One Year Anniversary

Above - Me, literally minutes before the infamous ACL/MCL tear.

February 10th has finally arrived.

This means that I have officially arrived at the one year anniversary of the tearing of my ACL and MCL on the slopes of Heavenly in Lake Tahoe.

Click HERE for a trip down memory lane. (I just did.)

I’m not sure what I expected at the year anniversary. In some ways, it feels much shorter than a year. In some ways, it feels so much longer.

I remember how sad I was last year that I was missing out on skiing for the rest of the trip and I just kept telling myself, “just wait one year—just one more year”. I’m glad I didn’t know at the time that I would lose my job and have to skip skiing this year. It would have been too much to take all at once. I was looking forward to that trip SO MUCH.

I don’t have any pain anymore (except for a hamstring that occasionally cramps if I do something intense without stretching first. I guess that’s understandable since they had to remove part of it to repair the ACL.)

I now have full range of motion back in my injured leg. My dedication to my physical therapy exercises definitely paid off in a big way. Life lesson: Don’t EVER skip your physical therapy homework no matter how much it hurts—you’ll thank yourself later.

I am still building strength in my injured leg. I think that’s the part that surprises me the most—how long it takes to get your muscle strength back after not using it. I’ve actually started biking daily now and will probably start incorporating a few short runs into my routine soon now that the weather is warming up a little. I’ve allowed myself a year to heal. Now, it’s time to get all my strength back.

Looking back, I am thankful for so much. I am thankful that the injury wasn’t worse. I am thankful that I had some great pain meds to help me through the duration of the trip and my travels home. I am thankful that my husband was so helpful and patient with me during the ridiculously intense following months. I am thankful for a great surgeon and physical therapist who both made the experience about as tolerable as it could be. I am thankful I had a laptop and first floor bedroom. I am thankful I had a job (at the time) that was flexible enough to let me work from home immediately following my surgery.

February 10th is a date that I will never forget. There is a lot of sadness and pain associated with that day for me. The injury itself, a painful sled ride down the mountain, a five-hour wait in the ER until pain medicine relief, nearly impossible sleeping conditions even with the Vicodin, Benadryl and red wine and the struggle to stifle the sadness so as not to be a “downer” on the rest of the group—and that was just the beginning.

The surgery and excruciating physical therapy that followed then tested me to a whole new level.

So, cheers to you, February 10th. I raise my Sugar Free Red Bull to you this morning. I’m using this date as my next launching pad. I’m moving onward and upward from here to improve my strength and endurance and to continue to chase my professional dreams so that I might be able to physically and financially ski again next year. I will be physically stronger, mentally prepared and financially stable. This time it’s up to me.

Albert Einstein once said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”.

Things are definitely changing.