Be Back in Cbus

It’s been exactly one week since I arrived back in Ohio from my month long stay in Arizona. It’s been a FULL week, both on the plus and negative side. Initial plusses? Getting to see so many AWESOME and supportive friends. Initial negatives? It’s cold in Ohio. See everyone? Amy didn’t lose her cold weather negativity in the accident! Ha!

Ok, so back to a quick recap of the week….complete with things I’ve learned, struggled with, etc. The flight back wasn’t all that bad. The turbulence didn’t hurt my ribs that much and the air pressure wasn’t an issue for my right ear which has struggled with various hearing issues. This is obviously good news since it indicated to me that I probably didn’t hurt my eardrum as I had previously thought. Getting home and settling in was nice….I slept like a rock that first night and spent much of Saturday doing laundry, baking cookies with my awesome friend Ann, grocery shopping and getting a bit more acquainted with a few good friends. It was good. Really good.

Sunday was going to be an exciting day. After another good sleep, I woke up late again and got ready to make a small appearance at the charity bike event that my awesome friends Wes and Marie were doing to help fund my charity support account. It was literally moving to see and to have organized on my behalf. I was beyond excited that I was able to be there to witness everyone jumping in to help and beyond that….almost 40 people attended, plus a guy from 10TV News asked for an interview. I’m still stunned as I think of it...along the way of this entire ordeal there’s always been a small part of me that silently spoke, “I had NO idea I could be loved this much.” It’s true. Sometimes it still pops into my head. I’m grateful and thankful.

I didn’t stay long at the charity bike event. One of the things I’ve noticed in the past week is that I have a tendency to be a bit fatigued during the day. I'm not sure if that’s some sort of neurology issue that’s remaining around or if it’s just adjusting to being back home, but either way I can feel it and it frustrates me. I try to pay attention to what I need though, so that’s good.

Monday started with my appointment to see Joe Simko, my trusty physical therapy guru at Max Sports. Joe had ironically messaged me to see how I was doing on the day of the Ironman in November. After I had the ability, I had written him back and told him of my accident, that I needed to schedule PT with him upon my return and Joe was great enough to get me in immediately. After the first time we went through some stretching and movements, Joe was pleased with my range of motion and the gains I’d gotten over the past month. With consistent work he felt good that I’d be back in the pool and in a good workout rhythm again by mid January or late January at the latest. GOOD NEWS!

As the week went on, I had various meetings with colleagues from my counseling practice to discuss my return to work at the end of the month. It was agreed and supported that it will be on a part time basis for a while and that’s a good thing. I’m grateful for their ongoing support of my needs and my recovery. It will be good to see everyone else again soon.

Pain has come and gone at various times in my shoulder. It’s very annoying and frustrating for me. I find myself hating the fact that things I used to do so easily are challenging if I don’t slow down and be gentle on myself. One day this week I had a emotionally challenging day mostly due to the MANY things that happened which I personally didn’t take well. My brain at times can be working faster than my speech which causes me to stutter or say words that aren’t right. That happened on this particular day with a check out woman at the grocery store. That afternoon I hurt my shoulder taking off my sports bra too quickly, something I used to do ALL THE TIME without pain. Later that day I spoke to my mother who had come home to her place in Michigan to a broken refrigerator freezer and spoiled food. My mind immediately started the guilt train: “If they hadn’t been with your sorry ass for the past month they would have come home and caught this refrigerator before it cost them an arm and a leg.” Yep, it was a rough day.

And I’m rational person….I know rationally that a lot of this stuff is just emotions that are running around my heart and head, but they aren’t exactly the truth. I know I won’t always stutter or say wrong words. I won’t always be tired in the middle of the time. I won’t always have to only work part time. I won’t always hurt taking off a sports bra. I’m not a jerk because my parents stayed extra weeks with me in Arizona. This is all part of the process of recovery, acclimation to life back in Ohio, and learning to remember that some of the stuff I'm struggling with is just temporary stuff. It will change with time and being patient (which isn’t usually my best attribute) will have to be important. It’s all going to be ok. Seriously. It really will.

Honestly, I have to remember to remind myself that the good outweighs the bad, even if it doesn’t always feel like that. I’ve gotten to ease back into exercise this past week. I’ve gotten to meet with my friend Maggie who I had missed officiating her wedding on December 6 and learned all about the day of her dreams! I got a beautiful Christmas card this week where someone actually addressed it to “Amy BrAvery” which made my day. Bravery….get it? That’s MY motto!  The ENT doctor I saw this week had heard about my accident from mutual triathlete friends and helped me with working on my right ear, complete with the assurance that I’d not only have 100% hearing again but I’d ride again. I framed my IMAZ poster complete with my swim cap and race bib for memories.

Everyday is up and down and the challenges come and go. Some make me feel like I’m physically handicapped and mentally fogged, other times I can be a bit more patient with myself and understand that each step forward is a claim back on the life I almost lost. So truthfully, it’s always worth it.

So watch out Columbus peeps…..I’ll be stalking most of you VERY soon to connect. And don’t avoid hugs….I can handle being touched a LOT better now that the ribs are healing!

Be Back in Cbus. Be Brave.