Nice To Talk To Ya
To follow up on the blog post of ‘home again’.
Physically I’m okay. It’s not my first rodeo with injuries. Yes, it’s my first surgery but overall the principle is the same. You’re out for a looong time.
Mentally it always gets heavy at some point.
You overthink. You’re somewhere in the future, thinking about what could be. You’re also partly stuck in the past, thinking about why and how it could happen. And then there’s everything in between. Will I come back stronger? Will I be the same player? Will playing even feel the same? Will I trust my knee again? How long will I stay scared? How long will it take to be back? What if something happens again? And probably 100 more of these questions.
When you speak with people who have done their ACL before, they always tell you that the mental side is though. But nobody really tells you how though it can be. So it was perfect timing that I called with my long-lost friend and old roommate Lids.
She’s going through an ACL rehab for the second time now and a couple weeks behind me in the process. We talked about all of the things above; the physical stuff, the mental stuff, the doubts, the little victories and all the things that come with being in this weird ACL club.
We came to the conclusion that it s*cks haha.
But we’re strong. And not backing down for anything. #SionRoomiesMentality
I also spoke with Katrina, who I saw in Riga before I left to go home, a couple months ago. She also has an ACL injury and had her surgery a month or so after me, so she’s going through a similar process as well. And again so many of the struggles are the same. Especially in the beginning phase.
That’s on thing I’ve really come to appreciate during this process. Sometimes it’s just nice to speak with someone who understands what you’re going through and/ or is even going through the exact same thing. It’s nice to listen to each other’s stories. To hear what helped them. Maybe something you’re struggling with is something they already figured out. Or maybe you can help them with something you’ve learned along the way that might help them.
These things just make you realise that you’re not the only one overthinking and having doubts. Sometimes that alone helps.
Back to the full picture though.
Rehab itself is going pretty well.
The results from the strenght tests I did with Bart a few weeks ago show the same thing. There is still a big difference in strenght between the two legs, but slowly, we’re closing the gap.
Phase III of rehab, which basically means we started to move more dynamic. We’re progressing towards running, speed ladders, different jumping forms and, of course, still loading the leg as much as possible to get ‘em muscles back.
It feels good to have moved into this next phase. There’s still a long way to go. When I look back at where I was a few weeks ago and now, there’s progress. And that’s what I’m trying to focus on. One week at a time.