Spring, Inspiring K1's, Knees

Spring has sprung here in BC. Although we had bouts of spring throughout…well, let’s face it, all winter….it seems as though springtime has truly arrived. With the temperatures reaching 18 degrees and the sun packing some heat, the snow peaked mountains are going to be green shortly. I’m still enjoying my time at home as we begin planning the summer/fall. It seems as though life is getting back to normal as I’m becoming more able bodied.

Inspiring K1’s

I spent the last weekend in Trail and Rossland, British Columbia. I was there representing Teck and getting to meet and work with over 200 K1’s (meaning 11 and 12 year old ski racers). It was the BC Championships and the event was great. I spoke at the banquet and handed out medals…in awe at how good these kids were. I saw something in every kid’s skiing that they could build on. I know how long the road it is to the World Cup, but it’s all a matter of putting together their own jigsaw puzzle. And these kids are starting to collect the pieces.

Since my injury I’ve watched a lot of ski racing. Before the Olympics, during the Olympics, and post Olympics with the exciting finish at the World Cup Finals. Watching skiing through a TV is only so exciting though. It was seeing these kids race over the weekend, on a sunny, warm, hard snow, day that really lit the fire inside me. Wow, did I ever want to be out on the hill with those kids. Ripping around, hitting the gates, and feeling the thrill of arching a turn with power.

Trail’s Teck Operations also presenting me with an honorary, solid silver, medal. It was extremely heart warming to know they thought of me enough to make this. I was extremely flattered to receive such a unique and distinct medal – truly one of a kind.










Knee Update

As for my knee, there have been a few progressions since my last blog. I met with Dr. McCormack, the top orthopaedic surgeon here in Vancouver, yesterday. My knee’s progression has hit a bit of a plateau in regards to how far I can bend it (flexion). I’m also noticing limits with my extension. These facts, combined with the timing of being 3 months out from my surgery, means they’re going to intervene. It’s now in the works to plan a manipulation under anaesthetic and likely a scope as well. I’m confident that this will be the turning point in my recovery.

Although I worked extremely hard to avoid such intervention, this is where I’m at. Still, my knee looks solid and on the road to a full recovery.

Till next time,

Kelly

Plunking Along

I can’t believe we’ve already passed the middle of March. I have really enjoyed my time at home with David the last few weeks. It’s been almost surreal planning for weekends in advance, to feel a sense of living here at home…not just a place where I rest my head in transition. Usually our weeks together are filled with unpacking, re-packing and a million chores before we say goodbye for another stretch. Amazingly, we’re still married too! Many people have joked that our time apart is what’s kept us together all these years, although I have to argue that that’s what has held us back from being even closer (no pun intended).

My knee is coming along, but again, it’s a slow process. Some days it feels daunting knowing how far I have to go and the pain I’ll have to endure to get there. Although my muscles are reacting extremely well and the range I have is fairly functional – it’s still very limited. Daily routines include a lot of painful exercises to increase my range of motion. I’m lucky to have David with me since he’s able to push me extremely hard in between my physio sessions. This is key to getting my knee healthy again…although I know it’s hard on David.

What else has been keeping me busy? Well, as anyone who knows me I certainly like to fill my time with projects! One thing that I’ve been working on for the last 5 weeks has been a mental training program through Minds At Work. It’s a program that trains your ‘working memory’ – the functional short term memory you use to perform everyday tasks. It is also said to help high performance athletes take in a lot of information at once and process it quickly in order to help make the best possible decision. This would all happen in a millisecond. I’ve been happy with the training and I look forward to seeing how it translates into my daily life. Lately, I can say that I have felt ‘highly functional’ but it’s hard to specify changes since it’s so pervasive. The brain is elastic and I know from experience that we can train our minds and bodies to reach incredible feats.

On another front, I have become quite popular as a keynote speaker for corporate events. This has kept me busy along with my speaking engagements at schools.

All in all, life if good. I’m plunking along working hard as always. Still, my number one priority is getting my knee back in working order so I can race as fast as ever.

Cheers,

Kelly

Roll up the Rim & Ice Cubes

Is this the quiet after the storm?

It’s hard to say goodbye to an event we’ve looked forward to for so long and an event that exceeded my wildest dreams. After the closing ceremonies, which David and I were lucky enough to attend, we made our way home. The next day I had that feeling of total satisfaction with my Olympic experience yet sadness as I knew it was over. We went to Tim’s that next morning and I was surprise to see Roll up the Rim was back – I had to laugh. It was the perfect pick me up for a true Canadian suffering from post Olympic let down.

Stories from Abroad

There were many stories floating around about how the world reacted to our Olympics. Generally, the world was extremely impressed and they have a new impression of Canada after seeing the flowers blooming mid-February here on our supposedly frozen tundra.

One story I thought needed sharing came from Down Under. David was in Australia training for the first block of our Olympics. A week into the Games the local radio station began pleading to their listeners for public aid. This stimulus package wasn’t for Haiti, rather, they were looking to save Canada’s Olympic Games. They asked all their listeners to go to their freezer and ship as many ice cubes as they could spare to Vancouver!

Knee Update

My degree watch took a bit of a hiatus during the Olympics. Although I was still hard at work doing my exercises my blog had more important details to cover! In Whistler I worked with Andree Lavoie, a physiotherapist who used to work with our team for 15years. Between Andree, my portable physio clinic I had set up in my hotel room, and the pool at the Westin I was well covered.

Good news; I’ve ditched the crutches! I’m now walking full time without any assistance. My leg has some muscle again so the blood flow is back to normal which feels great and lets me stand and move a lot more. My balance is quite good on my leg and I can stand on one leg doing basic exercises.

On the other side, bending my knee is coming slowly. I’m currently at 75degrees and slowly making progress. I’m going to town bending my knee pushing to tears 3 to 4 times a day. Everything is coming along extremely well once I get new range of motion – but it’s a stiff knee. It’ll come though and I am confident that the work I’m doing will get the results I’m looking for.

Other good news is that the ligaments are nice and tight! My knee is strong knee once again.

Food For Thought:

- Has anyone else lost their excitement for the NHL? After the Gold medal game I’ve become spoiled. It was such a high level of hockey, with so much at stake, that the NHL has simply lost some shine. Don’t worry, I’m sure it’s shine will return. However, for now, I’m happy to bask in my Olympic memories of what hockey can look like.

- Are our Olympians going to fade off into the sunset? I was extremely surprised to learn from the Conglomerate (CTV, TSN & Sportsnet) that as soon as the Games are over they aren’t allowed to use any video footage from the Olympics. Not in highlight reels; not in wrap up shows; nor in yearend highlights either; the images from these Olympics can’t be used again…period. Sadly, I think this IOC rule adds to the fact that many Olympians seems to disappear between the Olympic Games. Wouldn’t it be great if the highlights from Vancouver were replayed all year long?!

- Congratulations Erik Guay!!!!! Way to go winning Kvitfjell’s World Cup Super G!!!!

Till next time,

Kelly