Monkey wrench in the biggest hunt of my life...

July 11th, 2017

 At the end of the month we are heading north to hunt Stone Sheep with a couple of friends. This will be my first real backpack hunt. While I have gone for one night to two nights, this hunt will be 11 days all by backpack. This will also be Kyles first long term backpack trip as well. To say we are excited, is an understatement. As some of you know Kyle was fortunate to hunt Dall Sheep in Alaska last year thanks to the Wild Sheep Foundations <1 Club, where he won the hunt, so he has graciously given me first shot on our trip.

As always, something fun or of good fortune seems to come with a little bit of bad luck....

For about a year now I have been having problems with my calves when I run. I never really thought much of it, just that perhaps my legs weren't use to the running. This year however, it has been getting worse. So I finally went to the doctor...she wasn't too concerned, but also wasn't sure what it could be. My calves only hurt when I would run, not when she manipulated the muscle, pulled on my leg, flexed my foot or squeezed the muscle. To give you an idea of what its like, the muscle gets really tight and then if I dont rest after and I keep running then the pain comes. It doesn't matter how fast or slow I run or how far, the pain always comes and then I can barely walk. If I can rest after before moving onto another exercise then I can continue on with the next exercise, but if there is no rest I cant even lift a barbell. I have a pretty high pain tolerance as well, but it has brought me to tears it's so painful. So the first step was a blood pressure test. She figured nothing would come of it because I was young, in shape and I don't drink or smoke. Basically it was to rule out things on her mental checklist. So I went to do the blood pressure testing and again the gentleman that did the testing scoffed at the idea of having to do this test on me and repeated the same words my doctor did. The test wasn't uncomfortable at all. I had to lay still for 10 minutes then he put blood pressure cuffs on both arms and on both calves and feet. Then it continues on like any blood pressure check and after it prints out the results. While he was removing the cuffs the results printed, he checked them and made the remark that they were interesting...uh oh...that's never a good thing. The blood pressure in my arms were at 107 and 109, which I expected- Ive always had a lower blood pressure. The pressure in my legs were at 125, while still within a normal range- was still alarming with the difference. Right away he says no more running, and that he had to apply quite a bit of pressure to even get a reading! But he said I had good circulation...this WAS a shock to me because I have always had very cold feet before any of this mess started.
No more running- no problem! That was easy. He said it had the characteristics of compartment syndrome, again not a shock for me to hear- I had been researching it before I made the doctors appointment and was prepared to hear it. What I was left with for the next 2 weeks was wondering what the blood pressure results would mean for me.

Two weeks later I had my follow up with my doctor. She wasted no time in breaking the news. She had talked with Dr.Chan ( one of the top sports medicine/surgeons in Canada, who also is a local Dr.) about my results, 4-6 weeks of rest to start with. That meant NO running, vigorous swimming or rowing, and no jumping...I was shocked. I was allowed to weight-lift still...but that wasn't going to help me with my cardio. My sheep hunt is in 4 weeks...I broke the news to her...she wasn't overly happy to hear we would be backpacking for 11 days in the mountains. She said she wasn't going to tell me I wasn't allowed to go but wanted me to rest my calves for the 4 weeks, then after my hunt we would re-evaluate. I was also told I would be going for a bone scan...which I found out today will be the 17th of August. Depending on the results of my rest and the scan will determine if I need to see Chan for more testing.

As you can probably imagine, this has scared Kyle...and made him question if I should even be coming now on the trip. I tried to reassure him that its only when I run that I have any pain and that as long as I rest when needed I will be OK. He still wasn't convinced....and to be honest I don't think he is sure even today. So he suggested we do a test run...a backpack overnight locally. So we went up Mause Creek.

For those that don't know what Compartment Syndrome is, it is increased pressure within one of the body's compartments which contains muscles and nerves. Compartment syndrome most commonly occurs in compartments in the leg or arm. There are two main types of compartment syndrome: acute and chronic.
Acute compartment syndrome occurs after a traumatic injury such as a car crash. The trauma causes a severe high pressure in the compartment which results in insufficient blood supply to muscles and nerves. Acute compartment syndrome is a medical emergency that requires surgery to correct. If untreated, the lack of blood supply leads to permanent muscle and nerve damage and can result in the loss of function of the limb.
Chronic exertional compartment syndrome is an exercise-induced condition in which the pressure in the muscles increases to extreme levels during exercise. The pressure creates a decrease in blood flow to the affected area which leads to a deprivation of oxygen to the muscles. The symptoms are a sensation of extreme tightness in the affected muscles followed by a burning sensation if exercise is continued. Chronic exertional compartment syndrome can develop in anyone, but it's more common in athletes who participate in activities that involve repetitive impact, such as running.
Chronic exertional compartment syndrome may respond to non-operative treatment and activity modification. If non-operative treatment doesn't help, your doctor might recommend surgery. Surgery is successful for many people, and might allow you to return to your sport.

So you can probably guess which one I have, which can only be verified by a compartment test. This test is done by sticking needles in the affected muscle to measure the pressure while exercising...if my rest doesn't help, this will be one of the tests Dr.Chan will be doing. I hate needles....so you can probably guess how excited I am about that thought.

All in all....this isn't a pity post (although I am pouting inside lol) but more of an informative one, I guess. Or maybe just a way for me to get it off my chest...I'm not sure. Either way, this hunt is a big deal to both Kyle and I...and if I am able to get a ram...it will be all the more special, having done it when there is so much doubt...

AFTER THE HUNT

Well our hunt was cut 5 days short. Unfortunately the day after we decided to come out to move to another area, my calves decided enough was enough. I could barely walk- never mind hike. I was heartbroken that we had to end our hunt early because of me. It took 4 days for my calves to finally relax and let go. You can read about our hunt here.

August 22nd- UPDATE

Well I had a bone scan done on the 17th. The nurses wouldn't tell me anything except that I would have my results on Monday when I went to see my doctor. Apparently the whole point of the bone scan was to look for any stress fractures. While they didnt find anything that would trigger the pain in my calves while running, they did find one on the top of my tibia which would explain the slight pain in my knee since May. After I found out I went to research stress fractures. They are caused by overuse. If they would have found some in my Fibula that would cause calf discomfort while running because the calve muscles attach to it. My doctor has basically said there is nothing left that she can do. Now I wait for Dr.Chan (specialist) to call me.

September 5 - UPDATE
Dr.chans office contacted me. The first step is a phone interview with him. That will be done the morning of September 15. I will update this post as things come along.

September 15- UPDATE
Talked to Dr.Chan and he wants to do an ultrasound on my calves before we do any tests.

October 2- UPDATE
I go for an ultrasound on Halloween.
Nikita