Leg it.

365 days. 1 calendar year. It seems like such a long time, well it's not. Exactly one year ago I was just getting home from the hospital. I had surgery to correct some problems in my lower leg. The surgery was very intensive, total time under the knife was right around 5 hours. For those of you who know anything about surgery, that is a damn long time. I am not really the type to fear a whole lot, but last night one year ago was one of the scariest times of my life. I knew that come 6 a.m. I would be rolled into the O.R. My diagnosis was really rare, and to be double diagnosed with two different problems was even more rare. The surgeon I went to was one of only a handful in the US who even performs the operation I needed. (of those few doctors he is rated the best). Talk about luck, he works out of a hospital 20 minutes from my home.

The Ride:

I won't lie, I knew I wasn't going to have a long recovery. Generally people start walking (unassisted) 2-3 weeks after the surgery. I ditched my crutches 5 days later. I was in the gym trying to ride a bike two weeks out. It was a struggle. Walking around an icy campus with one leg barely movable SUCKED. By pushing my limits and listening to what my body was telling me I was able to run one month later. Just before you go thinking everything was perfect, it wasn't. I had the joy of taking care of an infected incision. It was pretty bad, I liked to play it off like it was nothing, I had a large fluid sack, and tunneling that developed at the bottom of one incision. It took over a month to go away, and I have one hell of an ugly looking scar from it.

 Inside Incision

 Back of Leg (lower dark spot is where the infection took over)

 Outside Leg

Right at the end of my first month I was scheduled to go to California to see my buddie for spring break. I knew I would be surfing while I was down there. The oceans healing properties are truly incredible. Just a few days after arriving in southern California the infection cleared up. California also marked my first run since the whole fiasco with my leg. It felt awesome to be running up and down the beach. The day after..... not so awesome.

It has been a long year, and I still remember a few milestones in my recovery. I am sure with time those memories will fade, but one thing is for sure. The scars and will power I gained from it all will never fade. I cannot thank my sister enough for staying the night in the hospital. We both knew she wasn't going to sleep well and me setting off machines in my sleep every 30 minutes definitely didn't help. My parents were my rock through it all, though I chose to leave them out of a lot of doctor visits. When it came time for surgery they were there every step of the way. Special thanks to Rhyus for showing up before work to say hi as well. If you ever know someone in the hospital, go visit. Even if they are asleep, just leave a note. It means the world to that person.

This year I have been able to get into the best shape of my life thanks to my "new" leg. I have had the opportunity to live and see new places. This past year has been the best year of my life, surgery included. Sometimes it takes the lowest lows to make the highest highs that much better.

Scar's are our scrapbook that we can take with us everywhere, don't be ashamed of them.


Every scar has a story. This is MY scar story.



Don't Stop Breaking Down the Doors

-Kam