Injuries

When I was a kid, I was told by my doctor that I couldn't play contact sports because I was "too easily breakable."  That was my official diagnosis.  It just didn't seem very scientific to me.  Sure, I had a lot of injuries as a kid, lots of broken bones and stitches and stuff, but I always just assumed that those things were caused by the fact that I was a very active kid.  And clumsy.  It's not like my bones just broke for no reason.  They broke because I fell off a slide, or off a clothesline pole, or off a fence, or while roller skating, or while falling off the tire swing.  People get hurt from things like that.

My doctor did approve of me doing sports that were a little easier on my body, like swimming and track.

As I got older, I really fell in love with those sports, and continued to participate in running, specifically.  But this weird thing kept happening...I kept getting hurt.

I always gave an explanation for my injuries...I did too much too fast, or I didn't stretch enough, or I ran when it was too cold outside.  It was not exactly shocking that I got injured often, since I didn't take the best care of myself.

Until I started to take better care of myself, and I still kept getting injured.  All the time.  I started slower.  I included weight training.  I included stretching.  I didn't run outside when it was really cold or icy.

Earlier this year I decided to get it really checked out, and I went to a good chiropractor who actually took X-Rays and discovered that I have some unique problems with my spine and my pelvis.  I'll probably end up getting surgery some day for them.  This is why I keep getting hurt.  My doctor told me the bad news, I could never be a long distance runner without being injured.  I could still be a distance runner for now, but I'd definitely get hurt doing it.

This was rather freeing news for me, actually.  At least I could now focus on finding an exercise that would be beneficial for me.  Now I could focus on something new and moving on.  So I started CrossFit.

I know!  I know!  CrossFit is SO hard on your body!  I was planning on being really careful and just seeing how it went.  Turns out, I LOVED it!  It was fun.  It was challenging.  It made me feel so good.  I was hooked immediately.

Until I got hurt.

I would have been ok if my back was what got hurt.  I would have expected that.  Or if my legs were hurt.  Obviously there is a lot of leg work.  Or my shoulders.  You use your shoulders a ton in CrossFit.  One of the coaches even warned me about how people can get some pretty serious rib injuries from it (I wasn't expecting that, but after she told me, I wouldn't have been surprised for it to happen).  But that's not how I got hurt!

For me, it was my arms.  Not my upper arms, either.  My lower arms.  Between my elbows and my wrists.  On BOTH arms!

For more than a week my arms have been in a LOT of pain.  I haven't been able to use them much or well.  I felt like Uncle Jesse in Full House when he breaks both of his arms.  I couldn't do anything.

It turns out, I actually am too easily breakable.  My childhood diagnosis remains into adulthood.  My body just doesn't like sports.

It's super disappointing.  Obviously it's annoying that I'm injured again.  But it's frustrating that I love sports but just can't do them because my body won't let me.

That doesn't mean I'm going to give up.  I'll probably try a lot more things.  I loved swimming when I was in high school.  I could give it a try again.  I could try spin classes.  I could try rock climbing (which would then also help with my fear of heights.  Either that or I'd just get stuck someplace and never be able to get down).  There are a lot of things that I can try.  And I will.

Our bodies are good, but they are constantly reminding us that we live in a fallen world.  Someday, should I make it to heaven, I will get my body back, and it won't have limitations like "being too easily breakable."  I won't have to work so hard to workout (it's a lot of work trying all these new things to discover what my body will allow me to do).  I also won't have a need to workout.   Whatever ailments you experience with your body, whether it's something small like allergies (which, let's be honest, if you suffer from allergies you know that it doesn't feel small), or being "too easily breakable," or something big like a disease or disability, take heart in knowing that this isn't what God wants for you.  This isn't actually how He created you.  He created you perfect.  The way we are created is not the same as the way we were born.

Have peace knowing that the problems with your body do not come from God, but you can use them to give glory to God anyway.  This fallen world can't take that away from you!  Give Him glory now, and you will get to forever more in Heaven, with a body that actually works the way God intended it to!