The ACL

This is my friend Sarah. She is a champion.

In mid-February, Sarah tore her ACL while skiing at Winter Green. She knows how to ski, and she was wrapping up a long day, heading into the lodge, when a stroke of bad luck got in her way as her ski tips crossed and the accident happened. She has been working hard ever since to get her knee up and running again, and to strengthen her hamstring for the ACL replacement surgery that she'd inevitably have to have to regain full mobility and strength in her knee. This past Wednesday, she had that surgery. She is doing well as she takes pain-killers that make her itch like crazy, watches plenty of instant watch netflix, and uses a machine for eight hours a day to bend her recovering leg.

Today, on the way home from a long work meeting in Lansdowne, VA, Nikki, SRG, (Hadley), and I stopped by to visit Sarah and shower her with goodies. It was awesome to see her and it was great to see the excitement and gratitude on her face as we surprised her on this dreary day. But mostly, it just amazes me what a positive attitude this girl has through anything. I seriously can not think of anyone else who would smile and laugh through as much pain and hassle as Sarah has this past two months. And that is the main purpose of this blog: to triumph Sarah's positive outlook and to learn from it.

Included in the goody bag were lots of things like candy, photographs, and girly magazines. But, of particular note were the Runner's World Beginner's Edition magazine and running water bottle that Nikki included. Because Sarah is excited to run with us in three months or so. She is excited to do so many things that she hasn't been able to do for so long, that she was never as excited to do before the pop. Which is the interesting thing about an injury so crippling as an ACL tear. It sucks and it is expensive and it's not something you'd wish on anyone but there is a silver lining. It elicits an attitude change and a new appreciation of the wonderful things that the human body is capable of. Sarah said to me two weeks ago that she is now aware of all of the things she used her acl for that she never even thought twice about before. On the night before her surgery, her facebook status read, "Last day of walking normal for a while. Dear everyone, don't take your ACLs for granted. Love, SFP". She says that she sees people roller skating or running and she knows that she can't do those things at all right now. And it makes her want to do them. It makes her want to do things she didn't do before because she now knows what it feels like to not be able to do those things. So she will do them as soon as she's recovered. And she'll truly enjoy them with a gratefulness most of us lack.

So let's all be thankful for the day-to-day things that our bodies can do, the things we don't really think about. For me, these are some of the things that make me the happiest. And Sarah's story reminds me that you can be unlucky and accidents can happen but that, since I've been lucky enough not to have a bad one, I should be so grateful for what my body is capable of. And I'm not only thankful, but I will take so much advantage of it. And let's wish Sarah the best in her recovery and in her many upcoming athletic endeavors, in which she'll use her knee and she'll use it to it's fullest!