Those who've been following my scribblings for a while may recall that nearly two years ago I broke my right tibia and fibula rather severely. The repair and rehab from that accident left me with two metal plates in my lower leg. Their presence causes internal irritation after walking more than 3 or 4 miles, or being on my feet for several hours. The medical professionals as well as friends who've dealt with implants agree that such problems only get worse with age.
So tomorrow bright and early I'm going under the knife again to get the hardware removed. Expect a short hiatus here, possibly followed by some Vicodin-hazed posting. I'm assured that the back-to-normal-physical-activity time for this is about six weeks, largely waiting for the holes left in the bone by removed screws to fill in. Until then, they are a sort of 'break here' dotted line inviting more trouble. That's a far cry from the six months for partial rehab from last time (it was really about a year to regain full strength), and I've been able to schedule the down time for the worst Pacific coast weather period. This time I should be back on my feet ain time for the wildflower and hiking seasons.