You can't get there alone!

While I'm still savouring the great experience(s) that came from participating in the 2016 ENDURrun I was reminded of some unfinished business.

I haven't given credit where credit is due.

While benefiting from the great post-stage massages each day (thanks to Colin and his team from KW Health Connection) I recall having a conversation about the massive scar on the back of my right heel.  It's result of a complete Achilles tendon rupture that I suffered in 2007 and the resulting (semi-emergency) surgery that followed.  Noting to Dr. Colin (who was massaging me on that particular day/stage) that I haven't had any residual pain, tightness or limitation since the completed rehab process and that I'd successfully completed 10+ marathons and a few ultramarathons on my surgically-repaired Achilles tendon he suggested to me that I need to be sure to go back and thank those health professionals who helped get me back on my feet.

And so having completed my first 160km ENDURrun, it's time to do just that.

I have to give the first shout-out to the team at D Freer & Associates here in Barrie - I was referred to their sports medicine doctor by the attending physician at the emergency department since his determination was that I'd only had a partial rupture of my Achilles tendon.  With instructions in hand to visit a sports med doc a week later I stepped into the offices at D Freer and after about a 5 minute consult was told to wait in the exam room ... and moments later the doctor came back to let me know that surgery was booked for me the next day since it was without a doubt a complete rupture.  His astonishment at the emergency attendant's 'incompetence' was classic and his ability to leverage his influence to get me into the operating room so quickly made all of the difference in terms of my prognosis.

The second shout-out is a repeater to Dr. John O'Sullivan, the orthopedic surgeon who pleated my tendon back together (all while I read a book on the operating table thanks to a well-administered epidural) and saw me throw the phases of rehab.  I can't say enough about how he under-promised (suggesting perhaps a return to 80% strength) and over-delivered.  Again, the scar may look gnarly (thanks to the week delay in proper diagnosis) but it makes for great storytelling, and it's helped me bust out a ton of running miles.

Now you know ... it may take a village to raise a child, but it also takes a team to (re)build a runner.

You can't get there alone!

a tale of two achilles

prior to january 2007 i'd not had any athletic injuries whatsoever.

then came a fateful day on the squash court.

planting my right foot for a quick dash toward a front-wall dropshot, i felt a snap just above the ankle.  i thought that there was an accompanying audible sound, but that might have just been in my head.  the odd thing was that there was no crippling, even grimace-inducing pain.  just the knowledge that something very, very wrong had just taken place.

after a bit of a debacle at the after-hours clinic and the local emergency room (whether neither of the two doctors nor the observing medical student could tell that i'd fully ruptured my right achilles tendon) i waited a week to see a sports medicine doctor.  the sports med guy took about 10 seconds to feel where my achilles tendon used to be, left the room, and returned a minute later to tell me that he'd booked me in for surgery the next day.  he was absolutely baffled as to how three other medical specialists could not have determined that my achilles was completely blown.

long story short, the next day my surgery took place under the careful hand of dr. john o'sullivan.  the operation itself was surprisingly simple (thanks to an epidural and a book to pass the time on the operating table) ... the five hours spent in the recovery room awaiting feeling to return to the lower half of my body was a bit nerve-racking.

i wound up with a pretty gnarly scar that instills fear in young children (think Frankenstein) and prompts the occasional stranger to come up to me and (pointing toward the scar) say "i know what you had done!".

the caveat that dr. o'sullivan gave me was that under optimal conditions i could expect to regain 80% of the strength and flexibility that i had pre-injury.

that was seven marathons and easily over 10000km ago.

if i had to comment at all on my now repaired achilles tendon, i'd lean toward 110% capacity compared to pre-injury status.

quickly compare that to my brother-in-law's achilles repair job ... he ruptured his right achilles tendon springing off of a pool diving board.  his doc must have had plastic surgery skills because his scar is almost invisible - razor thin and maybe 3 inches long.  but you know what?  his achilles is tight and tender at the start of every morning.  while he's managed several half-marathons on his repair job, he would tell you that it's not been the same since the injury.

i'll take the mondo scar tissue but bionic achilles any day.

have you had any sports injuries?  how have they healed up?  have they hindered your ability to perform/enjoy your sport at all?

a tale of two achilles