Wednesday 24JUN2015

Yeah, I can’t stop watching the train wreck:  Alberto’s response is out.  Even better might be that the USATF hired Dennis Mitchell.  Yeah, a guy who was a known doper.

Afternoon  - hooked up with Bob for an easy effort on the Mesa (mostly).  10 miles.  it was good to go easy just to work out some of the beating I have given myself (from falls) over the last couple of days. 

I noticed that I have already had 8 days off this month, surpassing the number of days I have had off in all the prior months collectively.  But despite that I am getting a fair amount of vertical.  I am at 23k feet on the month, which is not a far sneeze from my highest month total (April, nearly 30k).  

After the run I swung by and saw Dave Mackey.  Kendrick was also visiting.  Yes, he is out of the of the hospital and home.  And each time I have seen him, he is doing markedly better.  You can just see it. 

He still has the X-fix in his leg, and unlike when he was in the hospital and it was all dressed up – you can see it.  And the bolts going into his leg.  It is quite a sight  But Dave says that he is pain free at this time and only taking antibiotics to help combat the possibility of any infection.  His upper legs show where he has given skin grafts and where there is skin growing back from where they harvested some thigh muscle to bring to the shin area.   He says his sleep is poor (I can imagine it is challenging to sleep with that x-fix thing on) but he is in great spirits.

We took him out on his front lawn a bit, drank some lemonade that Ellen brought us, and shot the breeze on Kendrick’s trip to South America, a line of 14ers in the Elk Mountains, his recovery, and whatever else.  He did some exercises with a stretch band on his good leg.  It was good to see him continuing to mend and continue to progress forward down this long road.  He still has a significant surgery ahead of him to remove the x-fix, and to harvest bone and marrow from his good right leg (by going through his hip) to create a bone matrix that can be used to rebuild the tibia.

I have to hand it to Dave – he seems to be in good spirits and truly thankful for his fortune in light of what it could have been.  I can’t help but contemplate if I could have such an attitude if I were in his place.  I think I’d be certainly thankful to be alive, to have such amazing medical care, and even more incredible family to help me – but I think there would be an element of me that was truly pretty pissed.  I recognize that probably would not be the healthiest of mindsets, but I can see how it could be easy to be dark about it.  If Dave has that, I am not seeing it, hearing it or feeling it.  The guy is truly strong.