I managed to get three days of snowboarding in this season which is more than I ever would have imagined!

Of course, one would hope that post-surgery improvement in sports would occur in a linear fashion, getting better and better each time. Unfortunately, that was not the case for me. My third day of snowboarding on May 8th (closing day at the resort) was the most frustrating.  It had nothing to do with my ostomy, which once again caused no problems at all. The problem was hard-packed snow and not knowing how much beating up my body could handle.

The first two days I boarded, the snow was fluffy and forgiving and it allowed me to turn effortlessly. However, this time it was crusty and as hard as concrete. Even though I stuck to the green runs, it took every muscle in my body, which unfortunately are not at their strongest yet, to turn my board. I wasn’t very successful and had a lot of wipeouts, including one where the edge of my board caught and stopped suddenly while the rest of my body extended out in a Superman-flying position before landing with a thud, belly down, in the snow. Ouch! After that crash, I decided to call it a day. I already have my pass for next year, and will be in much better shape then. Best to be a little cautious now.

The hardest thing for me in healing up from surgery and trying to get active again is knowing how much my body can really handle. It no longer feels durable like it used to, though I know this feeling will go away as I heal up.