Back On My Feet

A year ago, I tore my Achilles’ Tendon. A year ago, we had a dog. A year ago Kiara wasn’t even
crawling yet. A year ago, I came home from the hospital on crutches and pain-killers.

It was a long three months recovering from surgery, getting off crutches, and out of the boot. Then there were the long months of physical therapy, but during one of those sessions, the PT told me my days of training and completing triathlons were over.

When he said this, I wasn’t devastated. If he’d told me no beach volleyball, no basketball, no tennis, or flag football, I would have been pretty bummed. But it was just triathlons. Even though I’d trained for and completed about 10, I could let go of triathlons. Tri training is a
lot of work. It’s time consuming. It requires a lot of gear. No triathlons? Oh well.

But this summer, I was determined to get back in shape. So, when a friend said she was doing San Diego Tri Rock I decided to make a go of it.

Thanks for all the support this weekend/year!

I had been walking for my workouts but got back into running. I got my bike serviced and starting riding for the first time since Wildflower in 2009. I got back into the pool. In these hours of working out, I found my breath again. I started eating cleaner and with all the exercise lost the baby and Achilles’ tendon weight.

This past weekend we made it to San Diego, watched the Dodgers win, and after a miserable

mile-long swim, a 21-mile bike ride, and 6-mile run I crossed the finish line.

So much can change in a year. Scout is in a new home, Kiara is a rambunctious toddler, and I am grateful to be back on my feet.

This Week In Sports: Highs and Lows

It started out pretty rough with all of that crazy Manti Te'o stuff to sort through and then Lance. I can't even look or listen to that guy. These two stories made me hate sports, but then things started to turn around.

Oregon beat UCLA. In basketball. For the second time in a row. To take sole possession of the PAC-12 lead. Wow. Maybe my New Year's wish that Oregon make a run in the tourney isn't as outlandish as I once thought.

The end of the Butler v. Gonzaga game. Crazy.

Then there was football. It's pretty rare that both teams I want to win make it to the Super Bowl. I'm on team Kaepernick. Make some room on that bandwagon.

How to Heal an Achilles' Tendon

Ah, Achilles, the hero of grief. That is the tendon I ruptured one September afternoon. It's January, and I'm back on my feet, but it has taken a LONG time. Here is a bit of a timeline for anyone unfortunate enough to tear this tendon or as a cautionary tale for those of you who think you don't need to stretch.

September 25, 2012: Ouch!

I tore the Achilles' tendon in my right foot while coaching the Emerson girls flag football team. It hurt. A LOT. But somehow the adrenaline got me through and I made my way back to my second floor classroom on crutches to teach fifth and sixth period before heading to the ER at Kaiser in West LA. 

This is my right foot after the diagnosis: Right Achilles' Tendon Rupture. They sent me home with my right leg in a splint, crutches, pain killers, and an appointment in orthopedics the following week.



September 25 - October 3: Waiting for Surgery

I was home with my leg elevated, extremely elevated, and on crutches. The toughest part was not being able to take care of my six-month-old daughter. I couldn't put any weight on the foot and with the crutches I couldn't carry her anywhere. It sucked. It was also challenging to shower because I couldn't take the hard splint off. Once I consulted with the Orthopedic Surgeon, he had the techs create a removable splint so I could shower more easily, but we invested in a plastic shower stool to prevent falls. Having a removable shower head was also a huge help.

October 3: Surgery

So, I didn't have to get surgery. The doctor said it looked like a complete rupture, went through the complications that come with surgery, and then left it up to me. If I wanted to remain active, the chances of a rerupture were slightly diminished by having surgery. The scarring at the heel is apparently an issue with some people post op. I decided to have the surgery. I am an athlete. I couldn't imagine never having any push off my right leg so under the knife I went! It only took a couple of hours and I didn't have to spend the night in the hospital, but I did have to fast all day because of the anesthesia.

October 3-14: Splint, Crutches, Elevate

After surgery they put a soft splint and wrap on my leg, and again, I couldn't get it wet. This was probably the roughest time. The pain was bad for a few days and I still had to keep it elevated constantly. Even when I went back to work on the 10th, I had to keep it propped up all day or the swelling worsened. I was on crutches, but I managed to get back to work, go to a wedding, and a first year birthday party. So, I was still able to get around.

October 15 - 23 Cast

For a couple of weeks, they put me in a cast. It was blue and pretty but I couldn't get it wet and it was itchy. I wasn't bummed when it came off.

October 24 - November 15: Boot with Crutches

Aw, the boot. For Achilles' surgery recovery, they put all these foam layers inside the boot to keep your toe in a pointed position. The boot made showering easier, but I was still on the crutches, still couldn't put any weight on my right foot, and had to sleep in the boot. On the upside, the pain had dissipated and I didn't have to keep it elevated as much. I even went on a field trip in a wheel chair.

November 16 - December 16: Weight Bearing in Boot

Goodbye crutches!!! What a relief to be weight bearing in the boot! I could carry Kiara again, and get a drink from the fridge. I could cook! Still couldn't drive, but I became so much more mobile at this point, and each week as I took a layer of foam out to bring my foot from pointed down to level I was getting closer. My hips hurt every time I took a layer out, but every week I felt myself getting back to walking normally!

December 17 - January 5: Two Shoes and PT

Goodbye boot, hello shoes. Yes, almost three months after surgery I was in two shoes, limping pretty noticeably because the tendon was so tight, but walking. You can't really tell in the pictures, but look, I'm short, no longer height assisted by a boot. And there, in that other one, boots, two of them! This week, four full months post-surgery, I can finally drive. With physical therapy, flexibility exercises, and strength conditioning I expect to be getting back on the court soon!

I still have a couple more months before any quick twitch movements and I am just now coming to the realization that I am never going to be the same. Still, I'll be back, people. I might not have the first step I once did, but I have to be able to beat Kaira at one-on-one until she's taller than me. Two bits of advice for anyone with a rupture: be patient with your self and your recovery and ask for help. There's no way I could have made it without the help of my partner, co-workers, and friends.

Spoiled Ducks

Well, we did it! Oregon won its second consecutive BCS game, this time at the Fiesta Bowl. I wasn't there. My husband wasn't there. My brother wasn't there. Thankfully, a good number of Ducks fans managed to show up, but I guess we are just a bunch of spoiled Ducks. I couldn't help imagine what would happen if we had a play-off this year, and Oregon played Notre Dame and Alabama played Florida and then the winners faced off. Now that, that would have been exciting.

If Kiara was still smarting from the Stanford loss the day of the Fiesta Bowl, it didn't show.

Ends up, there isn't a play-off this year and with a nine-month-old at home we didn't make the trip to Arizona. The best I could do is dress baby-girl up in her Duck gear. In fact, that is what I've been doing instead of contributing to my sports blog. Sorry. I'm a loser.


But here are some pics just to prove I am still being a sports fan. Motherhood hasn't changed that. I just haven't been very good about blogging about it. Anyway, Kiara says, go Ducks!

Kiara in her game day dress as if Oregon played in the SEC or something.

This shot is from summer, before the season started, but Kiara was already excited.

Kiara didn't get to watch the game this day and neither did we.
We don't get the Pac-12 Network :(

This was Kiara during the SC game. She was riveted. Notice Puddles, her duck.
Puddles is her favorite. No kidding.

Finally! The Oregon Ducks Win the Grandaddy of Them All!

2012 has already started off so much better than 2011. Last year there was the nasty taste of the Natty loss in Arizona and that Cam Newton smile. This year victory was finally ours. And what a game. I mean, really, that was a great game with all those lead and momentum changes, big plays and big hits. It was stressful, for reals, but winning the big game is so much better than losing and Oregon knows from their last two BCS Bowl games how much losing hurts. 

But after the dust settled around the game, and I looked back at the fan experience I must say the beautiful Rose Bowl is a far superior venue to the cement-covered stadium in Phoenix. The tailgating and the Southern California weather make for a perfect game day. The thing I'm not sure about though is why I liked the Wisconsin fans better than the Auburn or Ohio State fans. Maybe it's because we beat them or maybe they actually are nicer. The Ohio State fans at the Rose Bowl two years ago were pompous. The Auburn fans at the National Championship game represented the SEC well with their loafers and their, "You know, football, it's a way of life down here" mentality. But the Wisconsin fans were pretty nice. They didn't talk smack. They cheered appropriately. They lost with dignity.

To my surprise, the people who drove me crazy at this year's Rose Bowl were not the Badgers. It was the SC fans. I know some nice USC fans. I know they exist. But ever since Oregon lost to SC some of the more obnoxious SC fans have NOT SHUT UP. They insist they are so much better than the Ducks and they are the real Pac 12 champs. I know you beat us, Tommy Trojans, but you also lost to Stanford and Arizona State. And sorry, guys, but you actually have to win the Conference Championship Game to claim this. I would have loved a rematch up at Autzen with SC in the inaugural PAC 12 Championship game. That would have been awesome. But instead we got the Bruins. So please, take your "Fight On" to some other bowl game. This year the Rose Bowl belonged to the Ducks!

Favorite Sports Stories of 2011

Another year of sports is coming to an end. Last year I put together my top ten sports moments but this year I want to focus on the stories so here are my top ten.

10. The NCAA College Football National Championship Game: Yeah, Oregon lost, but it was great to be there. What an amazing experience to get to see the team you love play in the biggest of games.

9. Emerson Middle School Boys Basketball Buzzer Beater: Our boys got to play at the NBA All-Star Jam Session at the Convention Center downtown. They earned there way by winning several close games but the most dramatic was their come from behind victory over Gompers with Jordan hitting a jumper as time expired. "Jordan hits the game-winner!" Has a familiar ring to it, doesn't it?

8. Tim Tebow: I have not been a fan of Tim Tebow but his late game dramatics have been a pretty incredible story to watch and I love the Tebowing phenomenon.

7. Game Six of the MLB World Series: I was not all that excited about watching the Cards and the Rangers in this year's fall classic and at the start of game six, with all those errors, I wondered if either team really wanted it. But with the Cards down and the Rangers a strike away from the title, the Cards come up with the hit. And then they come up with more hits and in the eleventh they win it. And then they win it all. Pretty crazy and I was super happy for former Dodger, Furcal.

6. Matt Kemp's Triple Crown Run: There was not much to cheer for from the empty stands of Dodger Stadium this season. But with a Cy Young pitcher on the mound and Matt Kemp vying for the triple crown, I was still watching our boys in blue this past September. And as Dodger fans say, "Wait 'til next year."

5. Emerson Middle School Boys Flag Football City Championship: Once in a while a special team comes along. Five years ago it was a special Emerson girls basketball team who won the city title and this year our boys' flag football team made an incredible run. They finished their undefeated season with a come-from-behind win on a catch by Jordan with no time on the clock (yes, the same Jordan who hit the game-winning basketball shot at the All-Star Jam Session).

4. Uganda's Little League Team: My hometown of Bend, Oregon made it to the Regionals of the Little League World Series but their story wasn't as powerful as the one from Uganda, a team who never made it to the Little League World Series because of paperwork discrepancies. They are still playing baseball in Uganda and there is no doubt we will see them in Williamsport one of these summers.

3. VCU V. Butler at the Final Four: When Number 11 seed Virginia Commonwealth was set to play against Number 8 seed Butler I didn't know which Cinderella to root for. But after watching VCU coach Shaka Smart getting his team fired up with his Iron Man drill, I knew who I was pulling for. 

2. The Japanese Women's World Cup Soccer Team: A devastating earthquake and tsunami, and a bunch of short soccer-playing girls. Yeah, I wanted them to upset the Americans in the World Cup Final and when it came down to PKs, Hope Solo couldn't make the save. A few key misses handed Japan the crown and I'll just try to forget all of the racist slurs that cluttered the twitterverse shortly thereafter.

1. The Final Day of the MLB Regular Season: Okay, so the scenarios on the final day: Boston and Tampa Bay were in a dead heat for the AL Wild Card, and Atlanta and St. Louis both still had a shot at the NL Wild Card. When the Braves lost to the Philllies, the Cards watched and waited after their own victory over Houston and then celebrated Atlanta's collapse. Then, in the course of moments, with the Rays down 7 in the eighth against the Yankees, it looked like the Sox had slammed the brakes on their fall skid, but then they blew the lead, and the Rays walked off on an Evan Longoria homer. The Red Sox were eliminated ending an incredible final day of the regular season.

My List of Top 5 Players...

You know how people have their lists: the celebrities they are allowed to fantasize about being with? Well, D and I both have our lists, but we tend toward athletes. I don't know who's on his list although he said Hope Solo but I think that was just to make me mad. So, as a counter the distasteful MILFs, I've come up with my list of PILFs (active players).

Feel free to gawk, sound off, and contribute your own PILFs to the list.

5. Jason Taylor: I love defense and those eyes, seriously. He lost some points a couple of years ago during Hard Knocks but he still makes my list.

4. Mark Sanchez: During the Jets' Hard Knocks season, Mark Sanchez won me over. I usually go for defensive guys, but he's an underdog (at least now that's he's not at SC anymore) and he's a prankster. And he cracks me up in press conferences.

3. Ray Allen: My only NBA pick, I've been crushed out on Ray Allen since he was Jesus Shuttlesworth. And Laker fans hate him which makes him all the more appealing to me.

2. Carlos Beltran: Although a little injury plagued, I love me some Carlos Beltran. That smile, come on. Charming. But I'll always have to imagine him as a Met. Now that he's a Giant, it's kind of over.

1. Matt Kemp: MVP stats, re-signed with my Dodgers, you had to know Matt Kemp would top my list.