how to be dependent

I was sitting on our back patio with my daughter and her friend, helping them make keychains for a class project. My phone rang. It was my orthopedist’s medical assistant. “Because it’s going to be so long until the MRI,” he said, “Dr. Smith [not his real name] thinks you should use crutches until then.” I hung up and looked at my watch to remember the date. January 30. The MRI wasn’t until February 17. And if the MRI confirmed his diagnosis of a stress fracture in my heel, I might be on crutches even longer.

In October of last year, I was training for a 5K. I hadn’t done any speedwork or intense mileage out of fear of injuring myself (which had happened a year before). And yet somehow, my foot was bothering me—it felt like plantar fasciitis (PF), which I’ve struggled with before. I ran the race, and then I took a break. First I stopped running. I figured maybe in a couple weeks, if I did some stretching and strengthening, I could build back up again. But in two weeks it was still not …