Perspective
On my all time list of bad injuries, the ruptured Achilles is definitely near the top . But it is, at best, a distant #2. I think that’s given me a little different perspective, one that’s helped me stay positive through this ordeal.
As mentioned in an earlier post, back in 1994, I broke my neck playing ice hockey. It was a compression fracture of C5 and C6, and I also smashed up the facet joint between the two vertebra quite nicely.
CT Scan of my busted neck
The nerves going out to my left arm were pinched, leaving me with a lot of weakness. There was serious thought given to fusing the vertebra, but I decided at the time, to forgo the surgery; giving it a chance to heal on it’s own. I was put on bed-rest for 6 weeks, in a hard collar. Believe me when I tell you that, in comparison, being restricted to crutches is a piece of cake.
Subsequent X-rays (years later) revealed that I probably broke my left humerus, near the shoulder in the same collision.
The story of my multi-year recovery from the neck injury is much longer than I can tell in this blog post. But I wanted to relate how the uncertainty made the neck injury fundamentally different than any other. Nerve damage isn’t something you can “rehab”. It was very unclear how much strength and functionality I was going to regain. ~18 years later, I still have some lingering effects which I’ve mostly learned to work with and around.
Recovering from the Achilles injury, on the other hand, isn’t a matter of “if”… it’s just a matter of “when”. Barring some catastrophic complication, I’ve never had any real doubt about coming back from this injury. The only real questions in my mind have been about schedule… how soon before I can walk? Or run? Or ski? Or race? In that sense, this has - so far - been much easier to handle than my neck injury. With the neck, I had to ask myself things like: “will I (ever again) be able to curl 20lbs?”. Mentally, even though it can be difficult, it’s much easier to only have to ask “when will I be able to curl 20lbs?”
I was at the gym the other day, a little frustrated with my (temporary) inability to do a simple exercise. Not long after, a guy rolled up in a wheelchair to use a nearby machine. It was obvious to me that he had been in that chair a long time, and was probably never getting out of it. That puts things back in perspective pretty quick.
7 responses so far
7 Responses to “Perspective”
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+1.
completely agree and can relate… just when i start feeling too “down” about how long this is taking, i remind myself that, at least eventually, i will be back to “normal” or at least very close to it.
good word . . . thanks.
hi Ryan
i have been reading ur blogs for information and want to thank u and the community for all the support through your experiences. I ruptured mine on august 21st–tendon was very frayed. in singapore, the approach is very conservative and the protocol different–my surgeon has discouraged me from walking in the hinged/adjsutable boot. so at 6.5weeks i went into rehab with crutches without the boot. so it’s from total immobilization to rehab–and my progress is slow but steady.
what you have reflected in “perspective” is so important to all of us–that we have to remember it is not “IF” but “WHEN” every time we feel down. Thank u so much. I admire how u come around so quickly. Though I am before you in timeline, my progress is light years away which sometimes frightens me.
have fun!
I totally agree - as a neuro physio I have always worked with people with long term injuries/illnesses; I have never stopped saying to myself how lucky I am that this will get better.
Wow, you must really love the ice! I just wanted to let you know I love your blogs & comments. I also really love your videos…very inspiring! Just one thing…the music you attach to these videos….can you include the artist & tracks you use? I love your music! Thanks Ryan
Thank Leni-
I grew up in Calgary- so playing ice hockey was almost mandatory ;-). I gave it up in high school though. Years later, a group of us started playing parking-lot roller hockey during our lunch break, we formed a team and played in a few roller hockey leagues. Eventually, we moved up and formed an ice team. It was there that I broke my neck.
Fast forward another ~15 years… I’m here in Utah, looking for something to do to keep me in shape during the winters (some off season training for summer cycling). One of my neighbors suggests I try speedskating- turns out there is a world class facility just a couple of miles from my work. Things didn’t quite work out like I planned… now I cycle to keep in shape for my winter speedskating season ;-). Turns out I seem to have a bit of an aptitude for it. My biggest weakness was a slow start off the line; which is what I was working on when I ruptured the Achilles.
As for the music, all of the videos have a youtube link (on the bottom right). This will take you directly to the video on youtube where the audio info is posted for (I think) almost all of my videos. There are a couple that have generic youtube provided “audioswap” soundtracks; which I needed to do to make them viewable internationally… youtube copyright issues.