In case anybody wonders what happened to me, here's the rundown: Oct 17th I made a really dumb decision while riding and did a slo-mo endo, still clipped in, directly onto my head for concussion #2. Since when was it ever a good idea to use your head as landing gear? Hello arms? I fortunately felt almost back to normal within a week though and was ready to keep it waaay more mellow for the rest of the year.
Exactly 2 weeks later I was working on moving things into the new house, since Kit decided to rent his house out for the winter while we stay in a temporary spot in Incline Village and ponder our next move. Truck loaded with stuff, and neck still stiff from crashing, I had a hard time telling how close I was to backing into the tree growing through the parking platform at the new house. KLUNK! Oh, there it is...my head feels funny now. Yep, concussion #3. Not even a scratch in my truck's bumper. This last one has been really weird, with some crazy reactions to both a massage and a craniosacral treatment, and a neck sprain that showed up a couple weeks later which may also be a large part of feeling so messed up. I'm finally doing better now and able to get out of the house, so the doctor says I can start some physical therapy.
Coincidentally, my co-worker at Placer Mosquito who has been taking an EMT course in Truckee told me about the "brain guy" Keith Tatsukawa who came to her class to gather data on brain waves for part of a concussion study he is conducting with Tahoe Forest Hospital. I contacted him and set up an appointment for him to come and collect data from my brain, figuring that at least some good had to come out of acting as a crash test dummy this year. His project is to design a portable device that can scan the brain waves of athletes and differentiate whether they have had a concussion or not after taking a hard hit. It would also be used to monitor the recovery process and provide an indicator for when the brain has completely healed. In all, a very useful tool and I am happy to contribute.
The biggest unknown will remain, now that all kinds of new research on multiple concussions has come out, will I start losing my marbles sooner because of this? Only time will tell, but I've been mega-dosing on fish oil this whole time because it has been shown to help prevent brain damage in rats and theoretically it does the same in humans.
Added on to the stress of having to move in the middle of all that, Kit and I had just put in an offer on a house in Meyers, on the south end of Lake Tahoe. With Kit starting a new job it was up to me to get all our paperwork in order for loan documents; I almost forgot to mention that I managed to spill tea on Kit's Macbook (and kill it) somewhere between all this so I was having to leave the house and run around to get things printed out and signed--not the best recovery plan, I've noticed. I didn't even get around to finding a new computer until only a couple of weeks ago.
This all worried my mom so much that she flew down for a week to--what else--be a mom, cleaning the house and cooking so many good meals while putting as many away in the freezer for later. Kit and I are both so thankful for her help, allowing me to rest fully and Kit to have some down time after work every day instead of cooking and washing dishes every night.
The house buying process is plugging along smoothly, and we are considering keeping the current tenants for a few months after closing since we don't plan on moving down until spring and the rental income would be nice. After so much debate about buying vs. renting and re-visiting the rather depressing north shore housing market, the light bulb came on and we both agreed that south shore might be the answer, since it is much cheaper to live down there but it's still near the lake and has tons of amazing recreational opportunities.
Almost immediately we found the house in Meyers, just cooking in the sun and begging for some solar hot water panels, with a giant yard in a quiet neighborhood. I know I'm really going to miss some things about Kings Beach, but I'm also really excited to try out something different, and on top of that the house doesn't need any significant work. More time for the fun stuff like gardening and playing outside! We'll be right near the Upper Truckee river for doggy playtime, a golf course and meadows for me to XC ski on in the winter, and the Pie Shop bouldering/climbing area is only a mile or so away. Not to mention being close to Mr. Toad's and all of the other rad bike trails, and a plethora of backcountry skiing options.
Amid all of these other bits of excitement I've had a lot of time to ponder the significance of whacking my head a few times, and as much as I don't like to admit, it may be time to move on to other things besides riding downhill, that don't involve such forceful interactions with the ground. At least, until someone designs a proven concussion-proof helmet. Yes, mountain biking in general is a hazardous sport (see concussion #2) but I think that if I go through proper steps to restore upper body strength, revise my decision-making abilities, and avoid jumping off things for a while, I should be able to continue riding cross country and shift over to racing mainly enduro.
I'm also planning to spend more time climbing and ski mountaineering, exploring the Sierra in the spring and summer, because I'm beginning to feel like wilderness therapy has been a major missing piece in my current life. Having grown up roaming the mountains, getting semi-lost occasionally, and seeing some amazing things that the average person never will, I've started realizing that a major part of what makes me happy has not really been happening as often as it should.
Aside from playing in the mountains, I've had the idea of trying to race an XTERRA triathlon rolling around in my head for a while as well, and if I can make a successful effort to get better at swimming that may actually happen next year. Oh yeah, running too--I haven't done much of that lately. We'll see. I'm really so thankful that I have so many options, and having always been a multi-sport athlete I think I'll be happiest with the variety of juggling several things at once instead of narrowly focusing on just one like I have for the past couple of years.
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| More of this next year, please! |
