And so, dear reader, we married her
ABC is joining Hulu. It's a thrill for us to welcome them and a big day in our company history!
Between that deal, and our TV campaign, and the concurrent development of many projects for Hulu, and staying up late to communicate with some of our developers in China, and an add-on session of two months of physical therapy for tendinitis of my Achilles, my posts here have been few and far between. May, I promise, will be better. 2009 has assaulted me like a young Mike Tyson and it hasn't let up.
My last physical therapy session (or at least I hope it will be so) was yesterday. I am still not 100%; when my therapist asks me to balance on one leg and do calf raises, it's clear which leg I suffered the injury on. But I am going to attempt to start running again. The NY Marathon is Nov. 1, and my goal is to finish it. I can't run even one mile today without my Achilles flaring up, and the weakness in my left leg calf and ankles has led to shin splints on just that leg, but I'm not ready to throw in the towel on any activities.
The one year anniversary of my Achilles rupture is coming in just over a week. It has been a tough year. You don't realize how much being active contributes to a healthy and happy state of mind until you're knocked out of commission for so long. At therapy yesterday, I jumped up and hit the ceiling at the office. It felt like a celebration.
I am convinced that a big reason for the rupture last May was that I had just completed a two week dosage of the antibiotic ciprofloxocin for a sinus infection. I went to run the Santa Monica 5K on a Saturday, then to play basketball on Monday, and pop went the tendon.
The FDA has since issued a health warning regarding the increased risk of tendon rupture from the usage of the class of antibiotics known as fluoroquinolones: Ciprofloxocin and Levofloxacin being the two most well-known, along with Ofloxacin, Pefloxacin. They cause something called tendon cytotoxicity--in layman's terms, they weaken your tendons. I wasn't told this when I was given my prescription at the drug store, but do a search on Google on this topic now and you'll find plenty of documentation.
If your doctor prescribes one of these for you, I'd first ask if another antibiotics are really necessary. If so, ask if an antibiotic that's not in this class is a reasonable substitute. Doctors like fluoroquinolones because they're broad spectrum, but ask me if I'd rather have a lingering sinus infection or a year's worth of pain and immobility and lingering tendinitis and weakness from a total Achilles rupture. If you have to take one of those fluoroquinolones, I recommend swearing off any physical activity until a few weeks after you've completed your dose. You'll feel fine and think it excessive, but believe me: it's not worth the risk.
How did I get from ABC joining to Hulu to issuing health warnings? You can tell what's top of mind for me these days. Let's treat both of these as good news: Hulu adds a valued partner, and I'm out of therapy and back on the road to health, running shoes laced.