Sunday, October 28, 2012

ALL IN - 6-12months OUT - complete hamstrings avulsion

it was the day i waited for such a long time to come up there at sustenpass - and i was soooooooooooo close. but now i am sitting and lying around all day long, waiting for surgery and barely able to walk on crutches - and that will not change for the next two to three months...

15C in the shade at 5pm, 10%humidity and slight wind, it was perfect friction and conditions for the "highlander"!!! warming up on the standingstart it felt like climbing in a dream; my fingertips seemed to glue on the holds, to moves felt effortless like never before... i knew this would be MY day, if i just would have felt completley fresh. despite two full restdays i still felt bit tired from my desperate attempts on the "wet" "riont act" back at frankenjura. but the friction was so great i had to give it at least a go.

arriving at the first crux i could not believe why i was not sliding a tiny bit around on that bad sloper. climbing into the startingmoves of "traumland" (where i fell for 3weeks in a row, 3days a week) i just pulled through it nearly statically, even wondering while doing the move why i fell so many times here, everything was under control. then i was on my way into the real crux. climbed the tricky section without loosing any foothold, but i felt like i started sliding around a bit on the holds (no way to chalck), and that i was getting a bit tired - but two moves from the rescue-jugs no wonder... - i put my heel high up, could still feel the holds (no frozen fingers like last year) and this time i was 100% sure to pull through that last two moves. i gave all i had and went for that crimp and as my fingertips touched it, i slipped bit with my left hand (crumbling hold) and i felt like my hamstrings, under full pressure just gave way - instead of going for that last move and finishing that epic battle,  i went down to the pads with instant and growing pain... - i instantly knew, that it was something serious...

 better don't heel here... can ruin your climbing-life....

...next day it was on the the hospital to check how bad the injury was. and it turned out to be REALLY bad. mri showed that i managed to rip off 2 of 3 hamstrings. thats a very rare and serious injury that needs surgery (even if you want to continue with "regular" sports) and has a very long (up to 12months) and painful rehaprocess and there is no guarantee that i will be able to come back to where i was... i am scared as shit from that surgery and rehaprocess (weeks of just lying around and NO activity at all...) and wanted to avoid it at any price. but during research i had to learn it would be the only way to to give me a proper chance to climb and boulder again.
at least i have a proper diagnosis (many people are diagnosed wrongly for months or years!!!), but the problem is now to find an experienced surgeon (as the injury is so rare...) in the next two weeks as surgery should be as soon as possible to avoid any further damage and to secure a good result.

they say here you can see the ripped off ligaments...????
i can't see but FEEL the damage at my but ALL day long...

i had some injuries before, but that one is the first really threatening one of the most important things in my life; to be able to MOVE.... but i  can't change what happened. and as i have a chance to come back to where i was, and to be able to MOVE around again, i will give everything to catch that one chance for sure!!!

.... if i am lucky and surgery goes well, i will be back next summer or the summer after. i will not hurt myself again, as i have other (but harder) beta for THAT MOVE who sent me to surgery. i will train my ass off, i will be strong as never before and then i will cruise that "highlander" to the top - victory will taste as sweet as never before... - but  the real battle has just begun and will be the next 6months for me... i am just hating myself that it always and everywhere has to be "the hard way...." - may i should a bit relax, i am just not 15 anymore... ;)

update monday: surgery is scheduled for thursday (thats good news as surgery should be asp to have good results)


7 comments:

  1. ...ohhh fu** :-( ! get well soon martin !

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  2. That is a sad story Martin. Good luck and best wishes for a full recovery.

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  3. Best wishes Martin!!! You WILL get back stronger, both physically and mentally, and you will remember this story as a great fight you finally won.
    All the best!

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  4. Really sorry to hear that. I wish you a speedy recovery and hope you'll be back on your feet and climbing as soon as possible. I'll keep my fingers crossed that everything will go well. Hang in there!

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  5. Yes, sorry to hear that Martin!! Hope you can have a good winter and a quick recovery... You'll be back to it soon and it will be even more epic! Ps: no need for different betas, I sent a problem with the same "high heelhook" beta that broke my menisc and almost my collateral ligament... just the year after!

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  6. Lieber Martin! Eine unglaubliche Geschichte und doch so nah am Leben. Aber seltsam - und auch aus deiner Geschichte herauszulesen - Verletzungen kommen in Situationen einem persönlichem Gefühl von Fitness, Power und während guten Bedingungen. Ich zumindest kenne es nur so. In zunehmendem Rocksaurier-Alter wird's wahrscheinlich nur noch so. Aber eben - nie aufgeben! Es lohnt sich für Träume zu leben. Allein schon das Träumen gibt einem Gewissheit, dass es möglich ist über den eigenen Horizont zu blicken. Wer nicht träumt, lebt nicht.
    Du wirst sehen, die Angst VOR der Operation ist grösser als alles Erdulden währnend und NACH derselben. Es ging mir mit meiner Schulter ähnlich. Der Monat davor war fast unerträglich. Unmittelbar nach dem Aufwachen aus der Narkose wusste ich, was es geschlagen hatte und man hat so etwas wie einen inneren "Schalter". Du wirst alle deine Energien ganz von allein auf die Reha konzentrieren und noch nebenbei andere schöne Dinge im Leben entdecken, die einem durch den grossen Aufwand für das Klettern manchmal abhanden gehen.
    Ich wünsche dir alles, alles Gute für die Ops und danach!

    Chris :)

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  7. thanks to everybody for their encouragement - i really appreciate that a LOT!!! und ja es lohnt sich definitiv seine träume zu leben, nur wäre "DAS" nicht unbedingt nötig gewesen, ich war mir das eigentlich schon vorher sehr bewusst... ;)

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