On December 29th, 2016, I underwent surgery on my right ankle as a result of an injury sustained during a 50K
trail race in the winter of 2015. It was following the original injury that I decided I wanted to become a climber. In the spring of 2016, the podiatrist gave me the option of either getting a cortisone shot or the surgery. Because I had a race a few weeks later, I took the shot. It helped but by the fall of 2016, I was living in Gimp City.
Once I announced the date of my surgery and rehab time, things on the job went quickly south. Mistakes that I had made a year earlier were brought to my attention. I "socialized" too much as well. My main fault I believe was that I had made the mistake of growing old. This, despite my being in better shape than all but 1-2 people in the entire office. So, I was laid off with a couple of months pay to take care of my rehab.
According to the podiatrist, the surgery went well. I spent the first few days on the sofa and used crutches to get around. Taking a shower with plastic bags around my foot made for an interesting experience. Still by the end of the first week, I was doing pull-ups in my garage and by the second week, I was lifting weights at the gym.
Maybe not so surprisingly, the difficult part of my rehab was the mental and emotional depression I've experienced. Being inactive and not having a definitive date when I could climb or run again was difficult to deal with. In my immediate family, only one son in-law climbed and his response was disappointment over not being able to climb together. Understandable. It's my belief that while having a partner that you can trust and believe in is the most important factor in climbing, the actual climbing is a solo endeavor no matter who is belaying.
So my conclusion, after meditating some time over this, was that my rehab is a solo climb and although people who have gone through this can give me their "beta" on the recovery process, it's up to me to figure out the moves that will take me back to the rope.
Maybe not so surprisingly, the difficult part of my rehab was the mental and emotional depression I've experienced. Being inactive and not having a definitive date when I could climb or run again was difficult to deal with. In my immediate family, only one son in-law climbed and his response was disappointment over not being able to climb together. Understandable. It's my belief that while having a partner that you can trust and believe in is the most important factor in climbing, the actual climbing is a solo endeavor no matter who is belaying.
So my conclusion, after meditating some time over this, was that my rehab is a solo climb and although people who have gone through this can give me their "beta" on the recovery process, it's up to me to figure out the moves that will take me back to the rope.
And yes, I will comeback. More to come……………………………………………………
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