The Tale of Two Boots
The summer of 2018 was truly one of my favorites. It is such a fun time in your life when your children are so spirited and full of life. We spent most of the summer camping and truly enjoying the joys of being a family. With all good times, comes a good story. While frantically preparing for a 3 day family-friendly music festival in Cisco Grove, California to celebrate my birthday, my husband, Dereck Barrett twisted his ankle. As he recalls it, he was running to turn off the water when he could hear our 5 year old son screaming at the top of his lungs. He turned to assess the situation and twisted his ankle. OUCH!!!
The story further develops. Dereck continued to load the trailer and drive to the music festival to meet another family. At approximately 3:30am, the pain became so severe he woke up and screamed “I need to go to the ER!” He single-handedly unhooked the trailer and drove himself to the ER in Truckee. Being that it was summer in Truckee, he was triaged among two drunks and a man turning yellow. After seeing the doctor and getting an x-ray, the diagnosis of a 5th Metatarsal fracture was given. He was given a hard boot, two crutches, and told to take Aspirin for pain relief.
Dereck returned back to the music festival with a boot and a set of crutches. During the following days, he danced, walked down the Yuba River, and allowed me to fully enjoy my birthday. He would rest frequently to ice his ankle in a cooler full of ice. When we returned back to Reno, Dereck was further evaluated by Dr. Lundeen and was diagnosed with a 5th Metatarsal Avulsion Fracture. Dr. Lundeen stated he was very lucky to have not torn the tendon given his weekend plans.
Two months prior to Dereck’s ankle injury, our Caughlin Ranch physical therapist Justine was training for the Reno Tahoe Odyssey. She is a very active individual and teaches yoga in the Reno area. Over two months, she diligently trained and improved her running distances. On memorial day she decided to take an easy hike with her dogs where she stepped on a rock and rolled her ankle. She felt a snap and had a hard time limping back to the car. It was just two weeks prior to the big race!! Feeling defeated, she reluctantly went to Urgent Care where an x-ray confirmed a 5th Metatarsal fracture. YIKES!! Justine’s positive attitude and demeanor kept her spirits up and she spent the next six weeks in a hard boot cheering on her husband in the Reno Tahoe Odyssey. 
With every difficult story, there is a silver lining. Both Dereck and Justine’s 5th Metatarsal fractures have fully healed and they have been able to discharge the hard boot. Justine was able to participate in the Reno Journal Jog this past weekend and Dereck has been able to get back on the Thomas Creek mountain bike trail. Bottom line: even physical therapists suffer from injuries and have to rehab to get back to the activities we love. Most of the time, the injury makes us better and makes us truly appreciate being active. Never give up!! More than anything, I have truly seen how powerful the human body is and how well it can heal. Sometimes you just need a little physical therapy to help in this process, and we are here to help.
Jennifer Barrett, PT, MPT
Director of Physical Therapy
Galena Sport Physical Therapy