Always an athlete, I competed in almost every sport available to me until I hit grade 11. A knee injury I sustained as a child effected me severly, and after about six years of waiting, I finally got surgery on it in my first year of university. However, the rehabilitation post-surgery was insuficient and after a time I found myself in more pain than I was before. My boyfriend at the time got into powerlifting, and because Im a stubborn competitive sort I decided I wanted to beat him, so I started too...
Next thing you know I have 2 national championships and 5 state records in powerlifting.
I competed for a couple of years, and then shortly after I moved I found myself injured yet again with a torn ACL. The Doctor was very clear - while I could continue to powerlift it would require surgery and intensive rehabilitation... SO I decided to pursue figure competing instead and I trained my but off! For six months I whittled myself down 10% body fat until I was one step away from hitting the stage in my first competition - and then the unthinkable happened..
A 20 year old girl texting on her phone rear ended me going 65 mph while I was at a complete stop.
Within 24 hours I could no longer walk, and I began a two year struggle to get back to some semblance of a normal life. I spent 15-20 hours a week in various forms of physical therapy, had to bow out of my first contest and spent nearly $25,000 out of pocket (in addition to what my insurance covered) trying to heal my broken body. Finally, after a year of struggle and suffering, I listened to my body and I stopped.
RIght now I know some of you are thinking Im crazy, that you would never have 'given up', and the truth is I had thought the same thing. I had a degree in Adapted Physical Activity and specialized in exactly the injury I had, but I refused to listen to the one thing I had always told my clients... Your body knows best. While I continued to try to force myself to recover my body was not able to - and my nerves were never given the chance to heal themselves. I went back to an old love of mine - horseback riding - and got serious into training with that. The motion of the horses rehydrated my discs, and kept me active without straining myself to the point of reinjury.
I worked hard, and earned numerous titles in Dressage, Western Dressage and various other forms of competition. I bought my first horse, and then another one, and continued to grow in that avenue. Until now. . . That gym itch is back and I think its my body's way of finally telling me that its ready to try again. So here goes BodySpace! I am hoping you all will help me through the inevitable pain and struggle that will occur while me and my body learn how to work again.
Heres to 2015 - I may never again be what I was... But maybe, just maybe, I can be something better :)
Its something I can control. I've come to realize there are very few things I can control, so when I find something that is completely contingent on me, I enjoy it immensely.