The rapid road to recovery

The last time I checked in my recovery from shoulder surgery was spot on. My range of motion was good, my strength was returning, and it looked like my AC joint separation was just a bump in the road. Then the X Games rolled into town.

I knew I couldn't race but I was certain I could go up and train on the X course to get back up to speed. I mean, the course is right there. What could it hurt to take some training runs, on my own, and feel the speed again? It seemed like a good idea at the time.

I decided to enter into the qualifying run just to get a training run in and also to see how far I needed to go to return to my previous form. I made a mistake. I tried to jump a double that I should have sucked up. I was the first one to try it and also the last. I landed short and I landed hard. It was like jumping off a 2-story building. My shoulder subluxed forward, tearing the labrum and damaging the rotator cuff. In that moment I set myself back at least a week when already there wasn't enough time to heal.

So I started over. This time therapy was even more aggressive than before. I heard about the Indianapolis Colts' Dwight Freeney and the hyperbaric chamber. The hyperbaric chamber is supposed to speed up healing time by 40-50%. So my healing regimen for the last 7 days is as follows: Hyperbaric Chamber with Kirk, exercises on my own, soft tissue work with Chase, physical therapy with Bill, exercise on my own, acupuncture with Dan, go to bed, wake up, do it again.

I have come a long way in just one week. I dream about showing up in the start on Feb. 21 completely healthy and ready to power out of the start. If I do it will be a miracle. It's time to make February a month of miracles.