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Day 2 of the 30 Days of Self Love and today’s topic is gifts of the body. As soon as Tina sent this email I knew exactly what I was going to write about. I am very thankful that for the most part I am strong and healthy, no major illnesses or health issues to write about except for tearing my ACL in the winter of 1999 because of a cheerleading accident.

 

We were doing some stunts and I was going to do a shoulder stand and I felt a snap and intense pain, immediately knowing something was wrong. The trainer came over and checked everything out, gave me some ice and told me I would need to head to the doctor in the morning. Head to the doctor in the morning was a big cause for concern! I got dropped off that night and the next morning headed to the Orthopedic doctor in a town about 30 minutes from my hometown. He did the MRI and came in to give me the news that I would need to have surgery as soon as possible. Lots of tears were shed in that room and we got the surgery scheduled for the day after my 18th Birthday. Not such a great way to celebrate.

 

Surgery was uneventful but the aftermath is where the problems began. I woke up in extreme pain that didn’t go away until 6 months after. I thought it was normal and didn’t think to ask questions about why. Grueling physical therapy started the next week and it was constant torture. By mid-April I still only had 30 degrees of mobility in my knee and that was a big cause for concern. After a tearful conversation with my mom it was decided that I needed to get my knee looked at by another doctor. We called the best doctor in the area, the one who operates on the Green Bay Packers and waited the two long months before I could be seen.

 

When that appointment in June finally arrived I was so anxious I could barely describe to the doctor all the pain and issues I was having. Thankfully he was pretty good with teenagers and just let me cry. He spent an hour with me and did a through exam and decided that he would try sending me in for a scope in hopes that the procedure would clear away enough scar tissue that I would gain full movement in my knee. My scope was scheduled for the next week and in they went, again I woke up in  a lot of pain but figured that was a good sign. The next week I went back to therapy and tried to gain back strength and mobility. After a few more week of physical therapy it was clear that the scope did not do enough to clear out the scar tissue. Back to the doctor I went and my third surgery in six month was scheduled, this time to repair my new ACL and fix some issues with the screws.

 

I had my third surgery at the end of July and within weeks I had almost full movement and no pain. Amazing! The challenge with the timing of the last surgery was I was leaving for college 5+ hours away in less than a month and I needed to make as much progress as possible. Many hours at physical therapy and lots of home exercises and by the end of August I was crutches free and ready to head to campus. My biggest challenge was having to be on campus with a sore knee and trying to squeeze physical therapy in my crammed freshman year schedule. But I was strong and I made it!

 

Today I am so thankful that I got a second opinion and pushed through all the pain so I have full mobility and strength in my knee today. Dear Knee, I thank you for being strong and gaining back full motion. Even after 11 years I have very few problems! I lift weights, I do hardcore cardio, and I can walk without a limp. The biggest challenge with the surgery was spending the last few months of my senior year of high school in a brace and walking with a limp. Classmates at times were mean and I was teased but I learned the limits of my body and that I can get through anything. The 22 staple marks and 6 inch scar are constant reminders of how thankful I should be.

 

You don’t typically take pictures during bad times and I wish I would have taken a few pictures of myself right after my surgery and in my huge brace but I was too self conscious. Today I have NO issues with wearing shorts or a skirt, I am often asked about my “battle wound” and I just say high school injury. 11 years later my legs are strong, muscular and I may have a big nasty scar but its my scar

 

My ACL Scar 11 Years Later 

 

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In the spring of 2008 we took at 9 day trip to Barcelona and Paris and it was one of the best trips we ever took. We flew from Minneapolis to Newark and then Newark to Barcelona.

 

We landed in Barcelona and headed to drop off bags and explore the city before we could check into the hotel. We spent a few hours wandering around La Rambla and checked out the market.

 

 

 

 

 

We stayed at the Le Meridian near the Ramblas and really enjoyed being able to walk to all the sights and tapas restaurant. Lonely Planet and Rick Steves are our guide books of choice and take a look to see what each recommends as the “must see” places. Review the must sees and pare down the list to what is really important to you, if you love art maybe see two or three museums but if paintings aren’t your thing do the most popular so you can see and appreciate and the move on to other things. Our must see things in Barcelona were the market, La Rambla, the Barri Gotic and the works of Gaudi including La Sagrada Familia, Casa Batllo, La Pedrera and Park Guell. A few of my favorite pictures from the Gaudi works.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another must do in Spain is to walk around in the evening and walk from tapas bar to tapas bar trying all the delicious bite sized foods. Besides tapas Spain is known for Paella and it is a most try, even in 2008 I was taking pictures of my food. More than a year before the blog!

 

 

 

 

Stay tuned next Thursday for Paris! Missed Peru, Mexico City and Nicaragua?

 

Favorite Part: Walking around the neighborhoods and trying all the tapas

 

Not So Favorite Part: Having to wait 6+ hours after we landed to check into the hotel and shower. There is nothing I like less than not showering daily.

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Up until know I have been hesitant to use at tripod, they seemed so expensive and hard to use. While they are expensive, they do not have to be hard to use. Mike happened to stop at National Camera and Video a few weeks ago when they were having their annual tent sale and he was lucky enough to find me an early Christmas present on sale. Super early! A Manifrotto tripod that extends between 42.5 cm to 134.5 cm/52.95” and weighs only 0.95 kg or 2.09 lbs. I am so excited to use this on our upcoming trip to Spain and Portugal.

 

I set up the tripod and started shooting in a few different modes to see how the tripod impacted the photo quality:

 

Here is Mike in Manual

  

 

Here is Mike in Complete Auto

 

 

 

Here is Mike in Portrait Mode

 

 

 

 

The last one is my favorite On all three of these I left the settings on the auto settings that happen when you changes modes. Very interesting to see the difference in photo quality.

 

My next test was with the corn on the cob that we had for dinner.

 

Corn in Manual

 

 

Corn in Complete Auto

 

 

 

Corn in P Mode

 

 

 

 

I love learning more about camera settings! Why should you invest in a tripod?

 

Top 5 Reasons To Use A Tripod!

 

5) Be able to shot in Manual

4) Take advantage of ISO Speeds in Low Light situations, the tripod helps eliminate camera shake

3) To shoot landscapes

2) Experimenting with camera settings

1) Use the self timer and take pictures that include you!

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