I'm not sure what has driven me back to the blog at this particular time.  Maybe it is all the happenings going on in my life right now and maybe it is simple frustration release, since I am injured and can't run them out (I think we can all see no where this blog is heading ... haha).  No matter what the reason may be though, right now, I simply feel the urge to share and open it all up for discussion.

We'll start with the obvious ... about a month ago, I broke my ankle.  After 3 weeks of seeing manual therapists, rehab specialists, soft-tissue manipulators, etc. and convincing myself that the pain and swelling was merely a bone bruise/jammed ankle joint, I suffered the financial hit of going to the Ortho to get X-Rays/MRI's.  The initial results of an X-Ray showed no fracture and gave me a little relief.  From there I was sent for an MRI.  The results were not good; A fully fractured Talus bone in my inner ankle.  The radiologist and my Ortho were perplexed to say the least.  For an athlete who has never had bone issues or a history of ankle injuries, it is very complicated to fracture your Talus bone without having fallen from a great height, been in a car accident or suffered some other trauma of the sorts.  Not only that, but the reason it did not appear in the initial X-Ray is because the Fracture is internal, not peripheral, meaning that it broke straight through the center of the bone. 

Now, being the critical thinker that I am, I have labored over and discussed with doctors as to how this could have happened.  Weeks later, I feel I have come up with a culprit that at the least does the job of putting my wondering mind to rest.  I do believe that mistakes were made on my part that led to this occurrence and unfortunately, those combined with other outside influences were enough to cause traumatic stress on my body. This issue, however, can and will be an entirely different post, and is a lesson that should be hard thought on by any athlete.  The good news of all of this (if there is any ... and trust me, I dug for this) is that because the fracture is centric and not peripheral, the bone is in one piece.  This means I avoided the possible displacement and deadening of the Talus that can frequently occur with this injury.  In most cases, those issues will lead to much more severe results and a paralyzed athletic career.  For me, this is not the case ... and I will be back!

For now, I have become a friend of the water and between swimming for 2,000-4,000m per day, aqua jogging for 30-60min, arm biking for 30-60min and maintaining strength through a truncated weight routine, I hope to exit the other side healthy and not a complete slouch.

One of the main things getting me through this injury and keeping my brain occupied is my impending move.  Bitter-sweetly, I will be moving out of Austin in the coming month in order to be nearer to my girlfriend and take yet another step towards my future.  While I am incredibly sad to leave the city, the people, the teammates, the "family" at Rogue and so many more behind as I depart, I know that they will always be a big part of my life. Just because I am gone, does not mean we will leave each other's hearts and souls.  I will always take the spirit of those who have supported, guided, looked to and befriended me alongside wherever my path may lead.  And while it is as sad as it is that I say goodbye (for now), I am ecstatic about what lies ahead.

I have spent a lot of energy over the past 8 months (as has my gf) creating time and opportunity to see one another.  And while I would do it all again a million times over, if we are both going to reach our goals and aspirations, we need to give ourselves every chance we can to do so.  I am more than excited to spend more time with her in my life and to do so without disruption to her or my other responsibilities and goals.  It is a change that I see only as positive for both of us.  We support each other fully and believe in each other even more.  I hope that my friends and loved ones here in Austin will understand the reasons for my leaving and be supportive of the choice I have made to relocate to Knoxville.

I will always love this city and plan to frequent it after my move to visit the friends, "family" and places I have loved for the past 6+ years.  I plan to enjoy my last month in Austin, even though I hobble around it on these darn crutches, and will take in every moment of this vibrant, unique city.  It definitely is a one-of-a-kind place that will be missed!

Thanks for reading!
db