A Wild Erik

the beginning is the end and it keeps coming round again – How to Destroy Angels

In March and April of 2025 I walked and completed El Camino de Santiago via the Frances Route. Possibly one of the most epic things that I’ve done. One day I may write wholly about my trip. Currently there is a daily photo journal on both my Instagram and Threads. But the loop that’s closing has to do with the injury I sustained. WARNING: feet and bandage photos ahead.

I developed a ganglion cyst while walking. A ganglion cyst is a fluid bubble that forms between bones in a joint when they start crashing into to each other. They are not uncommon and can form anywhere on the body that experiences a repetitive stress event like writing, distance running, or walking across Spain (to list just a few). There may or may not have been anything that I could have done to prevent one from forming. Though I have a lot of experience with distance running, I’m normally not carrying a 20 pound bag with me. Nor walking up and down the sides of mountains. Though I do partly blame the breathability of my boots.

I noticed it growing after a couple weeks of walking. Very small at first. I had a little experience with one before. Possibly even in the same location. And that would make sense as to why this came back because once they form, the bubble never really goes away. Just gets more or less filled with fluid. An as needed scenario. As I was approaching Leon, it had become so large that I was having with my footwear. And so painful that I skipped a stage and went straight to Leon by train. By the time I reached the correct hospital, I was literally dragging my foot behind me as I could put no weight on it. The cyst had become infected and the infection had begun to spread across the top of my foot. I ended up having to stay in Leon for about a week to heal before I could continue my Camino.

Though I was freaking out the hospital staff were not phased at all and said that I could actually continue and finish this trip almost immediately with only some antibiotics and padded bandages. And new shoes. And that’s what I did.

Fast forward to yesterday morning. I had gone into surgery to have the bubble completely removed and cauterized in the hopes that it would never grow back. Sadly this does put me off my training schedule for the Disneyland Halloween Half Marathon and the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend, but there isn’t a whole lot I can do about that. It also means no Studio classes at my gym. At least two weeks. My doctor says two to four weeks. so, I guess we will have to wait and see.

So with this surgery and also framing and hanging all the bits of memorabilia from my Camino, this circle closes and THIS Camino comes to an end. But that isn’t the end of the story. Just this chapter. My next Camino chapter is still being written. And I can’t wait to share it with everyone.