The Road to Recovery

I haven't updated this blog in months. Oops. At least I have a good excuse: I sprained my knee in early September, and once that was about healed up, I dislocated my shoulder in a charity kickball tournament. The shoulder instability lingered and I ended up having surgery Jan. 29, after a second dislocation, to repair a Bankart Tear.

I got outside plenty in the fall and winter, but didn't accomplish much I considered blog-worthy. A failed attempt on Fletcher and successful trips up Silverheels, Buckskin, Homestake, Pikes, Sherman, Gemini and Evans (my lone new winter 14er this season) kept me sane, but all of those are relatively short walk-ups. I was even lucky enough to go ice climbing a few times, most notably during an amazing New Year's Trip to Ouray. It was tough sticking to easy WI2-3 and not being able to trust my dominant shoulder, but I'm thankful I was able to at least swing my tools a few times this season.

Pikes Peak summit with Kate, Remy, John and Loren.

It's admittedly difficult watching friends out there accomplishing great things. On one hand I'm happy for them, and on the other there's an undeniable pang of envy. There's even a sense of being left behind as I see people I was once on par with skyrocket past. With avalanche danger reaching atrocious levels, the only thing I'm not internally conflicted about is hoping they all stay safe.

Paraphrasing something my close friend Mark said recently while going through a much more difficult situation with a torn Achilles, there's nothing to do now but hit the rehab hard and stay focused on the future. What's done is done, and there's no use wallowing in my own tears over a lost winter season. All I can do now is focus my energy toward getting back to 100 percent.

Three things will see me through: Kate, who's been (mostly) patient despite my best efforts at milking the recovery; an obstinate hope that I'll be able to climb by couloir season in May; and an early July trip to the Pacific Northwest for the third year in a row. There's certainly a lot of fun to look forward to on the horizon.

I'm off now to my first post-op appointment. I'm hoping to learn when the sling gets retired and when physical therapy will start. Once those dates are set, it's go time. Recoveries are a lot like climbing a mountain -- if you stay fixated on short-term goals and take it step-by-step, before you know it you'll be on top.

Climb on.

-Jeff

Ouray Ice Park