Hesitation...

I leave Brazil on Saturday. Double days are in January and then it's straight into league season. I'm going back to rugby. I know I'm going back but every once in awhile I have to wonder if it's wise for me to continue playing or at least to attempt to play this coming semester.

I tore my ACL back in January and had surgery in March. It's been about 7 months, a reasonably long enough time that my playing rugby again isn't an absolutely insane idea. The catch is that those 7 months have not been filled with dedicated rahab. I was moderately good about it over the summer but once I got here rehab was pushed down the priority list. There was a language barrior to overcome, a new city to explore, creepy men to avoid, a family to live with, and new people to make friends with. It doesn't help that there is not a patch of grass in Salvador and the cobblestone sidewalks are definitely a no go for running with a post ACL surgery knee. I've jogged a few times on a treadmill but nothing too serious or all that regular. I just wonder if I'm setting myself for a retorn ACL. I don't think I can put into words just how that would suck. Going through it once was okay, not terrible, not great and I dealt with it. Going through it again would just be frustrating, maddening, heartbreaking, and a myriad of other not so positive adjetives.

This is of course all hinging on the assumption that my PT will clear me. I haven't seen her in months so I have no clue what she'll say. It's not as if the knee is bad. Daily walking is fine and I know it's a lot better now than it was when I first arrived but I still get twinges every now and then. Plus, I'm fairly certain I'm still a wee bit gimpy looking when I run at higher speeds. Again, I haven't really been able to test that out here. I guess I'll just have to wait and see but I've never been a very patient person.