We are so lucky to have such an amazing and inspiring athlete on our team this year such as Andrea this, who has shared her experience of what it took for her to make a comeback.
Here's Andrea's Story:
“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting
up every time we do.”
– Confucius
Crash
On October 2nd, of last year, I did the Tour de
Poway with two friends. About 85 miles into the ride we were riding downhill
and I hit an abrupt raised part of the road in the bike lane, and was
catapulted through the air. My friend, Tom, hit the same thing and went down
right behind me (several others went down in the same spot that day). The next
thing I remember is sitting on the side of the road with waves of pain rolling
through my entire body. Everything
hurt. I tried to sit as still as I could thinking it would minimize the pain. I
didn’t want to talk, move or even breathe so I could be as still as possible.
Fortunately for Tom and me, one of the people who stopped to help was a doctor.
I remember him checking me over and then telling me he could see the bone
through the laceration in my left arm. From that point on I decided to stop
listening.
Tom and I were taken to one of the trauma centers. I was
there for a while, but I only remember bits and pieces of it. I had an MRI
pretty soon after I got there. I had to
have all of my clothing cut off of me so I could be fully examined and,
eventually, I got stitched up. During this time, my husband showed up and
called my Mom to come down. I had no idea that I was hurt as badly as I was. I
think it took me a couple of weeks to truly grasp the severity of it all. A
couple of months later, my husband told me that I was covered in so much blood
that you couldn’t tell where it was coming from.
Recovery
I spent the next four nights in the hospital. I had a
concussion and suffered severe cuts all over my face. Two of the three cuts
around my eye were to the bone. I had another cut on my cheek that was also to
the bone. I scraped off the top part of my lip and bit off part of my bottom
lip. I think, in all, I had at least 35 to 40 stitches in my face alone. The
laceration on my left elbow was to the bone, as well. I had stitches there and
both of my arms had severe road rash from my shoulders to my hands. Three
fingernails on my right hand were partially ripped off. A chunk of my
hip/abdomen was gone. I had stitches across my left knee and severe road rash
over my entire left leg and part of my right leg.
Aside from my Mom and husband, every visitor I had in the
hospital was a member from our tri community. Tanya, from Go Tribal, was one of
my first visitors. She brought in this great poster she made entitled the “Top
Ten Reasons Andrea Will Make a World Record Comeback”. We hung it in my room
and that’s when I first started getting the “You’re not getting back on the
bike, are you?” questions. That was so odd to me; never riding again wasn’t
even a consideration.
Recovery has been long,
painful and frustrating. When I crashed, I was stronger than ever. We had
recently returned from five days of cycling in the Alps and I had just gotten
my first top-three finish at the half-iron distance. I went from being seven
weeks out from my second Ironman in slightly over a year to not even being able
to get up on my own. My mom had to cut up my food for me, help me shower and
wash my hair. At night, my husband would set his alarm for every four hours so
he could come down to give me my pain medicine and help me get up (I had to
sleep on the couch because I couldn’t climb our stairs). The first week I was
back at school, my Mom and husband had to take me and pick me up as I could not
drive. The next two weeks, I went to the doctor every other day to have my
wounds checked and cleaned. The following two weeks, I would go once or twice a
week. I didn’t see my wounds for a while because they were covered in bandages
that peeled off as the wounds healed. When I finally did see them, I couldn’t
believe I was looking at my own body. I had so much road rash that everything I
did—every movement I made—hurt. Those who saw me within that first month will
often say that seeing me has changed the way they ride. Those who didn’t see me
assumed my crash wasn’t that bad because I didn’t break any bones.
Back At It
I had a LOT of people ask me the “You’re not getting back on
the bike, are you?” question, which always annoyed me. I started physical
therapy 4 to 6 weeks after the crash and relished in all of the small victories
like being able to walk without a limp, using weights, box jumps and just
sweating. The first time I ran was only for ten minutes, but it was BLISSFUL.
Even with the progress I was making, I was still frustrated.
I missed triathlon. As excited as I
was for my friends and training partners, it was heartbreaking to not be able
to do Ironman Arizona with them. I missed the social aspects of those long
rides, being outside and just being a body in motion.
I became confident enough in my recovery that I signed up
for Ironman Florida and several other races, even though I hadn’t been back on
my bike. I love this sport so much and knew that if I kept moving forward and
making progress, I’d be back out there. Those small victories keep coming and
they are so motivating. I am so fortunate to have the support of my husband,
family, friends and our tri community. Being selected as a SOAS ambassador has
been hugely motivating. SOAS undoubtedly took a leap of faith by choosing me.
And, being on a team with these amazing women is an honor! I have to earn my
keep!
My first day back on the bike was February 17th.
It was a perfect San Diego bike riding day. I wanted my first ride to be with
my husband; I would be the most comfortable with him and he deserved this, too.
The hardest part was the first pedal stroke. After that, I had a smile on my
face for the entire hour we went out. I rode again the next day. This time it
was with my friend, Jené, who was the other person with me when I crashed (her
boyfriend Tom crashed too). We rode 50 miles. It was exhausting and amazing at
the same time. I loved being able to do that ride with Jené, as it felt like we
had come full circle since the crash. Actually, a lot of my rides since the
crash have been with Jené and Tom. They definitely look out for me. Other than
some lost fitness and nervousness on downhills, riding again has been really
good.
I have returned to training but I’m not quite 100%. My
biggest issue now is the scarring on my face and body. In addition to the
scars, there is a lot of asphalt embedded under my skin. A lot. It’s uncomfortable and makes me self-conscious to the point
that I’ve become somewhat of a hermit. I also have to make sure that the scars
are protected from the sun at all times, which is a challenge now that it’s
warming up. I see an amazing doctor, Dr. Mitchel Goldman, at least once a month
who performs laser treatments with three different lasers to try to reduce the
appearance of my scars and get rid of some of the asphalt. The laser he uses
for the asphalt is a tattoo removal laser and is really painful, but they seem
to be improving the appearance of the scars.
I’ve learned so much from this whole experience. I’m so much
stronger than I ever thought I was. I’ve learned a lot about what is important
and what’s not. I’ve learned about the depth of the unwavering love and support
from my Mom and husband. And, I’ve been amazed and humbled by the people who
have been supportive, tolerant, patient and loving. I firmly believe that you
have a choice in how you deal with things like this, and don’t get me wrong,
I’ve had my share of melt downs over the past 7 months, but I choose to learn
from this and pick up the pieces and move on.
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