Time to give

Reading my last blog entry that was all the way back in April 2011 is a timely reminder of how life moves on. What then felt like a cataclysmic event in my life has now faded into a distant memory. Any readers that don't know me personally may have worried about the outcome, whether I recovered from my knee injury, whether I won the unequal struggle against Lymphoedema. The absence of posts in the last eight months suggest one of two things; either it all went horribly wrong and I couldn't bring myself to write about it, or life returned to normal and day to day tasks took over. Thankfully it was the latter and the past months have been a rewarding learning experience and the future looks bright.

A quick review of what has passed in this period from the perspective of an athlete; I did manage my 'test ' sessions and committed to the HotChillee organised London to Paris bike ride in June. Rich came over from Brisbane and, apart from an issue with his bike frame that was damaged in transit (thanks Sigma Sport http://www.sigmasport.co.uk/ for building a brand new bike in a matter of days) we had the most fantastic time. Ok, I wasn't as fit and prepared as I wanted to be but I still rode my heart out, competed hard with my group 2 co-riders and shed a few tears of relief and joy when we rode in grand procession down the Champs-Élysées to finish under the Tour Eiffel. Rich, Kath, Vicki and I had an excellent evening of celebration. Round one: Juliette 1, Lymphoedema nil. Well it wasn't quite nil to Lymphoedema, as my leg was swollen after three days and 520k in the saddle but it was manageable and was a small price to pay for the elation of the achievement.

This was my highlight of 2011 and was a damascene milestone in helping me conquer the fears that my life was going to change for the worse; in truth little has changed. I'm still an athlete (erstwhile), I train between 10 and 15 hours a week and have some really exciting goals for 2012 (more about these later). I have my health and my happiness. Lymphoedema is a nuisance but it hasn't prevented me from doing things; we had a week in the sun in the summer and we flew long-haul to New York in November, both of which I thought if not impossible then implausible this time last year. I manage my condition; it does not rule me. Some days are good, some are not so, but I've learnt what I need to do, and the rising swell of panic, uncertainty, frustration, helplessness are all part of the past. I truly hope that other Lymphoedema sufferers reading this will take heart from my experiences and believe that life can, does and will go on pretty much as normal.

So what now? Well I freely admit that the past twelve months have been a lot about me; about dealing with Lymphoedema, more than once I caught myself lamenting that "I didn't want this to happen to me". But it did and, hey, really it's not that bad.  Having spent this time in an egocentric state I firmly believe now that it's time to redress the balance. 2012 is therefore my year of giving back. Check back in a couple of weeks for more details and to join me on a new journey.