I called a podiatrist who was recommended by a colleague and was lucky to get an appointment the same day. It was reassuring to hear that the treatment I have been undergoing is normal. The podiatrist also said that the tightness in the heel was expected as tendons and muscles became very tight when casted and from lack of use. The only thing he stressed was that I should begin therapy soon and that he expected I would require it for a lengthy period of time. I made an appointment to see my podiatrist and saw him today. He told me the same thing about cast, inactivity and tightness but he was also worried that it was so painful. He said that in some cases, patients would unknowingly tear a tight tendon with a sudden foot movement when sleeping and so I had to go to do an MRI to make sure I have not ruptured my Achilles tendon. I must admit that this is becoming rather frustrating as it seems to be one step forward two steps backward. As usual I quickly did some research on Achilles tendon ruptures, symptoms, treatment etc and while I have been worried I think it may just be severe tightness and tendonitis. If it is only this, then according to the doctor I can begin therapy next week. If not, then ….

Comprehensively beaten by a ruthless Aussie team. As I expected, the Aussies rattled up a huge total. It began well for the Windies as they got an early wicket and kept the scoring rate low but some poor bowling and captaincy coupled with a brutal Hayden assault meant that the good start was negated and Australia ended up with 40-50 more runs than they should have gotten. Special mention must go to Bravo who has taken to bowling his “slow ball” so often each over that one wonders if he has a brain and also to Lara for not bowling Smith. The batting performance was pathetic today as we witnessed the usual batting collapse. Chanderpaul was the beneficiary of a poor umpiring decision (this is not an excuse but it seems that an abnormal amount of poor umpiring decisions go against the West Indies and particularly Lara and Chanderpaul) but most of the batsmen deserve a serious hiding for gifting their hands. Gayle did all the hard work by surviving the early bowling test only to play a stupid shot. Samuels is back to his old self obviously because I cannot in any way fathom why he ran down the pitch and swiped at McGrath. Sarwan once again played himself in and then played a poor shot and what was worse was that it was a rank full toss. Bravo needs a whipping for his poor shot and Smith did the norm- hit a six and get out. Lara and Ramdin fought hard but it wasn’t enough. All that was required was some sensible batting and mental toughness, but to ask that of this current crop is like asking them to squeeze water from a rock.

Lasith Malinga, with that slinging action that is such a joy to watch made history as he became the first bowler to take a beaver trick in One Day Internationals. Those two overs were unbelievable and as one cricket journalist said, “if only stumps had hair” Malinga would have had five in five balls and Sri Lanka would have won the match. Fidel Edwards who burst onto the international scene a few years ago in sensational fashion has a similar action to Malinga and is just as pacy if not pacier, but obviously as seems to be the case with our cricketers compared to those from other countries, ours do not possess the same discipline and commitment. A West Indies team playing with an on song Fidel would have been a much better one.