Not Porcelain Dolls

So three weeks have passed since surgery and I'm off running in therapy (ha! if only I were running). While I do have timed goals per physical therapy standards, I am torn between staying on schedule or getting ahead of schedule.  Staying on schedule is safe and slow and improves my odds of total success from the reconstructed ACL surgery.  If I move ahead of schedule, I risk injury of the same ACL but if I do not accelerate my progress, I also run the risk of injuring other extremities.  How do pro-athletes decide to push ahead?  Granted, pros have personal trainers working with them every day and they are not as susceptible to new injuries during recovery as I am. Would I be irresponsible if I forged ahead of schedule?

In my "This Path" blog, I mention that athletes choose their high risk paths and of course, I only refer to regular athletes.  What do I mean by regular athletes?  I label regular by those who are otherwise healthy and have no physical limitation that is not an every day event.  There are other athletes out there who have found a means of surpassing limitations they were told they had.  I do not dare call them challenged for their definition of challenge is on a competitive level.  Porcelain dolls they certainly are not.  For instance, Amy Purdy  having both her legs amputated from the knee down in order to save her life, became a snowboarder after her amputation and also went on to compete on Dancing with the Stars finishing with an impressive second place standing (literally...standing). Doug Henry, a USA multi-AMA champion motocross racer, was paralyzed from the waist down in 2007 and yet still gets on a dirt bike! (Click here for more Doug Henry news).  Don't believe me?  Just check out the pictures that I shot of him in 2011 at Red Bull's Day In The Dirt where he was quite competitive staying ahead of Jim Gibson for several laps.  Needless to say, I was in awe of his competitive drive.

November 2011 Copyright Roni Faxon

Jim Gibson and Doug Henry. November 2011 Copyright Roni Faxon

There are many more permanently injured athletes who do not give in to their injury but there is one whose circumstances hit closer to home and that is, Jeff Black.  Who is Jeff Black?  He is a body builder and not just any bodybuilder. For you see, his bones break frequently due to Osteogenesis Imperfecta, but his unbreakable spirit keeps him going to the gym and to competitions.  

The wonderfully, inspiring athletes mentioned above are not on a shelf like porcelain dolls just sitting pretty and not meant to be played with or taking part in what life has to offer and so, neither will I.  I am unbreakable; I will not be alive to simply watch the world and all its beauty from a shelf but instead, I will live life to its fullest for as long as God grants me a new morning to face.

So why am I so frustrated?  I want to be normal; is that selfish?  Is that vain?  

Having read Jeff's blog today, I couldn't possibly take my recovery as scheduled.  I will not take unnecessary risks but I will not baby myself either. I have to shake this frustration, but only physical activity helps me do that so like Jeff, I will push past the pain to get back to my prior activity level...I am unbreakable.