Back in the Saddle

Last Sunday I entered FunQuest for the first time since the accident to sounds of wild applause. My teammates cheered me on as I hobbled in on my crutches, trying not to look too pitiful. "Where's your walker?" everyone wanted to know.

"I had a lot of good ideas to pimp it out, but no one ever followed through," I explained.

Even though it was an official team practice, we spent most of our two hours talking instead of skating. It was the first time we had all been together since the bout and we needed to debrief. It sucked having to relive our loss, but it was nice to clear the air and plan our attack for our next bout in March.

On Tuesday I attended the last night of Boot Camp to check out the new meat. Seasoned skaters were invited to attend Boot Camp, so about half of the league was there. Again I entered to cheers and applause from my league mates. Before I could crutch it out to the rink to properly greet everyone as they stretched, I was whisked away to be interviewed by Memphis Health & Fitness. I smiled and tried to make the nice man understand why I was still interested in skating. I gave my now almost automated response, "If I would have broken my leg in the championship game then maybe I'd be ready to quit. But I broke it in the pre=season. I haven't gotten the full experience yet."

While this soaks in, I say, "Besides, the health benefits still seem to outweigh the risks."

Skating is great physical exercise and being a part of a team is great mental exercise. I can't wait to get back on the rink!

But I know I've got a lot of fear to overcome. As I sat on the side and watched the fresh meat, I winced everytime someone fell. I was keenly aware of the angles at which their skates hit the ground. I had persistent hallucinations in which bones snapped repeatedly before me.

It was rough.

Thankfully I had friends, coaches, refs, newbies, and fans surrounding me with love and positive reinforcement.

I saw the ortho on Wednesday and she says my leg looks great. She told me to start weaning myself off of the crutches. (I had already started hobbling around the house without them.) She also gave me some stretches and exercises to do, but reiterated that the best thing I could do now was learn to walk unassisted again. First in the boot, then without. To top things off, she gave me papers for a temporary handicap decal so I can have my fill of excellent parking spaces in the interim.

Yep, not only do I have a walker, I have a handicapped tag!

My follow up is in six weeks. February 21st. I plan on walking in there, having her take one look at me and say, "Smashimi, time to lace up your skates!"