On June 5th, 2021, in just a matter of seconds, a perfectly good solo skydiving jump went horribly wrong.

7 months, 24 days, 2 surgeries, 30 scar treatments, and countless hours of pain, tears, and physical therapy later – daily, at home and 3x a week, in-person… I have officially “graduated”.

I am not yet 100% back to my normal state but, by “medical standards”, I have achieved as much progress as the average human being is expected to when recovering from these particular injuries. Therefore, I have been officially discharged from direct patient care and am released to continue an at-home P.T. Program. I am also permitted to return to all former activities with modifications, as needed, in order to not re-injure my (still healing) arm, wrist and spine.

Today, after nearly 8 full months off, I was finally able to step back into the gym.

I can not believe how much I have missed it or how good it felt to get back in there and simply MOVE! Granted, my workout had to be modified quite a bit. I was not able to lift the kind of weight that I used to lift, I could not perform all of the same exercises as the rest of the class, and I definitely had to slow the movements down in order to maintain good form – but none of that matters to me more than this one simple fact: I was able to do it! …and I can hardly wait to do it again.

More than just the movement though, it felt really good to sit and talk with the trainers about my current situation. In the medical community, they tend to think in terms of limitations, restrictions, and all the things you CAN’T do. In this situation, however, I watched as these two incredible men listened to me, asked questions in order to fully understand, and then brainstormed together on how to actually make this workout WORK for me and focused on all of the things that I CAN do!

We did not stress about the numbers, the measurements, or how far away I am right now, in comparison to the physical state I was in before my accident. Instead, we celebrated the fact that I am alive, that I survived what could very easily have been a fatal skydiving crash, and how I am now already well on my way to getting “myself” back!

My body is different this time around and, therefore, my goals are different, as well – but all of that is okay. I am happy and grateful to simply be well enough to start down this path again… and I am excited to see just how much further I can go!

#BeyondTheBoylstonLine