December 2012

After Thanksgiving I returned to the OTC for a few days to get things checked up on with my hip and start up more vigorous rehab and physical therapy. Things were going very good, but not being able to train very much was hard while being around my teammates and in such an active environment. I was still on crutches but was able to be a part of the Parade of Lights in Colorado Springs and sit on the float. It was fun to see all the people who came out for the parade and even though I couldn’t run around giving flags to little kids I was happy to be able to still take part and be back around my teammates and other athletes.

Majority of my time for training was spent in the pool, on the stationary bike, and doing my rehab for the next few weeks. I finally got to go down to using one crutch for another week and then was able to go without crutches once I got a little stronger and confident. It is amazing the things you take for granted such as putting on and tying your shoes and even putting on a pair of pants. It was difficult to still bend and have much flexion with my hip. Also walking up and down stairs seems like such an easy task, but I felt like I had to relearn how to walk correctly and go up and down stairs again. Being on crutches for about 4 to 5 weeks had caused my muscle memory to fade a bit and took a little while for my body and adjust and use those muscles again.

There has seemed to be a lot of mental barriers that I have had to push myself through and telling myself that my body is healed now and that I am not in pain anymore. After hurting for so long I never thought of how much I had favored my hip and the pain I was having. It took me a while to get the hang of walking and doing things without crutches again, but the strength was starting to come back. I was even able to start shooting and practicing with the team for some of the swimming sets.

 

After a few weeks back at the OTC I went home to spend the holidays with my family. Christmas was great and always nice to enjoy the family time. My sister was able to come home and it turned out to be a white Christmas which was beautiful! I also was able to get my family some USA gear for Christmas! They have been such huge supporters through this whole process and helped to keep me positive through the whole process with surgery.