96 hours

and we have a perfect landing. Very very minimal swelling left, absolutely no pain. Lets get down to business.

* Tuesday – Post OP where I will be told there is zero arthritis. A small piece was clipped out, the baker’s cyst has dissolved and the minimal MCL damage has repaired itself

* Wednesday October 10th – Post physio appointment booked to set up 3 months of the most enjoyable 90 days of effort ahead. (no running don’t worry).

“You can quit, and they won’t care, but you will always know”

- John Collins, the founder of Ironman

48 Hours

 

and morale is high. That was my first surgery, hopefully my last, of any kind. The only item of any substance would be my overall impression. I was kind of caught off guard with the scope, pun intended, of the entire process really. I suppose I had it in my head being “day surgery” and all that this would be a walk in the park.

Firstly, from the pre registration manual I got, I read somewhere that I had the option of choosing a local, regional or general aesthetic. Right on, I figured that I would go with the local and maybe I’ll get a chance to watch this whole thing on a monitor. Turns out that this scripture is in fact very dated. I later learned from my mother, a retired nurse of 35 years, that the new operating program will push you to general anaesthetic so they can essentially release you asap. Spinal or regional would have meant a longer paralysis and likely would have meant an over night stay. So there I was, instantly hooked up to IV without any choice, boom, just like that the anxiety started to set in. The apex of fear came hours later when I was laying there the cold, dreary, atypical pale green hallway about to go into my operating room, only just an arms length away. I had doctors and nurses going back in forth beside me. I overheard a multitude of conversations making the moment for me all the more surreal. A Doctor arguing with with someone via a cell phone about using the car, another sharing a laugh about a gym incident earlier in the day. Just to add to my anxiety level, I couldn’t see anything, as they don’t allow contacts or glasses, which for me are truly bottle bottoms.   Reality hit home when I could hear my surgeon, the great Dr Tran, orating to a recorder “patient Hackwood, Christopher, complex and lateral tear with evident flap, partial MCL tearing....” Then, in an instant I was hurried in, an orderly on either side, arm and arm. I was quickly strapped to the table, told to take some deep breaths of oxygen while staring up at the classic triplex of very formidable light. The last thing I remember was visualizing a 3:20 finish, crossing the line waving a banner with “Boston” inscribed on it.

I will know all of the details on my post op appointment Tuesday of next week where I remain hopeful that sublime visualizations can in fact become reality.

"Never ever ever quit"

On the Eve of Change

            I guess it all comes down to this, a simple 60 minute arthroscopy which will determine the fate of my running existence, at least, here on this planet, in this lifetime.  Let’s suppose for a minute though, regardless of my fate on Monday, maybe I’ve laid the foundation for greater achievements in another world, another existence.   Maybe I’ll be the next Alberto Salazar out kicking Dick Beardsley to finish of the 1982 Boston marathon in the infamous “Duel in the Sun” and end up in emergency taking in fluids because I didn’t drink anything during the race.   How about the next Haile Gebrselassie, at 35, serving notice and telling the running world that “ I am the champ” by running a 2:03:59, that still remains to be beat in the masters running world today.  Maybe I’ll be one of Mark Allen or Dave Scott battling out “ironwar” in 1989.  Shoulder to Shoulder for 8 hours only to finish 58 seconds apart in arguably the greatest race ever, period.  I would take any of that, but seriously, truthfully, I would be more then blessed, grateful and satiated to be able to just run again, here, today, in my lifetime.  Watch or no watch, race or morning jog,  I just want to run in some form.   Hopefully, Monday September 24^th, will be just that positive turning point in my life, where that opportunity will once again be put before me.  It will be a classic example of rebirth.  I’ll be starting all over, from the very beginning where once again, I’ll experience the magic of a 5 min stumbling jog that turns into a glorious marathon finish.  It’s the place where awesome does in fact truly happen.  It’s where 40 lbs of fat and mountains of stress disappear and where the creative, soulful mind flourishes and comes to the forefront. 

My congrats and thanks to my pals Annabel, Norm and Pamela.   Congratulations for your tremendous achievements this summer, and thanks for sharing your stories and offering up the required remedy of inspiration to fuel my living dreams. 

It’s been a long summer and I can’t wait for Monday.