my younger days
the moment
that changed my life.
At a very young age my mother exposed me to every kind of sports, activities and different experiences. The one that took over my life at the age of 3 was gymnastics. I excelled quickly from recreational gymnastics to competitive, at the age of 11 I was envious of my friends social life so I took a year off. As I look back I regret taking that year off because it set me back but I don't think I would have ever realized how much gymnastics meant to me if I hadn't.
Returning after a year was the biggest obstacle as I was in my peak growing phase, I had to re-find my centre of gravity and re-teach myself everything. Luckily, when you are young you can bounce back in no time. Within a year I was able to get back to where I left off, and was able to excel, learn new skills and was preparing for a new competition season qualifying for Level 4 (one shy of Nationals). I was on top of the world, I was able to perfect all the skills I needed and was training for my very first competition in the US (Hawaii). My training was focused on gaining consistency and stability to my routines and to develop new skills to increase my start value. I was full of confidence, my teammates and coaches all said " this is your year ". At the age of 14, I had my life all planned out. Level 4 this year, national's next year and then try out for the Olympics.
On Wednesday November 27, 2002 I was doing a back to back floor routine to help build endurance. First tumble pass was a round off back hand spring double twist, a skill I have done hundreds of times without a problem. Second routine, first tumbling pass, a under rotation and a LOUD pop lead to what I was told a "dislocated knee". Instant tears, not because of pain but because I think deep down I knew this injury could/would change my life. I did not feel a single ounce of physical pain that day, the doctors asked why I couldn't stop crying. They thought I was in excruciating pain but the truth was I was scared they were going to tell me I wasn't going to be able to go to hawaii in February. Doctor's reassured me that I would be well enough to compete with some rehab. Throughout the years I was fortunate enough to not ever injure myself while doing gymnastics, all major injuries were caused by daily activities.
Wednesday November 27, 2002 turned out to the be the worst day of my past life. Long story short, I didn't have a dislocated knee as Doctor's told me. "just keep working out" didn't fix it, and every time I tried to go back I could feel my joint move from side to side. I ended up going to Hawaii as it was already paid for. It killed me to watch my teammates compete while I had to sit and watch. I started to close myself off to the gymnastics world as it was way too hard to see people live my dream.
I gave up. I gave in to the physical pain and the discomfort. I thought my life was over, I couldn't sit, stand or walk without discomfort, stiffness or pain. I honestly thought I was going to be in a wheelchair at the age of 30. Finally at the age of 18 (4 years later) my parents said this is ridiculous, we are seeing another doctor because this is not normal. Turns out I had a torn ACL and lateral meniscus. I developed mild arthritis and tendonitis due to walking around on a unstable knee for 4 years which turns into 5 before I got surgery.
On February 28th, 2008 I got my surgery, it never felt right after that. I felt constant pressure, a jamming sensation, clicking and pain still. I thought it was suppose to eliminate all that. In July 2009, they went in again to remove a staple and to figure out what was causing the problems. They found nothing; in their eyes the first surgery was a success. Tired of not being active; I said F*** it my knee is always going to hurt I am no longer going to let it control my life and stop me from doing doing things I love. I started to workout; fighting through the pain and discomfort. At this point I couldn't run for more than 10 mins; because of my knee and my lack of endurance.
I moved to Victoria, BC for University from September 2009 for a full year. Upon my return and completion of my degree, I made it a goal to rehab my body. I also had really bad back pain. Being employed at a fitness centre helped me stay motivated and on track. My new years goal for 2011 was to run a half marathon; my progress in January seemed promising. I went from being able to run for 10 mins to being able to run for 1 hour for 5 miles on the treadmill. I figured in order to do a half marathon I should start running outside. First outdoor run, 8km was a success and the next day I went for 12km. I could not walk after; my knee shut down on me. This was the moment I realized I couldn't do it on my own, I need professionals to put me back to piece.
February 2011, I started training with Ian Fletcher, Empire Athletics at the Richmond Olympic Oval and did once a week sessions with Jonathan Sun, Athletic Therapist at Evolution Sports Therapy. Since then I have realized that my knee aches, pains and discomfort was drastically decreased by exercising with proper technique and rehabbing the imbalances in my body. I now do some form of exercise everyday ranging from just cardio, to strength training, to fitness classes, and hot yoga. I find that if I don't stay active my knee gets stiff, the pain returns and so does the annoying clicking.
I hated working out because there was no adrenaline rush and it was boring but it changed my life. I hit rock bottom so to be where I am today is an accomplishment in itself.
This blog is about my next journey and I hope this motivates/inspires you to start exercising to live the good life. My next goal is to lose 10% body fat, get a 4/6 pac, ripped arms and to get an butt. I have been saying I want a "4 pac" for over a year now but I never committed myself. I am making that commitment now.
I would do it all over in a heart beat, I would give up everything to go back for 3 minutes. Just enough time to complete a routine.