Healing Progress

I guess it has been quite a while since I posted any progress update. Things have changed quite a bit since my last post on the subject, which appears to be January 3 unless I mis-marked some other post.

With the consent and advice of my chiropractor, I attended Mac World Expo at Moscone Center in San Francisco on January 12 and 13. Moscone is a huge convention center and I figured it would be a workout. Unknown to me, they changed the format so that all the exhibits would be in Moscone South, which cut my footsteps in half. I was able to attend both days without any weakness or discomfort. I did bring the cane but I didn't really need it; and when my hands were full, the cane got in the way.

On January 20, I decided to give up the cane entirely. I feared that using it was causing me some back problems. Deciding to walk without the cane was more a psychological adjustment than a physical one. I found that I got along just fine, even in situations where I had previously found the cane useful.

At our follow-up appointment with the surgeon on February 17, he told us that I am losing bone mass and calcium at the fracture. The bone is mending just fine, but it's possible to lose enough calcium in only a month that it will take a year of exercise to regain it. So he suggested that any kind of exercise would be beneficial: bicycle, jogging, walking, and yes, dancing. So we decided that I should start square dancing again as soon as possible.

As a test, I danced one day at an invitational dance in Petaluma on February 26. This was the first time I had danced in over four months. It went well but I did get tired, and I was sore the next day.

The following weekend, we went to a beginner hoedown in San Jose. We figured this would be more exercise than we normally get at a hoedown. Then I started dancing with Mary at her tape group in Concord, partly for my own benefit, and partly because that tape group has some people injured and unable to attend. This has all gone well but I do get sore the next day. The chiropractor and physical therapist are trying to find the exact source of the soreness, since it is only in one spot.

We are not sure yet about round dancing. It requires a lot more balance and stamina than square dancing does. But I'm getting stronger every day.