SPLAT!

Today, I should have been on Day #10 of the training system P90X, but unfortunately, I am only on strong pain meds and anti-inflammatories ...

WHY?

Fracture of the greater tuberosity of the left humerus. Can you see it?

If not, let me help you out a bit ...

HOW?

Innocuous fall forward while on my snowboard onto my outstretched left arm that *tried* to catch me.

SPLAT!

Pretty embarrassing that I was only coming down off the chair lift. I didn't want to hit the "loiterers" straight ahead of me so had to stop quickly but I must have hit a rut. Wish I had a better story to tell you all, like ... "I wiped out on a Double Black run and did a triple somersault before striking the ground!"

The pain was so intense, I couldn't breathe, so the Ski Patrol had to give me oxygen during the transport. Pretty incredible how they manouvered me on that stretcher from the top of the mountain all the way down, considering all the moguls they had to go around!

I only WISH I'd passed out from the pain, it was horrible. Thank God I was not alone!

RB and my son TMH rushed me to the closest hospital 20 min. away, Granby Hospital, where it took less than five minutes to get treated ... I guess the loud crying helped. The triage nurse sent me into the examination room right away. My loud scream in pain when she tried to take the glove off my injured limb prompted her quick decision.

Nurse: "Go straight through to the back and they will undress you there."

(RB told me later she rated my pain 10/10 when he went to give her my medical info.)

Two injections of phentanyl, lots of shivering from shock, x-rays, another injection of a longer-acting pain-killer, extreme nausea and dizziness ...

Doctor: "Well, I've got good news ... It's NOT dislocated!"

My mind raced ... if it wasn't dislocated, then what the hell was causing all this f*cking pain?!?! Why couldn't my shoulder just be popped back into place and then the pain go away? I felt desperate.

Doctor: "It's broken but non-displaced. If the bone doesn't move, the healing will be straight-forward and you'll have no future problems. With dislocations, one will always have problems."

SS: "How long will it take to heal?"

Doctor: "Your snowboarding season is over."

I broke my shoulder ... I can't believe I broke my shoulder!!

RB brought my son and I home and I promptly vomited but at least I finally got rid of the nausea.

***********************************************

So now, post-accident 10 days, I am still immobilized and still in great pain. As explained to me, the rotator cuff muscles attach onto that piece of broken bone. My pharmacist told me that the pain-killers that I was taking were between morphine and heroin ... crap, I can still feel the pain.

Had another set of x-rays done in Montreal and saw the orthopedic surgeon yesterday. I'm healing well and the bone fragment remains non-displaced. YAY!

SS: "When will the intense pain go away?"

Doctor: (looking me right in the eyes) "YOU BROKE A BONE!"

(Dang, the ER doctor at the Montreal Jewish General Hospital said the exact same thing in the exact same way two days after my accident ... yes, I unfortunately had to pass though Emergency again to get a consult appointment with the specialist.)

I then explained my predicament (Ironman and my need to return to training) and the doc said he'd release me early from my sling if all went well ...

March 1 will hopefully be my "release date"! Cross your fingers for me!

It's simple.

I haven't blogged 'cause I'm barely training. Call it Sloth Mode but it happens every year during the holiday season. In general, I'm not one for keeping schedules and routines since I lack dedication and discipline, but recently, I've had some good reasons to be running, cycling and swimming less.

REASON #1

I've never gone far away for Christmas but finally did recently to the French Alps. A little intimidating for this snowboarder who hasn't visited many ski hills but quite the experience ...

REASON #2

Friggin' 2nd degree burn.


My forearm touched the oven door as I was turning roast potatoes. What you see here in the pic is Day Four, and it's looking "good" having just been freshly washed. Damned tape gave me contact dermatitis though!

My burn wept and bled for almost two weeks and hurt like the dickens even when covered. Boo hoo. I couldn't sleep properly at night, not knowing where to put my arm and having to take pain-killers. Needless to say, this burn didn't bolster my training mood. Obviously no swimming as water made it sting horribly but I did manage a few short runs, even though it did hurt to move my arm.

This week, I'm now back to almost daily short runs of 25-35 min. and tomorrow, I'm going to the pool! My skin is much better and I no longer need a gauze covering. Yay!

REASON #3

Do I really want to put my bike on my trainer? I haven't cycled since autumn ... Let's approach this daunting task after I manage to incorporate the swim ...

NEXT ... the P90X!!!

It's my birthday today ...

And I got to go snowboarding in the French Alps (pictures to come soon!) I must say, this was not a bad way to celebrate :-) Not much training during this vacation though ... Too many hills, snow and ice to run safely here on the narrow streets.

The food where I'm staying in Morzine, France, has been utterly delicious (= weight gain) and I will have my work cut out for me come 2010 when full training starts!

Before this vacation started, I unsuccessfully started the intense P90X home training program. It's an intense 90-day training program for fit people who want to get even fitter.


I managed to get through two days before I got sidetracked by work, kids, Christmas shopping, and holiday preparations. It didn't bother me that much actually that my attempt failed ... the P90X Fitness System was painful ... Actually, it was INCREDIBLY PAINFUL!! And I never felt so nul as an athlete. Both days, I cringed and then whimpered inside as I realised I still had more than 40 min. to go during each workout which lasts just under an hour.

I discovered muscles that I never knew I had, muscles that became so sore that I could barely climb out of bed or walk around. The day after finishing Ironman is a piece of cake compared to this!

Alright, back home tomorrow and back to building base ... and prepping myself mentally to restart P90X. DAY ONE, here I come ... um, eventually!

March Break Madness

I only realised today how long it's been since I last posted ... what can I say? Kids aren't in school or at their father's, and as any parent knows ... kids need a lot of attention and that's A-OK. Been a really fun March Break so far ... :-)

What have we been up to?

- snowboarding ... pretty wicked, especially with all the fresh snow
- lounging
- swimming
- watching videos - picked up Shanghai Noon and Shanghai Knights tonight ... funnier than I thought they would be!
- eating yummy stuff, like hot dogs, braised beef, homemade chocolate chip cookies, rice pudding, bacon and eggs, homemade bread, Chinese food (mine!), nachos with salsa and cheese, and more ... This sure beats my Christmas eating. Yes, I am doing a fine job of feeding my Buddha belly this week.
- sleeping
- cuddling and laughing and playing
- spending time with friends and other good stuff ...
- certainly haven't put any emphasis on training - hey, March Break is family week for me!

**********************************

I got into a conversation with JC recently about blogging and websites. He received a few negative comments like "don't be so narcissistic" when he first started his website for his photos and also other websites for things that interested him that he wanted to share with the world ...

I too have received comments about being "self-absorbed" or "self-centered" and all interestingly enough from people who don't even know me. Hmm ...

Well, JC and I and other bloggers and people who have websites have one thing to say to these negative people ...

"Don't visit our websites."

Easy solution, isn't it? Duh, I would think so!

Would these people continue smelling their own socks if they didn't like the stench? Or gobbling everything on their plates while complaining about how disgusting the food tastes?

Life is full of choices. I'd rather not choose the negative ones.

Thank you to the readers who do like to read my blog, and a special thank you to those who have shared their thoughts with me by making comments. I appreciate the time that you take out of your day to visit me here :-)

The Man on the Hill

I took my sons snowboarding at Bromont today. The snow was amazing and though it was quite chilly, it wasn't freezing! Bundled up quite nicely in several layers, we were having a great time, until one of my sons didn't quite make it to the bottom of the hill.

Turns out he twisted his knee slightly during a little fall, but erring on the side of caution, the snow patrol took him down the rest of the slope. I went to pick up the car on the other side of the mountain to meet them.

When I reached the parking lot, an ambulance passed me, lights flashing, sirens howling. I thought for a second, "No, this can't be ... it's just a twisted knee - I hope it's not broken!"

Worried, I quickly parked the car and made my way to the first aid cabin. I peered inside and saw a man lying on a table. He was urgently being administered CPR. His face was all bloody. I suddenly realised what was happening. Great sadness overwhelmed me and I felt the urge to cry.

Just then, a woman from the snow patrol approached me and told me my son had been moved to another area, for obvious reasons. My son was oblivious to what was happening in the cabin just beside him, feeling better having had his knee taken care of. My other son made mention of hearing on the walkie-talkies that a man was unconscious.

As we were getting into the car, a man on a stretcher was being taken out of the first aid cabin. A yellow blanket covered his face and body. His red ski boots peered out from the other end. The ambulance drove off, no flashing lights, no wailing siren ... and I knew he had not made it.

Incidents like this add a solemn perspective to life.