It's all about balance

My right side and left side are so completely different that some days it's hard to believe they belong to the same body. I know that most people differ from one side to another, and everyone has one leg a little longer than the other, and so on, and so forth. But please, bear with me and my complaining - this is a fairly new feeling for me.

A little less than a year ago, my bicycle had an encounter with a set of streetcar tracks (damn you, corner of Church and Adelaide, I will never be able to look at you without flinching). I was changing lanes, looking back over my shoulder to make sure that there were no cars behind me, and preparing to make a left-hand turn, when I felt the sickening slide of the wheel shifting into the track. I was already leaning into the turn, so I was totally off-balance, and I knew I was going to fall. I put my left foot down to try to stop it, and then the next thing I remember is lying in the middle of the street on my back, staring into oncoming traffic. It was kind of a perfect storm of cycling accident-ness. 

Fortunately, the cars were able to drive around me, and some very lovely people helped me out of the street. Unfortunately, it was about this time that I realized that I couldn't put any weight on my left leg. The people who'd helped me called an ambulance for me and waited with me until it came. One of them even locked up my bike for me and gave me his business card so that I could call him if I wasn't able to find it. If nothing else, at least I dispelled the myth that if you get hit by a car or whatever, Toronto people will just keep walking. It turns out that not only will they stop, but they'll be incredibly helpful too!

At the hospital I learned that I'd fractured my left tibial plateau (top of the tibia, part of the knee joint). It was broken (well, dented, really) in such a way that I required a bone graft AND a metal plate. Whee knee surgery! After that came two months on crutches, and two more months with a cane. 

These days I'm cane-free and getting close to pain-free, although it does still bother me after a tough practice or when it's especially damp outside. The thing that I notice the most, though, is the weakness on my left side. It's hard for me to hold any kind of balancing pose, or to keep the knee bent or put much pressure on it for any length of time. 

My strength isn't the only thing that's gone way off-balance since breaking my leg - I'm also all out of whack flexibility-wise. Because I now tend to favour my right side and hold more tension there, my left side is waaaay more flexible. 

So now I have my good side for strength, and my good side for flexibility. At least they're different sides. Right? I mean, right?

I was going to post a picture of my amazing scar (no, seriously, it is pretty cool), but then I thought it might disgust some of my (probably non-existent) readers. You can thank me later, imaginary people!