As a person firmly ensconced in middle age, I have been forced to acknowledge the hard truth: My body ain’t what it used to be. I used to be quite strong — perhaps not coordinated enough to be considered athletic, but I was stubborn, competitive and strong enough to hold my own.
Nowadays, I’m chagrined to find myself needing help opening a simple jar in the kitchen. And a recent freak accident with a palm frond last fall showed me just how important — and fragile — our health can be.
I had inadvertently stomped hard on the heavy curved base of a palm frond while running last October. It tore apart my calf muscle and, unbeknownst to me, had also broken my ankle. The remedy was simple — stay off the injured leg! But obeying that directive, even limited as I was in a medical boot, proved difficult.
Getting out sometimes required a wheelchair with someone assisting me. As a very independent person, I found it hard and humbling to ask for help. I no doubt delayed my recovery by more than a few weeks by stubbornly walking about on my injured leg before I should have. But one of the most difficult aspects of this injury was watching myself regain weight that I had worked so hard to lose in the past year or so.
I had been in the midst of a mission to redesign myself by controling my blood sugar and gaining muscle for health reasons. However, just a month after my accident, I could see my calf atrophying from inactivity and I was forced to acknowledge the return of my love handles, Bill and Ted.
I was feeling quite down. But my orthopedic surgeon recently gave me the green light to get active again — but only non-weight bearing exercise, which means lots of swimming. A return to my body redesign! I’m looking forward to rehabilitating my leg so I can say, “Bye, Felicia!” to Bill and Ted, and get back to my excellent adventures.
Speaking of redesigns, you’ve likely noticed that we have a new look to this issue. Our parent company, Zonda Media, wanted to visually unify all its publications, and the results not only achieve that goal but makes Aquatics International more clean and readable. Included in this redesign are a new, modernized logo and e-newsletter.
Enjoy this month’s issue, and let me know how you’re getting your facilities prepared for the busy summer ahead!
