Crutches, or Our Bodies Really Like Both Legs to Work

We had a wonderful time in Moab several weeks ago, as was chronicled below.  We loved visiting our friends, the Pages.  They had rented an awesome little vacation condo, complete with loft, reached only by a circular staircase, and you could take a FIREMAN POLE to go down!  How awesome is that?

Really awesome.

But I'm an idiot.

The last morning that we were leaving, I said "Wait!  Each of the adults need to take a turn going down the pole, and we'll take pictures."  It was a rare moment of exuberance.  Maybe I should make sure those moments stay rare.  I (thankfully) volunteered to go first.  Here is me coming down.

Note the lack of shoes.

I hit the ground fast and hard.  I guess I didn't lock my legs around the pole well.  Or grip it hard enough.  Something.  I more or less freefell and landed straight on my right heel.  This is me on the ground a few minutes later, praying that I hadn't just broken my calcaneus.

The next day I was still in a lot of pain, barely able to walk, so I went to and urgent care, and x-rays didn't show a fracture.  So I thought it would get better soon.  It didn't.  After a few days, I borrowed some crutches and did partial weight-bearing.  After a week, I still had a lot of pain, and began emailing friends to get opinions on what I should do.

I ended up taking weight off it totally for almost 10 days, with the result that, since then, I have been feeling good, and am now on my 3rd day with no crutches and I feel great.  A couple bullet points on this experience:

• I guess I'm officially old enough to do stupid things and get hurt by them.
• Me being on crutches while my wife, 2 little kids, and I, travel about the country is really hard.  Especially on my wife.
• Rachel has been SuperWoman. (again)
• That same family scenario traveling on a plane flight is near-laughable, but after taking our family home from Nairobi with 8 pieces of checked luggage, everything else is easy.
• I've never been on crutches before, but I'm astounded how using them makes every other part of your body so tired and sore.
• I finally made the decision to start walking without them after our visit to Sitka, Alaska.  Our shuttle abandoned us, and I crutched back to the boat (about a mile), with the result that my injured heel suddenly became the healthiest part of my body.  Thankfully, it paid off.
• Lesson:  Legs.  They are an awesome pair.