Facing Vulnerability

I am learning the hard way about how an apparently small thing can take you out. The Monday after our hike to Canyon Falls and Plumbago Creek would start out in the normal fashion with a 2,500 yard swim. I would then walk over to Garnet Garage where Mike Reynolds would be doing a brake job on the truck. I hiked downhill to the MTU library to grab an iced mocha and knocked out some township and Remote Workforce Keweenaw business, including rolling out the Blight Mitigation Fund on the Chassell Township Facebook page and reaching out to some remote workers about being featured in RWK vignettes. I then hiked back up the steep hill to Garnet Garage to pick up the truck (always kudos to Mike Reynolds!). From there I was back to Chassell where Chassell Planning Commission Chair Brian Waters and I took measurements to see if we could place the the Sturgeon Launch sign outside of seventy-five feet of the center of US 41 which would not require us to have a MDOT sign permit (it turns out it would be over that distance!). I would then head home and sit down at the PC to send out emails and make phone calls, including letting Industrial Graphics know that we are good to go on the permitting front with our sign. I then stood up for dinner and it was like someone had driven a spike through the metatarsals behind my small toes on my left foot. The pain was so intense that I swore I had broken something. I tried flexing up and down on my toes thinking maybe I had pinched a nerve or something was out of alignment, but that provided no relief. Despite the nasty pain in my foot, we had a nice fish dinner that evening with our friends Beverly and Eero.

Even after icing my foot and consuming stronger than normal dosages of ibuprofen, the pain in my foot was worse in the morning. I was able to get my Keen sandals on and drove two hours down to Kingsford where I would be speaking to the Veterans Community Action Team about Remote Workforce Keweenaw.

Frank Lombard the U.P. Veterans Program Manager for the Upper Peninsula Commission for Area Progress (UPCAP) had invited me down to speak and I was excited about the opportunity. I wasn’t going to allow the pain to get in the way. Once I got into the early afternoon and had made my presentation, the pain was getting to the point where I figured I should be thinking about getting an x-ray. I coordinated with my nurse practitioner on an order to get it x-rayed at the Aspirus clinic in Crystal Falls which I would pass through on my return trip. Unfortunately, when I arrived, the radiology tech was out for the afternoon. The staff was helpful in passing the order on to Baraga County Memorial Hospital in L’Anse where I was able to get an x-ray.

Walking back and forth to the back of the hospital did not help my condition. By that evening the swelling and redness set in. The Aspirus Lake Linden clinic was able to get me in for an appointment on Wednesday morning. Unfortunately, the x-ray results were not yet available. The initial suspicion was a stress fracture, but blood work was run to determine if I had infection which would later come back negative.

I would attend that evening’s Chassell Township Board meeting where I would report on the rollout of the Blight Mitigation Fund; report that DP Construction had started work on the ADA sidewalk from the pavilion to the lake (funded by the DNR Spark Grant);

advised on the re-bidding and program change for the waterfront boardwalk with bids due on October 3rd; secured approval to remove the two trees threatening the storage shed, scoreboard, and dugout at Misslitz Field; advised that no permit would be required on the Sturgeon Launch sign (note: be sure to check out Visit Keweenaw’s piece about the launch at: https://www.facebook.com/VisitKeweenaw/videos/1461100131259599/); advised that the planning commission will be working with Visit Keweenaw this fall on lashing the Sturgeon River and Sloughs to a revitalized Keweenaw Water Trails website; and advised that the planning commission passed a resolution recommending that the board enter into an agreement with the DNR to maintain the portion of the rail-trail in the township (assuming they are satisfied with any increased cost to the township’s liability coverage).

There was no improvement in my foot on Thursday morning, but there would be good news as I received an email from EGLE with our approved permit for the bridge and boardwalk construction at Maasto Hiihto. This sets the table for the Hancock Trails Club to begin the construction process. I would also call the bidders for the tree removal at Misslitz Field to gain clarifications on their bids and then made an award. That afternoon I would meet up with Township Supervisor Dave Mattson and Planning Commission Chair Brian Waters to check out the Beagle Club which is a piece of property the township owns to the north of the Sturgeon River Launch. Our access to this parcel is broader than we realized and we were exploring its potential.

While at the Sturgeon River Launch site I snapped some shots for Industrial Graphics to help them see where the sign placement will be for the entrance sign to the launch to facilitate their installation of the sign.

That night I did wander down to the lake to check out the northern lights around midnight. I had given a heads up to our Airbnb guests from Germany and they were out there as well.

Okay, so even with a boot on, bushwhacking on crutches with a foot that should be elevated is probably not the best idea in the world. By Friday morning, my foot was not looking too good.

We headed over to the pool to swim our laps (only 1750 yards) and our friend Amy who is a retired physician took one look at them at told me to get it to the emergency room. I had a follow up appointment set up at the Lake Linden Clinic where they scheduled a 4:00 p.m. CT scan at the hospital and I would be given a prescription for Amoxicillin. I ran to the Houghton clinic for another blood test and to pick up the prescription before stopping at home. Our friend Amy had come by to drop off some crutches for me and immediately noted that the developing cellulitis had already ascended upwards from where it was that morning at the pool. Needless to say, my next move took me to the emergency room at Aspirus in Laurium.

Five hours later after an IV of antibiotics and a CT scan of my foot, the diagnosis was an infection on the bone with no abscess and no fracture. I would learn that my blood test from earlier in the day showed elevated inflammation. I would receive a second prescription for an antibiotic to address the potential of MRSA. Talking it over with the ER doctor, it seems likely that the infection may have made its way into my foot via the cracked skin caused by the athletes foot between my last three toes. Whether it happened as a result of my use of the locker room at MTU or wetland swamp water over the boot while building the trail or some other lake/stream water encounter, there is no precise telling where it came from; however, I will definitely be wearing some form of footwear when I hit the showers in conjunction with my swims.

The weekend was pretty much a write-off as I spent most of it elevating my foot and waiting for the antibiotics to kick in. By late on Sunday I was starting to note some improvement. I was looking forward to a busy week to help get my mind through the recovery process.

Monday I would put in a 2,200 yard swim and then keep focused on elevating my foot. At 5:00 p.m. I went to the Fire Hall for a Chassell Recreation Committee meeting where we would be discussing the future of the ski trails. More about that next time. I would get home in time to snarf down dinner and then Julie and I went to the Chassell Heritage Center for the Chassell Historical Organization board meeting.

Tuesday I would crank out the minutes for the Hancock Trails Club August board meeting and get those distributed to the board. At 3:30 p.m. Julie and I would be at the Chassell Heritage Center for a reception celebrating the completion of our accessibility projects and to thank our contributing patrons. It was great to Keweenaw National Historical Park (KNHP) Superintendent Wendy Davis there as well as KNHP Advisory Commission Executive Director Sean Gohman, KNHP Advisory Commission member Jerry Juntunen, and KNHP Historical Architect John Arnold. Staff from the KNHP have provided important technical assistance and the KNHP Advisory Commission has provided important financial support through competitive grants we have secured through them. Most importantly I was able to acknowledge one of our patrons who has been a true champion with his incredibly generous financial support for all phases of the project. We could not have accomplished what we have without him. I also want to give a big shout out to our VP Judy Evert and board member Brooke Harris for their work on coordinating the food and beverages for the event as well as the rest of our board members who came out to help thank our contributing patrons and our KNHP guests.

I grazed just enough at the event that I was able to skip dinner and head to Hancock for the Hancock Trails Club meeting. A lot of discussion there would be centered on our work to be completed ahead of the coming ski season with Trail 17.

By Wednesday of this week I was beginning to see real changes in the coloring in my foot. Swelling was still an issue, but not to the extent of feeling discomfort when I would stand up. I was also able to gently walk on carpeting without feeling excruciating pain. I spent much of the day at the Fall Heritage Sites meeting up in Calumet at the KNHP Headquarters which is always informative. I would get home in time to help Julie set up at the Chassell Farmers Market.

Stopping at the pavilion gave me the opportunity to check out the ADA sidewalk project at Centennial Park where tremendous progress had been made by DP Construction.

We would wrap up the day by going to a party to celebrate our friend G finally receiving his green card! This was quite a process and an incredible exercise in perseverance! For someone who is such a great citizen, local contributor, and friend, I just don’t get why it had to take as long as it did.

Before I close, I said last time that I would run my photos and phone videos from the North Country Trail hike to Canyon Falls and Plumbago Creek through the GoPro Quik app. You can see how it turned out at this link to the Remote Workforce Keweenaw YouTube channel:

Do you embrace winter and have the ability to work remotely? Consider locating in the Keweenaw where you will find ubiquitous natural beauty, no congestion, and lower crime! Not sure? Come UP for a workcation to check it out! Learn how at Visit Keweenaw at https://www.visitkeweenaw.com/plan/trip-ideas-itineraries/workcations/ Visit Remote Workforce Keweenaw at https://remoteworkforcekeweenaw.com. Learn about those making the decision to locate here by following the Remote Workforce Keweenaw Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/RemoteWorkforceKeweenaw.

had started on the ADA sidewalk between the pavilion and the lake funded by the DNR Spark Grant; secured board approval to remove the two trees on the third base side of the ballfield that are threatening to fall on the storage shed, scoreboard, and dugout; discussed the progress with the Sturgeon Launch sign; advised that the Planning Commission would be working with Visit Keweenaw on lashing the Sturgeon River and Sloughs to a revitalized Keweenaw Water Trails website; and advised the board of the Planning Commission’s resolution to recommend going forward with the DNR agreement to take over maintenance of the rail-trail within the township.