Although this blog is a smattering of topics right now, I do want to make sure I have a log of my journey and progress in here from now on. I do have to make one WordPress complaint however (especially since I know my PR teacher will read this at some point) – there is a text delay. When I type, every four characters, the program stutters and then I’m reminded to just type it in Word, copy and paste.
Much better.
The last two weeks have been a blur for me. A huge, hazy, unproductive blur of “what the hell is going on”? It started before that, but what made the final piece of my life spiral out of control was the bout against Philly Roller Girls.
I had trained for two and a half months for this bout. I felt awesome. I was concerned about being able to warm up properly, since we were playing the second game (which meant that I had pre-game duties and would not be able to jog right before gearing up). Something felt off about the atmosphere, but I couldn’t place my finger on it. I just knew that I would be on the line against women who had played at Championship levels before.
I’ll tell you what – I held them too. Mo Pain could not get around my passive blocking. Mo Pain did NOT get lead jammer against me. However, I landed in the box on jam 3. On jam 4, I came out, tried to take the outside line (which I have been trying NOT to do) and Kick Ash clocked me hard enough to send me into the penalty box. My knee was sure to pop before I went barrel-rolling the 20 feet however.
That was it. I feared forever.
At the ER, I was given a stabilizer, some meds and told “follow up with it in 2 weeks, and if it feels better you won’t need an MRI.”
“Right,” I thought. “It popped. I’m going to need an MRI. I’m going to need surgery. I can’t believe this.”
I told my team and my friends that everything was uncertain, but my goal was January 1 to be back on skates. After the first day I could put weight on it, if I was pointing my toes. Day 2 I could put weight on it. Day 3 I could walk stairs without my stabilizer and could do one-legged planks, push-ups and anything where I was sitting on the floor.
The next weekend I hobbled around Championships.
Philly made sure to come up and talk to me and tell me that I looked awesome right before it happened and they were so sad to see me injured. People I had only known on Facebook found me to see how I was doing. The derby was so inspiring. The people and community were so supportive.
Dave Wood Photography
Plus, seeing how the biggest weekend of the year is organized was a great experience and awesome insight for my internship next semester.
The next week I weaned myself off the stabilizer. I went to the gym. I did 16 miles on the stationary bike on day 12 and 14 miles on the bike on day 15. Today, day 16, I had an appointment with the Penn State Wellness Center doctor. After 20 minutes of questions, stability tests and poking the diagnoses:
I suffered a minor strain of the LCL, and the popping I heard was probably a few fibers tearing. My knee is too strong, too stable and does not have the swelling or pain indicative of a possible tear.
The doctor’s reason for my slight injury and quick recovery: My intense training routine and my strict nutrition. Because I am constantly feeding my body, constantly giving it vitamins and protein and because I am so relentless about my water intake, my body has every tool it needs for recovery. I have been diligent about my icing, compression and elevation as well which has had an impact.
My strength was good when it happened, which prevented a serious injury. The muscles absorbed much of the blow, and the ligaments/tendons surrounding the LCL were as strong as they could be.
If I hadn’t been in such amazing shape – I would have blown my knee for sure.
So I have a definite 4 more weeks off skates. He gave me strength routines and specific benchmarks to reach before returning to the instability of roller skates. I will follow everything. My off season is going to be fantastic and I will come back even stronger than before.
#HerbalifeforLife #EarnYourBody
Khaos Theory Derby 