Hi. My name is Christi – and I am a Buckeye. That means, I was born and raised in Ohio.
Everyone in Ohio is a Buckeye – because Ohio is the Buckeye State – based on our state tree.
THE team in Ohio is THE Ohio State University – and the team name is BUCKEYES.
The Colors are Scarlet and Grey.

Our centuries old rival is the University of Michigan.
Their colors are blue and maize. The team is called the Wolverines

I don’t think that everyone from Michigan considers themselves a Wolverine, though the history behind it being “The Wolverine State” sort of gives the beginnings to the ‘feud’ between Ohio and Michigan. It goes back WAY before The Ohio State University and the University of Michigan!

Why is Michigan sometimes called “The Wolverine State?”

Michigan has long had an unofficial nickname: “The Wolverine State.” However, evidence seems to show that wolverines in Michigan would have been rare. We don’t know exactly how the state got the nickname, but two stories attempt to explain it.
Some people believe that Ohioans gave Michigan the nickname around 1835 during a dispute over the Toledo strip, a piece of land along the border between Ohio and Michigan. Rumors in Ohio at the time described Michiganians as being as vicious and bloodthirsty as wolverines. This dispute became known as the Toledo War.
Another reason given for the nickname is a story that has Native Americans, during the 1830s, comparing Michigan settlers to wolverines. Some native people, according to this story, disliked the way settlers were taking the land because it made them think of how the gluttonous wolverine went after its food.

I have suffered with my feet for many years…with many podiatrists saying I had ‘plantar faciitis’.
They were always curious, though, why I didn’t have heel spurs, which apparently goes hand in hand with PF.
Anyway – shots, and stretching were the plan for many, many years.
And, when I ruptured my plantar facia on a shell in LA one year, and THAT pain went away, it seemed that the Dx was correct.
With five children to homeschool, and other health situations to consider, I just chose to live life with a wheelchair.
In 2008 – I started walking 5k’s – and working towards 10k’s. Exercise ‘they’ said. Stretch ‘they’ said. So, I did.
In 2009 – I utilized physical therapy to train for a modified sprint triathlon – I swam 1/2 mile, Biked in recumbant bike for my back – 13 miles, and walked a 5k in under 1 hour. the other modification was blood sugar checks between each stage, and food and electrolyte replenishment. I regularly walked 7-10 miles 3-5 times a week. I was told I was ‘ridiculously flexible’. I ignored the pain.
By January 2010 – I was back in the wheelchair – gained back 30 pounds – and was getting injections in my feet, knees and hips.

Then we moved to Houston, Texas.
I needed to find doctors to do continuing care.
Enter Dr. Jeffrey Bowman and Houston Foot Specialists.
He took one look at my injection history and said

“I don’t do more than three injections for plantar faciitis – and you’ve had five. We need to talk surgery.”

Little did he know that I’d forgotten one whole doctor and HER INJECTIONS! whew!

Dr. B did the manual exam of my right foot – an xray, I’m sure – and concurred with my Ohio doctor’s Dx, and treatment plan.
We scheduled the PF surgery for the beginning of May.

“A WOLVERINE? I CAN’T HAVE A WOLVERINE DO SURGERY ON ME!!!”
Dr. Bowman ALWAYS wears his Blue and gold UofM scrub cap.
Because of my outburst, he added a little extra note on my leg for me!

NOW, IT’S ON!
I dressed to the gils with OSU stuff for my follow up…and trust me, wearing football clothing for Ohio games in May in Houston, Texas – that was a sacrifice! I was taking one for the team!

He asked me how I felt – expecting a good report.

“It doesn’t hurt there anymore, but it still hurts over here.”

“You didn’t say it hurt there.”

…as he manually examined the outside of my right foot.
In between my wincing in pain, I said

“I was told it was all Plantar Faciitis – so, I didn’t say anything!”

The Wolverine Podiatrist went to work – ordered an MRI. As he suspected, there was a strong indication that my Anterior Tendon(ATF) was damaged, along with a deformity to a bone that he could fix at the same time. In addition, he was able to see that the plantar facia had healed quite nicely. Of course, I told him as much! It didn’t hurt anymore!

I wanted to be walking on the beach, but Doc let me know that while this was probably not going to cause much more damage, it was not going to help.
So, we went, I wore a boot – and sat on the beach.

Surgery was scheduled for June 22. This time, I was ready for him.

The whole surgical department was in stitches – figuratively – and everyone was coming by to see the paint job.

The down side of this surgery was that I was going to be non-weight bearing for 6 weeks. It was JUNE, in HOUSTON! I wanted to be walking on the beach! But, with the success of the first surgery, I knew that this Wolverine was worth obeying…for the most part.
At least I was able to wash all the Michigan stuff off my left leg after the surgery!

Post surgery, everything was GREAT! The incisions were beautiful, the swelling was minimal, and the pain was gone! In fact, things were so great with my foot, that I went ahead and had a trigger finger release before I even got into my boot!

We started camping again!

 

 

After multiple successful camping trips, we took a trip to Dallas. About halfway there, Jim saw smoke and there was a fire in the brakes of our trailer.  I ‘jumped’ out of the truck to bring Jim water, and my right foot landed on a rock – twisting my ankle. Some very unChristian things came out of my mouth, as I hopped over to the trailer with the water bottles. What are you going to do? I sat in the doorway of the smoldering trailer, while Jim used the water in our tanks to put out the burning brakes. I sat, sure I’d just blown out all the work Dr. Bowman had done. I even wrapped the ice cold pop can the tow truck driver gave me around my ankle, and I prayed for the best.

After the next MRI – the good news was that the ATL was healing very nicely, and the anchor had held.
The bad news was that I had blown out my Peroneal Tendon on my right foot.
The timing was horrible – I had our expectant daughter and son-in-law flying in from Germany at the end of August, my 50th birthday bash the middle of September with a friend flying in from Ohio, and I JUST DIDN’T HAVE TIME FOR ANOTHER SURGERY AND RECOVERY! So, I was put into a super new boot(I’d worn out the other one), and given instructions to NOT over do it!

I WAS A GOOD GIRL!

I stayed in the wheelchair. I wore the boot. I stayed in the truck while our daughter and son-in-law walked out onto the Galveston Beach. And, I spent my 50th birthday in a wheelchair.

and by January 2011 – I was able to walk a 5k on the beach of Galveston!

I know we have work to do on my left foot…but for right now, I’m walking!
 
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

Christi Warren Wildman | Create Your Badge