On the Mend
by Steve McGill

Well I’ve had a pretty rough time of it the past few weeks, and I’m just now getting back on my feet (literally). On Tuesday April 22nd, I woke up with a severe pain in my upper left leg, starting in the groin, and also throbbing in the upper quad. It hurt so badly that I could hardly put any weight on the leg at all. The day before, I had felt some irritation while walking, but nothing that caused any alarm bells to go off in my head. Also, at track practice that day, I had felt a little dizzy and light-headed, but just attributed that to the extreme humidity. But upon waking and barely being able to walk to the bathroom, I feared something might be seriously wrong. What did I do to make my leg hurt so much? I tried thinking back to the day before, and the past week, but couldn’t think of anything I had done to pull my groin. 

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Despite my pain, I had to go to work. I got myself together, managed to shower and dress and walk down the stairs and ease into the driver’s seat of my car. When I arrived at the school where I teach, I parked my car, shuffled to the front door, walked up the stairs to the second floor, entered my classroom, and sat down at my desk. By this time I was breathing so heavily and felt so exhausted from walking those stairs that I didn’t know if I’d be able to make it through the day. After a few minutes of trying to get myself together, I made the decision that I couldn’t make it through the day. I approached the Dean of Students in her office and told her about my severe leg pain and informed her I’d be going home and would need class coverage. 

I was able to make an appointment with a doctor in my local network for that afternoon. The doctor checked for swelling in the leg, but couldn’t see any, so he assumed that I had sciatica, because the symptoms fit. He prescribed a steroid that would reduce the inflammation, assuring me I should feel better within a few days. Three days later, on Friday April 25th, I did not feel one iota better. In those three days, I had stayed home and gotten subs to cover my classes. I didn’t even leave the second floor. I pretty much stayed in bed because the leg didn’t hurt when I lay down, only when I tried to walk. My wife, Joy, took care of me by bringing me meals. Frustrated with my condition, I told her, “this leg ain’t feelin any better.” She suggested that if it still felt the same in the morning, I should probably go to the emergency room.

The next morning, Saturday April 26th, Joy drove me to the emergency room. By this time, there was swelling in the leg, and the doctor who examined me said he wanted to do an ultrasound to check for clots. The ultrasound revealed that I had multiple clots in the leg, and that two of them had broken off and gone into my lungs. Later that morning, I was moved from the emergency room and into one of the rooms on the fifth floor, which meant I’d be staying a while. While in my room on the fifth floor, I was informed by one of the nurses that my blood sugar count was very high, but that it might be due to the anti-inflammatories I was taking. That theory was later debunked by the doctor, who came in a few hours later and informed me that I was diabetic.

What a rotten shitty day.

The diabetes diagnosis, honestly, didn’t surprise me. Ever since my earliest youth, I’ve had a sweet tooth that rivals the greatest sugar addicts of all time. My mom and grandmom used to bake apple pies, sweet potato pies, cinnamon buns, all kinds of cakes. My mom used to bring home delicious donuts from the local market. Plus I lived in the Philly suburbs, which meant constant access to Tastykake products like Butterscotch Krimpets and Chocolate Juniors. In the family I grew up in, every meal included a dessert at the end. And the pancakes my mom used to make for Sunday morning breakfast tasted so divine that I still miss them to this day.

Throughout my adolescence, early adulthood, and into my late 40’s, I pretty much paid no attention to my diet in regards to eating healthy. Joy nicknamed me “the cookie monster” many years ago, shortly after we first met, because of my love of chocolate chip cookies. Throughout my years as a competitive hurdler, and then a young coach running alongside my athletes, and then in my years running road races from 5K’s to marathons, I never watched what I ate. My thinking was I could eat whatever I wanted because I could run it off.

When I hit 50 was when I couldn’t get up and go like I used to do. My runs became walks because walking was easier on my legs. Over time, I grew busier and busier and lazier and lazier to the point where, in the last two or three years, I haven’t been exercising consistently. In the summers I have, but during the school years I’ve sunk into the routine of taking a nap after school and sleeping as late as I can in the mornings, whereas I used to always do my running in the morning. Meanwhile, as my walking routine became a non-routine, I still ate the same way, with chocolate chip cookies and chocolate chip muffins leading the charge. 

And then there’s this: my dad had diabetes, and so did his mom, so there’s genetic history that I was not trying very hard to avoid. 

So, my blood sugar was through the roof, my blood pressure was high, and I had blood clots in my leg and in my lungs.

The doctors put me on a blood thinner intravenously for all five days of my hospital stay. That particular blood thinner was intended to address the two clots in my lungs. For the clots in my leg, the doctor did a surgical procedure on the fourth day to remove the clots. The surgery was successful, but my leg hurt more than it did before I had entered the hospital.

I was discharged the next day — Wednesday April 30th. Upon arriving home, I had to tackle the stairs again. The most physical pain I’ve ever felt in my life occurred every time I lifted my left leg to the next step. Now that I was home to recover, I had many medicines to take — insulin injections, high blood pressure medicine, blood thinners, and I needed to check my blood sugar level once a day. Joy, who has a background in home healthcare and a degree in biology, took charge of making sure I took my meds each day and checking my blood sugar. She also took charge of my diet, eliminating all sugar snacks, including fruits. 

After convalescing at home for a week and a half, I returned to school this past Monday, May 12th. As I write this article on Wednesday May 14th, my blood sugar has been in the 90-95 range for over a week, which is in the range of healthy and normal. My doctor told me this morning that I can get off the insulin injections altogether. During my check-in last Friday, my blood pressure was also in the normal range. I’m also able to walk with a whole lot less pain in my leg. I’ve built up to where I walk for 30 minutes daily around the house. I got a little bop, a little limp still, but I’m getting better. And that’s been my mantra — just get a little better every day. Be patient, but be persistent. My goal is to eventually get off all diabetes medications, to stay consistent with the exercise even during the school year, to devote more time and energy to self-care on an emotional level, and to leave the cookie monster in the rearview. 

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