words: Marie Hucal
song: Christine Hucal
Where one story end, a new story begins.
Halfway through last winter’s polar vortex I began to struggle more than ever. We all struggle sometimes, however the persistent act of falling on my ass led me to believe I had a deeper issue. I pushed through the pain for years, and it got me far on the spectrum of reaching my personal goals, further then I ever dreamed I could make it on a snowboard. I accepted these constant aches and pains as a part of my daily life, and as a simple price I had to pay for the goals I set for myself. For the last eight years, I have been snowboarding, competing, falling, jumping, landing tricks, shoveling, working on park crew, and having a great time..all while I had a fractured vertebrae of my lowest lumbar. It is unclear whether it is congenital or from a spill I took at age fifteen, either way, it has been fractured and I had no idea.
One day my legs were screaming in agony, the next day I couldn’t ride a bike, and the next day, pain had taken control of my life as I found it difficult to walk. I listened to my body and learned the anatomy of the problem. The human body is amazing. It has found a way to wrap tissues around fractured bone to protect my spinal cord and nerves for all of these years while I have been out playing with my friends in the snow. The nerves that my body has been protecting have now been introduced to a severely narrow passageway known as foraminal stenosis. Every day my back reminds me that it is time to heal, and I am lucky enough to fix this issue with surgery. The long process of recovery will give me some time to reflect on past memories and the lucky days I enjoyed on my snowboard. Life will be different, yet I will still be able to carve on my snowboard, and enjoy a new aspect, such as powder or mountain riding. I look foraord to the upcoming years with new challenges. As an athlete it is easy to ignore your body in order to achieve certain goals, however, I am glad that I listened before it was too late. Here’s to new beginnings….
Thank you to all who have supported me through these amazing times: Rome SDS, Holden Outerwear, Ashbury Eyewear, Coal, Jess Kimura, Desiree Melancon, Peter Harvieux, JetPack, Mom and Dad, and everyone who I’ve met along the way.
Sound off in the comments below!