My post Dominican Golden Brown birthday body is twitching at the re check in of my luggage. I just want to get to the gate on time! 6 days of ocean, beach and BFF talk was well deserved but now Im in Atlanta late for my LA flight. Finally through, grab my stuff, sprint to the gate and RIP!!!! (Was that my calf????!!!!!!) I stop for a split second, with my right leg hanging in the air. No pain what so ever, can it really be? Put the foot down, NOWAY I can walk on it. So I hop. On one leg to my gate, sweat running down my wrinkle worried. My brain is still struggling to make the executive decision if Im going home (plane ride of 4 hours!) or if I should go to the ER in Atlanta. Who do I know in Atlanta?? I know people FROM Atlanta. There is no intense pain. I guess that settles it – I’M GOING HOME!

As soon as I land I get wheel chaired to baggage claim and my best Gay takes me to the ER where my other best Serb takes over. I have time to feel like the luckiest Golden Brown at Cedars Sinai as my friends dont leave my side for a split second. The verdict is a torn achilles tendon. To my huge surprise as there is NO MRI done, no pain, and certainly NO reason for that achilles to die. But ok, they are the doctors, and Im not. I guess. I cant even begin to explain the panic build up that goes on for the rest of the night. As you understand it is probably the worst verdict for someone like me, not just personally but most certainly professionally. I insist on seeing the orthopedic specialist and the next day, Im in his office. I come in with my big cast, crutches and a brain that has been working on alternative options all night and morning. My friends and superstars Michael Torres, Dr Perry Nickelston and Andreas Öhgren were all very helpful with information, encouragement and knowledge. Im in safe hands, but the verdict still remains: surgery or not?

Dr Wiss cuts my cast off (“why are you even having this?”) examines my leg and explains to me and to the doctor student who is about to see me cry my eyes out, that the achilles is intact and what I have is a minor muscle tear, which will heal on its own. “Use the crutches a little, go swimming, dont run, let your pain guide you. In this line of medicine pain is a great indicator of severity and damage” he says. I cant do anything else than relax and with that come the tears of relief. Recovery of the achilles can be 6 months up to a year. At this point a thousand thoughts run around in my head like kids being chased by the HeadLess Monster, one is HOW could that ER doctor be so damn wrong?? They are quickly overpowered by the Gratitude I have for the fact that it wasn’t all that Bad. I will be ok. It will teach me to trouble shoot and I will have to dive into the How to heal a muscle tear and a deep dive into Corrective Strategies again. Even though I MOSTLY train as functionally and consciously as I can, the proverbial shit can still hit the fan.

For the last few days I swam like a fiend and I will go back to resistance training tomorrow. No running for a while, but I’m hopeful that I can still do that Miami Triathlon that I signed up for. Dr Wiss will have the last word. Or maybe the superstar Physical Therapist Lenny Parracino who will fill in the Blanks for me (thanks amazing Andreas Öhgren for the referral). This little episode taught me that there are many outcomes from one event. And that it doesnt have to be as bad as it seems in the beginning. It might just be a series of events that are teaching you trouble shooting, problem solving, action taking and stress management. All in one event. Thats what I call Learning in the Moment )) But I didn almost shit my pants learning it.

Live Loud / Tanja Djelevic

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 21st, 2013 at 7:50 am and is filed under Body-Mind Health, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.