A Desert Rose: November 2010

photo taken 2 days afterwards

Last friday i flew to las vegas and was greeted by my brother Nelson and his wife Krissy for a 4 day climbing trip in Red Rocks. Red Rocks is a beautiful area just outside of the craziness of Las Vegas. the cliffs are over 1,000 feet tall with superb climbing. i've been there a couple other times. the very first day we were hiking towards a climbing area. We had to do a bit of bushwhacking and were scrambling down a very steep creek-side. I took a wrong step, fell just a bit, and created the perfect recipe for a stellar ankle injury. I felt like as i stepped forward and down that I had left my left leg behind me, so to speak. then i heard a horrifying 'pop!' and had instant pain, then numbness in L ankle. nelson and krissy came running back up the slope to make sure i was alright. i kept saying 'give me a second i'll be better. i'll be ready to climb in just a minute...'. nelson removed my shoe and said, 'you need to start getting up this hill, right now'. i replied with the moment's current mantra: "i'll be better in just a second. i'll be climbing, just give me a minute'. nelson insisted upon helping me up the hill 'while my adrenaline was still running'. good thing, we removed my shoe and there was a lump the size of a golf ball on the outter part of my ankle. the pain really wasn't too bad, and i even tried to hike out, for a second. nelson ended up giving me a piggy back ride for about a mile back to the car. things just went downhill from there. i did the right things: ibuprofen, rest, ice, compression, elevation (you know, the whole nurse thing came in handy). i changed my flight back a day early. it was a bit challenging trying to camp with the ice bag, the bathroom 50 yards away.. nelson gave me plenty of piggy-back rides over the next day and a half.
i finally got xrays yesterday-- to find that i have broken my ankle. i cracked/fractured the bone on the outside of the ankle. i have an appointment next week with the ankle specialist in town, but until then i can't put any weight on that foot. the soft tissue swelling is horrendous, and it remains to be seen how damaged the ligaments are in the ankle. no real good news there. didn't i just come from here?! wasn't i just using these crutches? wasn't i just hobbling around a second ago? i can't express the disappointment and frustration i feel. my climbing had never been better, i've never been stronger, my plans for climbing never been brighter.... and all that has faded to gray with the past friday's events.
i've spent a fair amount of time crying. i haven't yet accepted the fact- still seems like it could, possibly, be a dream.
it sucks.
i'm kinda depressed.
i'm pretty down.