Month: May 2012

Roooooad triiiiiip!

My dad and brother picked me up in San Francisco yesterday and now we’re hurtling toward Yosemite National Park for a week in a big ol’ cabin with my aunt, uncle, cousins and little second cousins.

I think everyone else will hike majestic trails and I will just crutch in circles around the cabin. Or drink. Or both!

I’ve missed my family a lot. It’s gonna be a good week.

Other countries have a lot going for them, but the U.S. just does some things better.

This is my FREE hostel breakfast in San Francisco – bagel with choice of spreads, fruit and eggs made to order. The best breakfast I’ve gotten at any other hostel included a few pieces of stale toast and some cereal.

This will likely be breakfast and lunch for me, as I must navigate a rather scary flight of stairs on crutches just to get down to street level in search of food.

Aaand I tend not to get too hungry anyway since I’m working through a nice bout of bronchitis! (When it rains, it pours, right?)

My dad and bro fly in this afternoon to rescue me and whisk me away for a week in Yosemite. Can’t wait to see my family after more than three months away!!!

Ronnie from Texas just emailed me this pic his friend took of us on Koh Samui.

Here, he’s setting me down after piggybacking me off of a boat and down a long, sketchy wooden pier. He also carried my big bag and found me a cab.

I had just met him on the boat. I think he felt sorry for me when he asked how I hurt myself and I was at first too upset to respond — I just wiped away silent tears from under my sunglasses.

Ronnie from Texas. He’s good people.

Helloooo from San Francisco!!

I survived 18 hours of flying and God only knows how many hours of layovers and rolled in last night. After a huge, FREE taco buffet at the hostel, an early bedtime and a much-needed shower, I feel nearly human again.

I can even walk a tiny bit on my bum ankle, but I’m not sure if that’s real progress or just codeine.

It’s sunny but freeeeezing (i.e. not 100 degrees) here, and I would kill to be able to go run along the Embarcadero. This is the first time I’ve really been unable to run since I really got into it, and it makes me sad.

But as my dad emailed me: “This little setback is just a setup for a big comeback!”

Word, Dad. Word.

Hello from Koh Samui Airport, also known as Airport #1 of the five-airport saga that’ll take place over the next 36 hours or so!

I don’t know why I was so worried about flying with crutches; getting pushed around the airport in a wheelchair is faaaantastic!

Keeping a smile on my face. San Francisco or bust!

At least it happened at the end of my trip!

At least (I think) it’s not broken!

It could be much worse!

I figured I’d start with optimistic thoughts because if I don’t try to look on the bright side, I will just keep dissolving into tears.

Here are the facts:

– I fell
– It hurt
– I can put my entire body weight on my left foot, but can’t really walk on it without the aid of my sketchy Thai crutches, which were gifted to me by a kindly restaurant owner who happened to have a spare set in his back room (so random)
– I’m 99% sure my left ankle is not broken, but it is definitely swollen and I think qualifies as a good sprain
– I’ll find out for sure at the hospital tomorrow — today I dealt with my travel insurance company and confirmed that it will cover my visit to a nearby hospital
– I’ve survived so far thanks to the kindness of strangers and some piggyback rides from strapping young men of various nationalities
– I will likely not be running again anytime soon (Dev on Running –> Dev on Traveling –> Dev on Crutching)

Rest. Ice. Compress. Elevate.

I have no idea where “travel through five airports in 36 hours starting tomorrow night” (Koh Samui –> Bangkok –> Tokyo –> Los Angeles –> San Francisco) fits into that preliminary recovery plan, but I’ll cross crutch that bridge when I come to it.

I could really use some cheering up right now.