ARFF NEWS (CONT) IN THE GAME (CONT)
uncomfortable driving, but the daily routine of getting out the door in addition to a lot of walking was key to my journey. My chair in the office was comfortable, but I had to stand a lot and walk every hour. I am very fortunate that I am surrounded by an amazing team. They encouraged me and took good care of me both early on and continue to today. I was not allowed to bend, twist, or lift for the first four months of recovery. I started PT at two months and have been doing PT every day since I got approval to do it. I just had my four-month follow-up with the surgeon, and he has lifted all restrictions. March 13 will be four months from the date of my surgery. Last weekend I rode my bike for 3.5 hours with no discomfort on Saturday and for 2 hours on Sunday. The weekend of March 8th, went for a 100- mile bike ride. The 100 miles was therapeutic and very needed for my mental health. I am still not as strong as I had hoped, but I have zero discomfort when riding the bike. ,. In addition to riding the bike each day, I also walk at least 10,000 steps a day and religiously do my PT exercises. Just recently my PT has said I can run 1 mile once a week and have been able to do so each of the last 4 weeks. I am so happy that I had the surgery, and do not regret it one bit. I believe my recovery was fast tracked because I set goals for myself both leading up to and after the surgery. , I may not have met every one of my goals in the time frame I had wanted, I will say that I have shattered all of my wildest dreams in my recovery expectations and am very happy to
be sitting here typing this and sharing my success story. One milestone for me was my four month follow up that was just prior to my long bike ride. During that meeting with the doctor, he was extremely happy with my progress and removed all restrictions. So, prior to surgery, would I have thought I would be riding 100 miles on a bike at or before the four months mark post-surgery. Hell no! I do not believe I would be in this position today if I had not set goals for myself during recovery. Setting new goals as you heal is very important. Set a goal, crush the goal, make a new realistic goal, crush that goal, and repeat. In closing, I just wanted to share a part of my personal journey with you in hopes of helping others that may be dealing with an old injury and not addressing it because they are afraid. I have many firefighter friends that, when they learned of my surgery, were very curious and are amazed at how fast I have recovered. They have also mentioned to me in private that their insert body part here has been bothering them for years. Setting goals big and small is important in life, but even more important in recovery from a surgery or injury. I have learned to enjoy PT and mobility exercises. I have also learned that the human body is an amazing gift and we need to nurture and care for it every day so that we can make our dreams come true, whether it is hiking in the mountains, bicycling across the state, running a marathon, or simply putting one foot in front of the other to get yourself on day two from surgery out the door and down the street and back. We can accomplish anything that
30 MAY- JUNE 2025 | ARFF NEWS
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