A tale of a ganglion, soft tissue, and a back-track on my plans...

Not a lot of time in the Fabulous household this week...it's been c-raazy...! Thursday already!...where did that go?

Monday I finally got to catch up with my GP, who told me the x-rays showed no sign of a Neuroma (relief), just some soft tissue damage near my big toe, and a ganglion near my little toe ... that explains why my whole foot is sore :o

He can't treat either of these conditions, so suggested rubbing Voltaren or a similar cream under the big toe area when it hurts, and referred me to a Sports Medicine specialist for further diagnosis.


So it appears that this too will pass...according to Kek who is a ganglion *expert*, there is every likelihood that the doctor will just smash the ganglion with a thick text book and that will be that...


In a rush of determination, I decided enough was enough, for goodness' sake I hadn't walked any further than from my front door to the car for about ten days...I was jumping out of my skin to get in a *real* work-out but was worried that I might be doing more damage to my foot. Take it easy, said my GP and if your foot starts to hurt too much, slow down.

So I am back to some good training - RPM class yesterday, long (but slow) walk the day before...feeling happy :-)


As for the "back-track" of the title - I am back on the 12WBT...I'd paid the fee, I like their recipes and it gives me structure...

I am going it at my own pace and not letting the Social Media rush take over my life - I simply haven't got the time...12WBTers are very active on FaceBook, Twitter, Blogs and their own Forums...I'm a very sociable girl but working from home in front of a computer, the temptation is just too great...


Hope you're all travelling well and staying dry...we're doing OK up here, glad we don't live any further down - it looks like Sydney copped a beating last night.


Oh - and keep an eye on my Weight Loss ticker up there...slowly but surely :-)

xo

March Photo a Day Challenge Day 7 - Something you wore

Something I wear every day...sunscreen. It goes on under my regular day moisturiser...I'm hoping to slow down the ageing that can be caused by incidental exposure to the sun while driving etc, so I've been wearing it religiously even on cloudy days.

Do you have any anti-aging beauty tips?



Day 6 - 5pm

5pm on a Tuesday...Cassie stretching before ballet class and having a play with Ollie at the same time...girls learn to multi-task early in life ;-)

Day 5 - A smile

Maddie has been having piano lessons since age 5. Her piano teacher is married to one of Australia's best known sculptors, and is a keen photographer herself.

A couple of years ago, she took this photo of Maddie...

Her husband immediately named it "The Mona Lisa Smile"...

this is the way Maddie always smiles...we've spent literally thousands of dollars on orthodontic work, but she hardly ever smiles with her mouth open...it's not self-consciousness in the least - it's just her smile.



I love it - her eyes do all the talking, don't you think?

Day 4 - Bedside

The perfectionist in me wanted to pull everything off my bedside table, dust the top and then put away the books, nail polish, jewellery and display just a couple of journals along with my retro lamp and a jewellery box...

but as you can see, I decided *what you see is what you get* and just took the photo as it was. This is it - reality...

Day 3 - Your Neighbourhood

We live in a small village in the Blue Mountains. We are surrounded by National Park...weatherboard cottages and trails like this one...

The Great Western Highway and railway line run through these villages and what were once commuter townships have since developed into tight communities with schools, churches, shopping centres and high quality coffee shops and restaurants.


We have lived here since we were married, our girls love it and we love the sense of community as well as being so close to nature. It's a healthy lifestyle, with walking tracks at our doorstep, as well as aquatic centres with excellent facilities and sporting opportunities for our children.

The wildlife is just beautiful, in the past month, we have had two wallabies, one kangaroo, a stork, a turtle and a black snake visit us...all coming within metres of our house (needless to say I wasn't all that keen on the snake, but it made its happy way out of our block eventually)


I wouldn't live anywhere else. We are blessed to live here.




And just for a bit of trivia - Dymphna Cusack and Florence James wrote "Come in Spinner" whilst renting a cottage in this village in the 1940's...they hired a "local" woman to run their errands and do some housekeeping for them, her name was Kath Walker and under their guidance she eventually wrote her memoirs, which were published under the title "Caddie"...

The foot saga continues...

I had an ultrasound and x-rays on my foot last Thursday.

The ultrasound technician was very friendly and started off by complementing me on my "soft and flexible" foot...a nice change from the feet riddled with arthritis that she usually sees...I was sitting on the bed feeling quite smug and then she started the ultrasound on the sore foot...

From the looks on her face, and the way she went over certain areas of my foot a few times, I was sure of one of two things :

a) This whole thing was in my mind and there was absolutely *nothing* wrong with my foot (omg am I a hypochondriac after all?)

OR

b) There was something *more* wrong with my foot than just the little Neuroma we were all looking for.


*************************************

I asked her (although I knew she wasn't allowed to discuss this with me) whether she could see anything going on there...

She of course replied that she couldn't discuss, but that there was a little bit more going on with the sole of my foot than expected, I then told her about a couple of fractures I suffered about 18 years ago and she said that could explain "some" of what she saw...then the doctor came in and they started talking about my foot as if I wasn't there...I can't even remember the terms they used, but I deducted that there appears to be some damage to the "plantal" (?) region of the foot, as well as a Neuroma...


I then went in for the x-rays, and I was given the films to bring with me to my GP...well, there is something WEIRD going on with my big toe...there are two "lumps" showing in the x-rays...calcification perhaps???


The suspense is killing me, and the pain is frustrating me. It is there when I wake up, it is almost constant...I need to keep changing position throughout the day...


I have an appointment with my GP on Monday morning and hopefully all will be explained and we will embark on some form of treatment...in the meantime I've wallowed in self pity and haven't worked out...I read about Bloggers who started learning to run when I did, and they are now running further distances more frequently. This frustrates me, as I was really enjoying the running...but common sense and self-preservation prevails and I know that to do anything like a long walk or even short bursts of running could cause further damage....


So the waiting goes on, I am hoping to make it to the gym over the weekend for some weight training. I love Pump classes but don't think it's a good idea, as the lunges really hurt my foot, so maybe time to dig out some of my old weights programs and do that instead.



Blogger is being silly and am having trouble posting. I have Day 3 of the March Photo a Day waiting to be posted so will keep trying.


Hope you're having a great weekend.


xo