Change of plans.

I'm three games in playing 5v5 full-court basketball.

I'm having fun. I haven't played basketball in years, so it felt good knowing that my quickness and agility hasn't waned.

My good friend has the ball near the three point line.

Seeing an opening through the middle of the court, I decided to make a quick run through the middle.

POP!

I felt a "kick" to my leg. I fell immediately to the floor. There was an fast searing pain to my left calf.

To be honest I initially thought that someone had kicked me. I was thinking of what person would run into me like that.

But no one kicked me.

I squeezed my left calf and saw no ankle movement (aka positive Thompson test.)

I tore my Achilles tendon.

I'll do a deep dive into the why and how in another post.

My initial reactions were shock. Oh and pain. The left leg had a sharp throbbing sensation, somewhat numbed by the large pack of ice.

My next thoughts were denial. I won't need surgery. The evidence show that functional outcomes are the same between surgery and no-surgery approaches.

I've had a brief grief period too.

So now plans have changed.

No more marathon training for me.

The next 8-12 months are now dedicated to getting my left Achilles tendon strong. This is a chance for a reset on my entire approach and mindset to my physical and mental health. I take this as event as a wake up call.

So yes, this is devastating, but I am more excited to get going on my own rehab journey.

Fast forward to today, and I am now four days post-op from my surgery. With the advice from my surgeon and my own readings of the evidence, I underwent an open Achilles tendon repair.

I'll keep you all updated on my recovery. But don't worry, this newsletter won't be dominated by Achilles rehab content.

Thank you for reading!