Blessings in Weird Packages

I know that I haven't mentioned it, but WAAAAY back in December I 'tweaked' my knee. I didn't fall, slip or anything. One second I was walking along normally, the next my knee just wasn't working. It kind of felt like it needed to 'snap' back into place, but nothing I did helped it. I tried to get into see a physiotherapist, but with the holiday season, it just wasn't possible. I booked a few massages, but they didn't really work. Much of the time it was just an inconvenience but some of the time it was a real problem.
Some days driving a sled has been agony, some days not too bad, especially with a good number of painkillers on board. Walking up stairs, getting into the dog truck, and climbing into bed at night have been a problem too - but the worst has been the aching when it is tired each night.

Anyway, yesterday's run started out with the leg doing it's thing. I stopped a few times and stretched it out some more (I've been doing my Tai Chi each morning but most mornings that isn't enough) but it just wouldn't get comfortable. I figured in time it would settle down. We zigged and zagged up the first mountain pass with glorious sunshine beating down on us. Hard to feel too sorry for yourself when in such a beautiful place. Then we came to probably the only really treacherous part of Zack's trail - a short stretch of glaciated overflow. It was worse then the last time we crossed it and thanks to Dasher insisting that we go up and over, rather then the more 'sled friendly' down and across I dumped the sled and crashed hard onto the ice. I felt my knee immediately and figured this was not a good thing. I urged the dogs to drag me the rest of the way across the ice and then stopped to upright the sled. Getting up was ...well...EASIER than I expected. Much easier, actually. I was grateful for that. I stretched my leg out and thought it felt pretty good. By now Mark was right behind me and the dogs screaming to go, so off we went. I'd worry about the leg later.

A couple times through out the day I'd think about my leg and tentatively flex it. Where I bumped it hurt, but it seemed to have much better range of motion then that morning. By the end of the run it occurred to me that I hadn't had much pain at all from it during the afternoon. When we stopped on a break I walked around a bit and was shocked to find it working way, way better then it has since December.

Yup, it seems like that smack on the ice acted like a 'trail chiropractor' for me and knocked everything back where it needed to be.

Now the knee is not 100%, but it is brushing up to a whole lot higher percentage of 100% then it was before. I do have a pretty good set of bruises on my shoulder, elbow and knee - but I'm not complaining!

I've said it before and I'll say it again - sometimes blessings come in weird packages!

Karen