That's what the Swedes say when things in life go the way you planned or hoped for and all is good. Or when you are just having a very good day with lots of fun and no worries.
I've had a breakthrough in my rehabilitation and I am still on a high from it. I guess a time overview is in order:
- - January '12: one of the discs in my back herniates but it is treated with physical therapy. I have to stop skating.
- - March: the pain is gone so I have one week left to train for our bout in Malmö. I notice that I have balance problems in my left leg though. I sort of play the bout but have problems skating and getting up from the floor after falls. I just missed strength in my left leg. I did not get new pains. One week after the bout we have a conference in Stockholm and during that weekend the pain comes back.
- - April: mid april my pains have gotten so bad that I have to take an ambulance to the hospital. After a few days in the hospital I start showing symptoms of Cauda Equina syndrome and after a week in the hospital I get a emergency decompression surgery. The pain is gone immediately, but I have problems with paralysis in both my legs and can hardly walk. No prognosis is given since it's hard to tell if the nervdamage is permanent or if it will be able to heal. Nerves heal very slowly IF they heal and they give me a year to do most of my healing, after a year not much will change anymore.
- - May: I can walk with one crutch.
- - June: I can waddle without any type of walking aid. I tried on my skates but couldn't stand on them without holding on to someone or something. Didn't dare to lift a foot.
- - July: I can stand on my skates by myself,I can roll a bit by pushing off with my left foot and quickly placing it back safely besides my right foot. Lots of arm-flailing. Exhausted after two laps.
- - August: I can skate with short strides of both legs, I can do cross overs to the left. I can skate a few meters on my left leg alone (but can't change direction) and as far as before january on my right leg alone.
- - September: at the beginning of the month I do a coaching on skates (has been off skates so far), I can start to watch others while rolling again. I can do transitions to my favorite side. I can still not take one single cross over to the right. In the middle of September I get serious back pains again and end up on full painkillers (all the way up to morphine). I can feel the pressure building in my back and the strength in my legs decreases noticeably. Two weeks later it's all back to how it was and I'm dreading to get on my skates. Scared that I will be back to where I was in July. I put them on, get up and skate a few strides, ready to fall. But I don't fall. I relax and try out crossovers to the left... they feel easier than before. Against all odds I try some cross overs to the right and find myself actually doing them. I test transitions and find I can do them to both my favored side and my hated side. This is insane! My legs are doing what I'm telling them to do! I ask Badass if I can try a few hits on her. You know.. very carefully since I haven't skated with any form of contact since March.. people haven't been allowed to get within one meter of me while I was on skates. I give it a go and it feels great! Almost like coming home after a long trip around the world. It wasn't more than a cute little tap, but man did that feel good! I even managed to be part of some pace lines with hits. Giving and taking.
Now the things that are left to pass my min skills again is the strength and stamina in my leg muscles to get up from the floor fast and often. Hmm.. come to think of it, I might have some trouble with unexpected obstacles. I noticed that my leg can't react very fast yet. So this coming period I'll be focussing on explosiveness, strength and muscle stamina.
