Monday, June 28, 2021

A Lot Can Happen in Four Years


Believe it or not, Voldy has a birthday today.

Remember him? He's the keepsake from that freaky (misdiagnosed) staph infection that landed me on the operating table for emergency surgery. 

While he was pretty ugly to look at, for a very long time, now he's kind of grown on me. Well, at the very least, I've gotten used to seeing all six inches of him on a daily basis. After all, things could have played out much worse had I not bypassed my local doc (and seen the specialist instead) on that fateful day, June 29th in 2017. 

While we won't be celebrating with a grandiose party (or even a miniscule cake), it is a day that will always have significance to me.


Care to hear a few of the lessons learned from my experience with Voldy? BTW, that's the scar's nickname, short for Voldemort (appropriate?).  These are actually more life lessons than injury/surgery/recovery lessons...

I really learned to appreciate the valuable sport of walking. I have always enjoyed walking, and had always done it frequently on my non-running days, but it became my main fitness poison for those three months when running was forbidden. The scar was six inches in length, and was just slightly off-center over my right knee. For the first 10 days or so, I was advised to keep my leg as straight as possible to allow the suture seam to "seal." After the stitches were removed, I was given the green light to walk, but with caution so as to NOT cause the healing seam to split back open. Since I couldn't enjoy sunrise runs, for the time-being, I substituted sunrise walks...and they were (almost) every bit as enjoyable. It's been four years, and I still walk a lot on my recovery days (and even on my running days as well).


My love for summer running increased. Have you ever had something, that you loved, abruptly snatched away from you...and you grew to love it even more while it was missing? Well, that's what happened to me. Although I was able to walk everyday, I still had pretty severe FOMO for all of my friends who were able to run under the hot sun (or in the early hours, or in races, etc.). I can assure you, once I was given permission to resume running, all whining and/or complaining over the miserably hot weather ceased. That's not to say that I love the heat and humidity these days, but I'm simply grateful to have the choice to run under those conditions. I don't take it for granted because I know there are probably countless others, who may be injured or side-lined, who would gladly trade places with me. 

Having a positive attitude was crucial. I strongly believe my glass-half-full mentality is what carried me and enabled my rally-back to be so successful. Yes, there was a pity party that first evening in the hospital, but it lasted only (maybe) 20 minutes...and it was more fear-based than frustration. I knew my recovery would be successful if I did what my surgeon told me, and the three month running sabbatical was a very small time frame in the grand scheme of things.


Things could have been so much worse. Having never experienced a staph infection myself (or any of my friends or family), I had no idea what it entailed much less the seriousness. It wasn't until talking with the infectious disease doctor that it became crystal clear how much my life would have been in danger had I waited any longer before seeking further treatment (my family doctor had been out of the office, and her partner misdiagnosed my condition).

I spent a week in the hospital, waiting for my white blood cells to stabilize

Being sidelined really opened my eyes... not just to what I was missing (running), but also to what I still had (walking, strength-training, and core work). I quickly realized it was far better, no matter the situation, to appreciate and celebrate what I could do rather than dwell on what I temporarily could not. Coincidentally, this mindset served me well, three years later, when I dealt with my first-ever stress fracture.

So, would I ever wish this on anyone else? Or desire to experience it again? Both answers are a definite NO. But, do I have any regrets for what I went through? Again, NO. While running is a big part of my life, it is not my entire life. I was forced to pivot , and do other things (at least in terms of fitness), and that all worked out for the better. I think I came back stronger for the battle, and with a much more grateful heart. Tell me that's a bad thing.


Anyways, that's a very brief synopsis of what went down four years ago. 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have someone to sing Happy Birthday to.

A few related posts:

Have you ever been sidelined, long term, from running? Ever been a victim of a staph infection, or emergency surgery? 

 I'm linking this with Kim and Zenaida for the Tuesday Topics Link-Up


I'm also linking with Debbie, DeborahLisaLaura and Jenn for the Runners' Roundup

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27 comments:

  1. Oh, Voldy was due to a staph infection! I always thought you had an accident. That must have been very scary!
    I admire your positive glass-half-full attitude, Kim. It's a great super power. No matter what life throws at you in future, you will always manage to come out of it with a smile on your face. Gratitude goes a long way!

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    1. Yes, a staph infection. The skin on my knee was red, and felt real hot to the touch, and this redness was spreading up my leg. Crazy how the local doctor blew it off and didn't think it was anything serious. This experience really gave me a healthy dose of gratitude in how things worked out with my care (at the hospital), and then with my recovery.

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  2. I remember this and can't believe it was 4 years ago already.

    And you came back better than ever.

    I had ankle surgery and was out of running for over 5 months.

    I get it totally. Running is a gift. I never thought I would again and am so grateful that I can.

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  3. I am lucky, I suppose, to be a Jack of All Trades sort -- so yes, so many passions in my life. Which is why it's not that difficult for me to take time off from running when I feel the need -- but there's a huge difference between choosing time off & having it forced on you!

    You meet every challenge with grace, Kim. And the roadblocks are always put there to help us grow, and you embraced that -- so many would just throw themselves a pity party.

    Now, as to that love of summer running -- I would be happy to ship you all our summer weather (lately), LOL! I guess I'm growing too. :)

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    1. I agree...any and all roadblocks do help us grow. YEs, feel free to send all your summer weather my direction...I'll even cover the shipping costs ;-)

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  4. You have a great attitude. It was a big challenge but the glass half strategy helped a lot.
    I have a long list of incidents but I run again!!!!
    2007 fracture of the femur for a motor bike incident;
    2012 Fracture of vertebra L3 while lifting a heavy furniture;
    2014 Fracture right shoulder while running;
    2016 Terrible fracture right shoulder while running (now I have a prosthesis inside it).
    Everytime, before coming back to run, I walked and I went to swim.

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    1. OUCH to all those injuries! I'm glad you were able to come back after all those incidents, and that you had other options before the running was able to return.

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  5. I would say 'Happy Birthday' to Voldy but that just seems weird. Instead I'll say how much I appreciated seeing your positive attitude throughout the whole experience. Also kudos to you for listening to your intuition and seeing the specialist. After what my dad went through I know that those staph infections are no joke and can be very serious so I'm grateful that they caught yours in time.

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    1. Ha ha! Truth be told, I really didn't sing Happy Birthday to him either LOL Honestly, I had no idea how severe staph infections were until it became my immediate reality.

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  6. I just started blogging and linking up in February 2017, so when this happened to you, I didn't know you well at all. But I remember even then admiring your resilience, courage, determination and positivity. And when I had a very minor knee issue around that time (a result of doing too much too soon as a new runner), I was always drawn to how focused you were in getting through a far more significant problem.

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    1. Awh, thanks so much, Shathiso ;-) This was a scary time, but I was determined to not let it bring me down. Dwelling on the "bad" does us no good, so I just kept looking ahead to the future and making the best of my situation day-by-day.

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  7. I cannot believe Vordy is 4 years old!~ You really did a fantastic job of managing your comeback!

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    1. Thanks, Deborah ;-) You were one of my biggest cheerleaders <3

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  8. Well I certainly think that you should treat yourself to some cake! While obviously you and I love running so much or we wouldn't do it much less blog about it, the reality is that all runners need to be prepared to deal with injury and time away from the run. It's just a necessary runner's skill. So I'm sorry that Voldy came into your life and that you had to deal with the stress fracture last year but happy that you had a special summer of walking back then and the Summer of Gustavas last year. The door was shut for a little while but oh my the windows that opened!

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    1. What a vivid image...all those windows opening while the other doors (temporarily) closed. I am truly grateful for both of my sidelined experiences, because It enabled me to do other fitness things (and develop more strength and skills in the process).

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  9. I really can't believe this was 4 years ago! I would have guessed like 2! Wow, time flies. You really did have an awesome comeback from this experience.

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    1. Thanks, Lisa! It definitely was a life-changing experience...in a very good way ;-)

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  10. I can't agree with you more! Experiences like that are so good for us (in retrospect.) Gratitude is incredibly important- our days are numbered, so why waste any of them sulking because you can't do one thing (run) when there are a thousand other things you CAN do? And not being able to do it for a while sure makes us appreciate every single run- I don't care how hot it is, or how humid, or how much I'm sweating- I just can't wait to get back out there.
    GREAT post!!!

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    1. Absolutely!!!! Some people think I'm crazy for loving the summer running, but most of them have never had it taken from them LOL

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  11. You know I feel this all deep in my soul. My surgery scars are a little less visible, and I don't know that I will ever wish them a happy birthday (or happy anything), but yes... an injury/illness can really help you develop an even greater appreciation of the things we took for granted. And I also agree that a positive outlook can make a huge difference. It's hard in the thick of it, though. Lo

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    1. ... What I wanted to finish with was lots of love to you, and continued love and support as four years turns into many more.

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  12. Such a great post!

    It's amazing to think it's been 4 years! You maintained such a great attitude throughout the whole experience and you have truly comeback stronger than ever.

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  13. What a great way to look at it -- and major Duh at my surprise of you loving my Harry Potter store post. While I didn't know you when this happened, I was reading you by the one year anniversary but never connected the dots.
    Great appreciation for what you temporarily didn't have. So glad you were able to return to running

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  14. You came back such a strong comeback! That's such a scary experience, but you clearly grew from it!

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  15. I can't believe it's been 4 years! You made a great comeback all the time keeping up your positive attitude. Staph infections are so scary and it really could have been so much worse.

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  16. You know I feel this all deep in my soul. My surgery scars are a little less visible, and I don't know that I will ever wish them a happy birthday (or happy anything), but yes... an injury/illness can really help you develop an even greater appreciation of the things we took for granted. And I also agree that a positive outlook can make a huge difference. It's hard in the thick of it, though. Lo
    Obscure Store

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