dammit dammit dammit

If you object to my title because it's cursing...well...

...that's too fucking bad. :p

Earlier this year, my boyfriend and I planned a trip to Canada. Specifically, biking the Cabot Trail on Cape Breton Island in the province of Nova Scotia. All 180 miles of in three days. Now that I have made tremendous strides in recovering from my knee surgery, I was feeling slightly apprehensive and very pumped. I have been preparing equipment, doing research, and kicking it up a notch at the gym. Extra cardio, personal training sessions, spinning class and Body Pump. Who would have thought I would have tweaked my knee on the treadmill? The TREADMILL??? Are you kidding me? UGH!!
*angry face*

That was last Thursday, during an attempt to increase my cardiovascular endurance on the treadmill (I wasn't even running- I was WALKING), I felt a huge sharp pain in my knee. I've felt those at times before and it usually wasn't anything to worry about. But then it happened again. And again. AND AGAIN. I finally had to give up and go home. That night, I could hardly walk.

I'm supposed to start a 180 mile bike trip this coming Sunday! Argh- the timing of this could not be worse. Since then, I've been icing it like crazy and staying off of it as much as possible. No gym either (I feel the withdrawal kicking in).

On Saturday night, my knee had the sharp pain again. I just lost it emotionally. It was pretty ugly. My boyfriend thinks I'm overreacting because we can just do other stuff while we're there, right? Yes, but I want to bike it. I have been dreaming about biking it and I won't get a chance to do this ever again. I was going to be my "victory lap" after overcoming the injury that I got one year ago. And now this? Seriously?

I'm going to the doctor on Wednesday (I leave for Canada on Friday) and I'm hoping it's just a get-a-steriod/cortisone-shot-and-that-will-get-you-through sort of thing. If I need surgery, I'll deal with that when I get back. I need good vibes people and lots of them!!

I'm a winner!

My home dz is Skydive Dallas (if you've never been, I HIGHLY recommend it). They hosted the 20th Annual Stefan Banic 4-Way Speed Star competition. I participated last year, but as a videographer. I haven't started flying video since I returned to skydiving, so I decided to be a participant.

The way this competition works is a little different than your traditional speed star. There is a diagonal line in the door of the Otter and all of the jumpers have to remain behind that line. Once the count is given, all of the jumpers dive out and have 45 seconds to make a pre-determined formation. The dive was a total of three formations. For each point they form after that, 1 second is deducted from their time. As soon as the line is crossed, even if it's during the count, time starts! The fastest time wins.

The competition was originally four rounds, but then it was shortened to only having the first two rounds count. The winds were gusty throughout the day, and there were varying levels of experience. Some jumpers were even on rental gear, which made it tough. The team were chosen at random and teams stayed together throughout the competition.

I was made a captain of a team, which I was both surprised and flattered by! My team members included an older lady who had 2700 jumps, a Texas record holder, and a young jumper with 100 jumps. The older lady was on the winning team last year, so I took some of her advice on how to line up in the door and how to give the count. I made the young jumper the base. One first jump we got together quickly and cranked out a lot of points! Our total time: 3 seconds!! After that round, no one could touch us. We won!

It feels great to see that other jumpers have confidence in me. It was a big victory for me after going through knee surgery. Smiles all around! :)

It's all happens for a reason

What had happened was...

So I had to return the Pulse 150 demo to PD but then that would leave me without a main canopy. I placed an order for the same canopy through a not-to-be-named gear supplier. It turns out they only accept REQUESTS for orders, not actual orders.

Dumb, right? I know.

After not getting a confirmation, email or call back from the company and it's already a Tuesday afternoon (I want to get the canopy for this coming weekend), I tried calling them. No answer. So I call again. And again. And AGAIN. I finally get a hold of a person only to be told that I can't get the canopy for 2 weeks. WHAT?!?!? I was told from PD that since this canopy is IN STOCK that I would get mailed right away. Nope, it's in the pile of all the other orders, waiting to be placed. You'll get it when we get to it, I was told.

*shakes head*

What do skydivers do when the canopy doesn't work? We CUT AWAY! I called Square One and Jackie was awesome! She hooked me up with the canopy and had it dropped shipped to me so I will get it on Friday. SWA-EEET!

Here's the REALLY cool part: while giving her my contact info, she asked for my email address. "Sure, it's 3ringnecklace@gmail.com," I replied. "3 ring necklace? I knew your name looked familiar! I've been wanting to place an order from you!" she squealed in delight. I will be sending off 24 necklaces to Square One, both horizontal and vertical designs. If you're in Perris, stop by Square One and pick up a necklace! Blue skies!!

Jump for the Rose

It's funny how things happen sometimes!

I went to the American Revolution Boogie this past weekend at Skydive Dallas, ready to jump my PD Pulse 150 demo while braving the 100 degree heat. As I was walking through the hanger, I noticed a women putting on two leg braces when she was getting ready to make a jump. I got so excited when I saw this- I went up to her a said, "I thought I was the only one who wore two leg braces when they jump!" We got to talking and it turns out that she is involved with organizing Jump for the Rose. The Rose is a non-profit organization that benefits women who are in need of breast cancer services who cannot afford it on their own. A skydiver's life was saved by The Rose. When she was diagnosed with breast cancer and did not have health insurance, The Rose stepped in. Now she is giving back by raising money through the Texas Women's State Record.

Although I was invited last year, I was unable to participate due to knee surgery. This year is a different story, and I participated in a Jump for the Rose camp at Skydive Dallas yesterday.

So what does this have to do with 3 Ring Necklace you may ask? The woman who founded Jump for the Rose (the breast cancer survivor) wears a 3 Ring Necklace. She was telling me all about how much she loves the necklace and wishes more skydivers could get them since they are hard to find. I will be designing a vertical and a horizontal necklace for Jump for the Rose and 100% of the proceeds will benefit this great cause!! Pictures of designs will be coming soon!

What to do?!?!?!

Now that I'm finally cleared to jump, being able to jump is now the problem. I have two containers: one nice Infinity that I love but is too small to fit a Pilot 150 (which I don't have yet but would like to get) and the other is a 1993 Javelin that is not very comfortable and has no main. I demoed a Pulse 150 but I had to send it back and now I have nothing! I filled out a demo form for PD and Aerodyne but nothing has become of it. I spoke to the local Aerodyne representative but he said he can't get one to me until August. I could try to buy one now, but buying a canopy before you even fly it is a HUGE gamble and it would take a while to get one. I'm not really sure what to do here and now that I can jump, the only thing keeping me on the ground is lack of gear! AGH!

Almost there!

Even though I've been cleared to jump for a month now, the weather still hasn't cooperated and I still don't have jumpable gear. I ordered an Optimum 170 to fit into my new-to-me container. However, it is taking longer than I anticipated to get it. So in the meantime, I'm still working on getting my leg stronger and enjoying mountain biking with Roger.

Speaking of Roger, it's our one year anniversary (on Friday the 13th no doubt). I had a co-worker of mine make a skydiving cake (gluten free for me of course). It was covered in light blue fondant with puffy white icing clouds. She made fondant skydivers and placed them in a four way star on top. It looked fantastic and tasted great! Happy anniversary Roger! Love ya!!

DOOOOOORRRR!!!!

It's been 7 months since the accident; 6 months since the surgery. I saw my ortho doc today and he gave me the green light! I can start jumping again! YEEEESSSSS!!! :) I have been working VERY hard to get my muscle back on my "mini leg." Thanks to my physical therapists and my personal trainer, my leg is up to 80%. Even though I've been cleared for jumping, I'm still going to work to get to 100%.

Now getting the gear ready is another story. I have an Infinity container that holds a 135 main (no room for upsizing) and an Optimum 143. I have a Javalin container that holds a 150 both main and reserve. I don't have a reserve or a main for it yet. I have an AAD for it, ready to be installed. I'll work out the equipment gaps within the next two weeks. I can't go jumping this coming weekend anyway (Mom is in town) but the weekend after is my goal to start jumping again. Hopefully I'll get everything together in time and the weather will cooperate.

To everyone out there struggling with injury, I wish you the best and a speedy recovery. Put your hard work in- it will pay off!!

I don't get it

While watching TV last night, I saw that there's a movie coming out called "Soul Surfer."

http://www.soulsurferthemovie.com

It is a true story about a surfer, Bethany Hamilton, who had her arm bitten off by a shark. She survived and continued to surf despite her "handicap." The trailer of the movie featured inspirational moments, including Carrie Underwood encouraging young Bethany whilst Katie Perry's "Firework" song plays in the background.

As moving as it is, I was not moved as one would think.

Instead, I was mad. And I had another "incident" from a whuffo this morning to prove why I was mad. Damn whuffos.

I'll tell you why I was mad when I saw that movie trailer, but first I'm going to tell you about this incident with the whuffo. As you may be aware, I had two major surgeries on my knee 5 1/2 months ago to repair the damage done from a bad landing. As you may also be aware, the landing wasn't from jumping out of a "perfectly good airplane" - it was a hot air balloon. This morning I went to physical therapy and I found out that I had a "substitute" physical therapist because the one I usually see was out today at another clinic. Right off the bat, he grabs my leg to do some testing on it, looks at me and goes, "So you're the skydiver, right?"

I said, "Yes, that's me," but I thought, "Not another whuffo. Jesus Christ. What nasty comments am I going to hear this time?"

He didn't say much more in that conversation about skydiving. Later on, in the middle of the session, he goes, "I've never jumped out of a perfectly good airplane." And I quickly responded, "Neither have I!"

After going through this bullshit for 6 1/2 months, I've started to get tired of it. Let me rephrase that- I AM tired of it!

So when I saw the movie trailer featuring a young surfer's journey of having a large chunk of her body eaten by a 5 ton animal, the silver screen triumphs her return to her beloved sport. I can say with confidence that when I jump out of a "perfectly good airplane," there will be no sharks biting off my arms. Or legs. Or any part of my body. And yet I constantly hear whuffos telling me that I should not skydive anymore because I busted my knee. Why is it wonderful that she went back into the ocean (so the shark can have seconds?) and it's horrible that I return to skydiving? Are there only certain activities where it's "ok" to get hurt and not others? Riddle me that America!

4 Months Post Surgery

In less than a week from now, it'll be four months since the surgery and five months since the bad landing. My physical therapist is trying to terminate my therapy, claiming that I am "not making progress." Needless to say, I disagree with that. Yes my progress may be slow but I am definitely making progress. I don't think she fully grasps the extent of my injuries. I still can't straighten my leg all the way when I walk though. She looked at my foot and determined that I have limited mobility in some of my foot bones. I asked her if this warrants continuing therapy, and she said, "I'll look at it on Thursday and see." Well after this discovery with my foot bones, my worry has escalated to big time!

In the meantime, I've started going back to the gym and meeting with my personal trainer. He's so very supportive, encouraging, and he doesn't judge me for being a skydiver. He challenges me but doesn't push me to do things that would harm my knee. When I woke up sore this morning, it was a great feeling, knowing that my hard work is paying off. My next big goal is going back to spinning class. To be continued...

New Year, New Me

With each new year comes new chances.

This past year was filled with both very good and very bad occurrences. The very bad being two injuries, one right after the other. In May, I sprained my left mcl and sublexed my kneecap on a no-wind tandem landing. Thankfully, no surgery was needed and I was back in the air two months later. Two months after that, I tore my right acl, mcl, and did extensive cartilage damage to my right knee, which resulted in surgery. I'm back walking again and I almost have my full range of motion back. The muscles in my right leg have shriveled up and disappeared though. I won't be back to jumping until the spring.

On to the good-
the best thing that happened to me this past year (or probably ever for that matter) was forming a relationship with my boyfriend, Roger. He's a skydiver too! I could go on and on about how great he is, but I'll just sum it up by saying that I'm crazy about him (crazy in a good way, not crazy in the stalker way).

But the new year is upon us, and like I said, with each new year comes new chances. Considering that I'm a sport psychologist by trade, I don't make new year's resolutions- I make GOALS! My goals for 3 Ring Necklace this year are to sport at least 10 new designs every month, start selling necklaces in the pro-shops of at least one other dropzone (besides Skydive Dallas), and sell necklaces at least one boogie. Help me out folks! If you're going to a boogie and you'd like 3 Ring Necklace there, give me a shout! If you want 3 Ring Necklaces sold at your dropzone, give me some contact info and we'll talk!

Blue skies everyone and HAPPY NEW YEAR!