No Windy City For Me

August 7, 2013

I barely got through the night. My neck and shoulder are jacked. I figured it was time to call in the reinforcements, Dr. Pete from Arizona Spinal Care. He got me in right away. He told me just what I had thought: the muscles locked up and went into spasm. He also told me that I would feel like crap for a few days until everything loosened up. He said it’s called “turtle neck.” Dr. Pete is a riot and I highly recommend him. He is down to earth, really funny and a snazzy dresser. Oh, he’s a fantastic chiropractor, too!

After my adjustment, I felt more range of motion but was still pretty locked up. I’ll go back on Friday and see if he can work it out a bit more. Slowly but surely, I’m learning PATIENCE! I got a heating pad and headed to my office/dojo. 

I worked on several projects and towards the afternoon when our karate students started coming in, was able to catch up on everyone’s summer. It’s fantastic to have all of our regular students back, and some new ones, too! I’m glad summer camp is over and things are getting back to ‘normal.’ It was great to see familiar faces and the classes filling up again.

A friend of ours popped in the dojo last night. He has had surgery on both of his knees (unrelated to ACL) and knows exactly how I’m feeling. The depression, frustration, desire for things to go back to the way they were, basically the rollercoaster ride I’m on right now. It was nice to vent and share our tribulations with one another. 

I also had to make a hard decision today. I had been planning to go to Chicago for a work event since April and was really excited about it. Once I got injured, I thought it was no big deal and I could still go. However, I know myself (stubborn and a control freak) and I know that I probably wouldn’t accept a wheelchair at the gate, which means I would try to hoof it through O’Hare, the longest airport ever! I also know that I would try to do too much at the event, like lift boxes, squat down and basically walk (which is even troublesome for me at this point). As much as I want to go, I know in my heart that my health needs to come first.

I’ve always experienced an overwhelming amount of guilt when I feel like I’ve let someone down or wasn’t able to follow through on an assignment. I feel it now. But I also know that this is part of the process. I have to learn my limits and what I can and can’t compromise. My health is all I have and two days in Chicago could change that completely if I act like an idiot and push too far. It’s a hard decision, but one that had to be made.     

I could have been here:(