The E.R.

I’ve had my share of powder days and seconds in the white room; knee deep pow, slashes, face shots, and fleeting moments of snowy bliss.

Today, I went to another white room, staring at my feet wrapped in an ivory blanket ontop of sterile, bleached bed sheets in a room partitioned with cream colored curtains.

It was like a bad dream, letting a man in blue scrubs secure the bed rails and wheel me down the hospital hallway.

Luckily, the process was more of a mental fake out than a dramatic E.R. episode. I managed to limp out of the E.R. with a pair of crutches to use at my discretion, and a date to return in a few days.

It was my left knee. Ironically, the incident was nearly as mysterious as the result. I must have strained it at work yesterday while snowboarding with my advanced intermediate client, though I'm not sure how it happened (because I did not fall or feel pain at any specific moment). I did, however, increase my stance width one inch that morning, which might have tweaked my knee is a strange way; or, maybe I twisted it while helping my client's friend step back into her skis mid-mountain any number of times. That's not something I usually do everyday. Either way, I knew I was in trouble when I woke up at 4am this morning in serious pain when flexing and extending my knee.

The doctor had a hard time pinpointing an exact injury. He said the main ligaments, muscles and bones are fine. Maybe I strained some cartilage or a smaller ligament, maybe my meniscus, or something, "I don't know," he said. It's always great when your doctor admits he or she doesn't know.

Unfortunately, I had to cancel my private lesson today and also clear my schedule for the next two days, before my reevaluation with occupational health. If I feel better then, I'll be cleared for work, and able to continue teaching snowboarding lessons during the busiest week of the year (hello Spring and Easter breakers). If not, I'll be bummed for missing out and not riding with three of my favorite clients from last year. Hopefully, I'll be back out there in no time!