A lesson learned, once again. The day before leaving for my training/sailing trip mentioned in my previous post I was racing up the stairs in my home getting ready to finish packing for the trip when I heard a crack and searing pain from my left knee. I was devastated because I was afraid that meant the end of my trip. I consulted a physical therapist the same day to determine the severity of the injury. She checked for ligament damage, and felt confident that while I had probably torn the cartilage in my knee, but if I kept it in a brace I could probably still go on the trip. It was up to me.
I went. There are some things that are worth the cost whether physical, financial or emotional. All my life I had wanted to experience life on a tall ship (think Pirates of the Caribbean, only without plundering) and to be able to do that in a race was an incredible opportunity. Combine that with developing greater skills in coaching and the decision was made.
Did I pay a price for that decision? Yes, definitely.
Do I regret the choice that I made? Not in the slightest.
In our lives sometimes we have to take a gamble even if in the eyes of others it might not be the wisest thing to do. But it’s our hearts and our guts sometimes that determine if the experience is worth the cost. Do you agree?
Incidentally, my therapist was right. My ligaments were fine but I had a complex tear of my medial meniscus (cartilage). I had a successful surgery to repair the damage three months later.
