kneegate: the trilogy (and my trip to florida)

first - an administrative note.  click on the post title to see the trip photo album

my trip to florida began with all the makings of a fantastic experience, and before it's disastrous ending, it was just that.

it started even before the trip did, when a guy i knew in high school saw on my facebook page that i'd be heading to boca raton and asked where i'd be staying.  when i told him, in that small world kind of way, it turned out that he worked at the property, and offered to attempt an upgrade for me.

superfly car for superfly chicks

i wasn't sure if it would come through, but i was hopeful.  and when my friend (and co-worker) melissa and i arrived in ft. lauderdale, i checked in at the alamo desk and was sent to choose my car from the midsize aisle.  what came as a surprise was that i had everything from an suv to a beetle to choose from.   so we agreed on the beetle.  a fun car for a fun trip.

the boca raton resort

when we got to the hotel, i learned that my old high-school buddy had come through for me.  and, in any normal hotel this would have been awesome, but since the event, and our host hotel, was a waldorf astoria property, it was even more happy-dance inducing.  and happy dance i did, when i opened the door to my suite.

the view from my suite

not. kidding.

melissa and i IN the everglades.
and for the record, she's 5'4", i'm 5'9"

the fun was just getting started though, and after melissa and i got the booth setup taken care of, we had some time to kill.  so we decided to head south so that i could check the everglades national park off my parks passport list.  but, we weren't content to settle for your 'standard' park experience, so we opted instead for an air boat tour.  having had such a great time on our new orleans air boat, we were both pretty excited.  and it was....different.  it was worth every penny of the $22, but it wasn't as intense as the new orleans one (which was closer to $100).  in the end we were glad we did it - the everglades is such an unusual place - but if you're ever in that area an considering an airboat tour, we'll talk, so you can go in with the right expectations.

a new stamp for the passport

we made it back from the day's adventure in time for lunch.  some of you may be familiar with the original serendipity in new york, originators of the frozen hot chocolate, and i was thrilled to learn that there was a serendipity at the hotel.  in addition to my lunch, i enjoyed the peanut butter version of the yummy dessert.  

peanut butter and the original

then it was time for work, and we finished out the night at a random chinese place, where melissa tried frog legs for the first time.

ewww.

me, melissa, and the atlantic.

we spent the next day at the hall, and enjoyed a yummy dinner afterwards before heading to the beach club for the conference netoworking event.  truth be told, we didn't do much networking.  instead we spent most of our time dipping our toes in the atlantic, and i gotta tell you, i have MISSED that ocean!  i love california, but dang the pacific is cold, and i had forgotten just how different they are.  if i hadn't been in jeans, i might have gone for an evening swim. --i was definitely tempted.

having a burger at a raw bar

we called it a night - i mean, what could compete with the atlantic?!  thankfully the following day was a short one, and afterwards, we headed to the airport with a diners, drive-ins, and dives lunch stop at the whale's rib raw bar.  since i don't do seafood, i chowed down on a burger, and the whale fries with whale juice  i haven't had a bad ddd experience yet!

and it was shortly thereafter that disaster struck.

we stopped for gas on the way to the airport.  there were tropical storm warnings, heavy rain, and i was wearing flip flops.  i still don't know exactly what happened, but as i was crossing the parking lot, my left knee/leg, 3 weeks post surgery, suddenly moved in a direction that it was not meant to move, and i went down. hard.

i caused a pretty good scene as i lay there in my very own parking spot with a sweater covering my face, as it had been protecting my head from the rain when i went down.  and i stayed down for a few minutes, before i could attempt any movement.  melissa brought the car to me, and we sat in the parking lot for about a half hour while i decided whether or not i was going to the emergency room.

ultimately, i decided no.  while in a lot of pain, i really didn't like the idea of testing out the medical facilities in a completely unfamiliar place.  so we headed to the airport, i dropped melissa off, and made the drive back to the hotel, where i spent the rest of the evening icing and elevating.

the next morning, i was in pain, but i could walk.  i was dragging my bag to the car, and it happened again. same thing.  at least it felt like the same thing, and it didn't feel good.  this time it was the unsuspecting valets who got to watch me go down and wait while i determined whether or not i could breathe, let alone move my leg.

i just kept thinking to myself  'i want to go home. i want to go home.'  i didn't know exactly how that was going to happen, but i was determined to try.  so i tried, and succeeded. and it was by far the most miserable day of my life.

when i got to the rental car agency, the 'drop off' guy could see how much pain i was in and told me to get back in the car.  he drove me over to the terminal so that i wouldn't have to take the shuttle (thank you random rental car guy!)  and, once i got there, i found myself in a wheelchair, where i would remain for the rest of the day, when i wasn't actually on a plane.

to give you some perspective, in the 6 week process of tearing my meniscus through having the surgery, i took a total of roughly 20 vicodin pills.  but by noon that day, i had taken 4.  when i arrived at orange county, my sweet cousin was there to pick me up and take me to my car in the longterm lot.  and when i eventually made it home, it was the first time, since this whole thing began in july, that i was forced to use crutches.

based on the location of the sharpest pains, and my previous experience,  i had a sneaking suspicion that it was my mcl --another ligament i had torn some 14 odd years ago.  and after a visit to the ortho, another set of mris, and another visit to the ortho, i learned that i had a bruised bone, and that i that i had indeed torn my mcl.  i had perhaps, been overly optimistic in hoping that it was only a sprain, and while i am very very grateful that it won't require an additional surgery, i was not expecting them to put a brace on my leg (from crotch to calf) and tell me that i needed to wear it for six weeks, and that i could only take it off to shower.

it's been on for three days now, and i am exhausted.  my sleep is extremely fitful and walking takes twice as much energy as it normally would.  i'm currently in texas, and since i couldn't find a cost effective scooter rental place, i rented a car instead (it was cheaper), and i've been driving it back and forth the 2 1/2 blocks to the convention center. seriously.

the thing is. i'm kind of a trooper.  i'm what you call a 'tough cookie' when it comes to bodily harm.  i tend towards optimism and a 'what can you do but laugh about it?' attitude, and this is going to be a challenge.  but maybe that's the point.  maybe there's a lesson to be learned or a perspective to be gained that requires this challenge.  maybe i missed it the first time, or maybe it's meant to serve an entirely different teaching purpose. here's hoping that in the next 6 weeks i figure out what that is!