It’s been a long and winding road to this powerlifting destination. If you had asked 13 year old me what sport I would be playing when I “grew up”, the answer would have been hockey. The answer was always hockey.
Growing up, I found peace on the ice. Hockey as an adult wasn’t quite the same, but it was still pretty great. It also gave me opportunities to give back, first as a referee, and then as a league organizer. I branched out and tried other sports – CrossFit, tackle football, strongman – but I had always figured I would play hockey forever.
Then in January 2015, I got hurt. To be specific, I broke my ankle. A bimalleolar fracture (displaced), and a fully torn/detached deltoid ligament. I had ORIF (open reduction, internal fixation) surgery, with an estimated recovery of 6-9 months.
While I was trying to rehab my ankle (right), I was continuing to have problems with my knee (left). It had been injured off and on for years, and at this point, was permanently in flexion. It took six physios and three sports medicine professionals before I finally received a referral for MRI. The MRI confirmed a torn ACL and two medial meniscal tears, including one that was blocking the movement of my joint. That second mensical tear helped mark me urgent for surgical repair. On June 24th I had my second major surgery of the year. Estimated recovery, 9-12 months.
I wish that I could say that the comeback was easy. It wasn’t. Actually, I should probably use the present tense because four years later, I’m still working on it. I’ve learned, often times the hard way, that even if you put in work and really want to rehab according to “the timeline”, it doesn’t always happen. If you had asked me that January if I had played my last game of hockey, I would have scoffed and said no. As it stands now, I’ve skated, but not played since.
Thankfully I found powerlifting to occupy my time.
It’s a sport that I’ve been able to participate in, even when I’ve had setbacks (my first bench only meet was two weeks after I had surgery to remove the screws in my ankle!). Sometimes I wish that the PRs came easier, or more consistently, but it’s been my constant over the last few years. I’ve met incredible people, learned a ton, and have had the opportunity to grow every day.
It’s also presented me with great opportunities to give back to the sport. My first foray into powerlifting social media was with This is Female Powerlifting, which really opened my eyes to what four smart, sarcastic women could do to help make space for inclusive representation of the sport. In 2018, I had the opportunity to team up with Avi Silverberg and create the first Handbook for Live-Stream Commentators, written for the Canadian Powerlifting Union’s National Championships. Since then, I’ve been missing having a space to talk about what’s on my powerlifting mind. And now, I have one.
Two White Lights 