Yet, hardly anybody ever notices it. I'm careful about my knee. I'm a little slow going down hills but otherwise, it is just a minor hindrance at times.
It was July 5. That was the day I blew out my right knee and good. The doctor said it was one of the worst he'd seen. Yeah me !!!
I remember sitting in the hospital room that day. I'd come out of surgery. The drugs were wearing off and the reality was setting in. I had a long road to recovery. I was out of work and my summer was pretty shot. It was not my best of times.
Yet, I made it so.
While the scar still lingers and reminds me of the harsh reality of that day. There are many things that remind me of the wonderful things that came from it.
I'm an author of three books. None would have happened the way they did had it not been for the knee injury. I sailed on the Victory Chimes for 10 straight years each summer and had some fantastic experiences and met some wonderful people. I found a resolve inside me I didn't know I had. I learned my strength and determination was far greater than any setback I could have. I'm still living that today, facing new challenges and still living large and in charge as much as I can.
I'll be celebrating the anniversary of my knee injury this Friday in the most appropriate of ways. I'll be in Owls Head, where the injury happened. I'll be walking the Rockland Breakwater and watching the Great Schooner Race. I'll do so with a sense of victory and a feeling of invincibility.
Knock me down. I get back up.
What felt like one of the worst moments of my life that Friday afternoon turned out to be one of the best things that ever happened to me.
I ruptured my patella tendon that morning. I was dragging a rowboat up my beach when I slipped on wet seaweed and fell backward. My knee got caught underneath me and ... snap, crackle and pop.
At first I hoped it was only as bad as the dislocated knee cap I had in college. It would be a hassle to go through that kind of recovery again, but it was one I knew I could do. Come to find out, this injury was far worse. It required surgery and I wouldn't be able to drive for three months (I did it in two). I was out of work and who knew if the knee would ever be the same again. The doctor continually shook his headed, telling me how bad an injury this was.
I sat in that hospital room feeling depressed and sorry for myself. Then I thought about my niece, Caitlynne. She'd been diagnosed with bone cancer earlier that year. Just a month before, she had undergone radical surgery to save her life. She had part of her leg removed and another part reattached so that her ankle now served as her knee joint. I had seen her after her surgery and witnessed an amazing and gutsy kid rising from the depths of life's curveball.
I vowed at that moment I wasn't going to let an eight-year old girl show more guts than me. I was on a mission from then on. She just graduated from high school, by the way, and is headed to Boston University in the fall.
I rehabbed my knee with a vengeance. I got into the best shape I'd been in in years. I was back to work in two months and was climbing the 24 flights of stairs to the Cumberland County Civic Center press box by October.
As much as my renewed attitude and determination proved to be tremendous results from the injury. There was more.
I had lost some vacation time because of the injury. I held it over for the following year. With some extra cash from some award I had won, I decided to do something different with the extra money and vacation time. I chose to sail on the Victory Chimes.
Not only did that lead to a decade of trips aboard the Chimes with some great memories and friends that followed, it was the impetus in my decision to write a trilogy based on family history. My first novel Sons and Daughters of the Ocean was a direct result. Many chapters in that book were written aboard the Chimes. In fact, the other books that have followed, including the yet to be released Sea of Liberty still have some direct ties to the Chimes and my trips aboard her.
I can't image life without those trips. I can't image life without the books I've published. I can't image life without the proof and knowledge of how strong I am and what a determined mind and unrelenting heart can achieve.
It was supposed to be a boat trip to Port Clyde that day. I didn't get there. I ended up in the hospital instead. But sometimes we don't get where we intend to go. We go where we need to go.
Knock me down. I get back up.
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