Thank goodness I didn’t break my wishbone.

My fastest 10K race time ever!!!  Ever, as in, including before the accident!!!!!!!!!  46:27.  Hard work does pay off!

What a special day it was, surrounded by friends, family and extended family – all running.  Everyone did a fantastic job.  Many thanks to all the sweet strangers who gave me a pat on the back and thumbs up along the route.

To-Do List: checked (oh, I also got my permanent teeth).

Next stop:  Advil & ice.  

Next next stop: Rattle Me Bones 2013.

Me with my parents, sisters, niece, nephew and cousins.  We did it!

Run for your life, run for your life, run for your life…

Tomorrow is the big day!!!  The Rattle Me Bones race is finally here!  With it’s largest registration ever, over 3,000 runners will do their thang tomorrow morning as we mark the event’s 19^th year.

After I missed last year’s race, the Rattle Me Bones race coordinator, Kent, visited me in the Ottawa Hospital’s Trauma Unit.  He brought me my race shirt, which I had missed the opportunity to collect.  Yah know…being hit by a car, having a few surgeries, trying to survive, my schedule was full.  

But, this year, I made it!  I got to pick up my own race kit!  This year, nothing's gonna stop me.  Check out my parents and I in our beautiful yellow race shirts:

Kent has since mentioned that – upon seeing me in the hospital that day – he would have been surprised if I could stand by as a spectator at the 2012 Rattle Me Bones event.  But Kent’s colleagues at the Ottawa Hospital made sure I could do more than that.

The RMB event – being so close to Halloween – is a great opportunity to dress the part.  My Dad is looking particularly stylin’ in his pumpkin hat.  I myself will be dressing up as, you guessed it, my rattled bones.  I opted not to don your typical skeleton costume.  Mmm, running in a polyester-rayon blend?  I’ll stick with my lulu.  My Mom and I revisited Halloweens and tap dance recitals past, and spent hours sewing ribbons on my running outfit to mark my rattled bones.  Each ribbon has the names of my sponsors on it.

On that note:  Thank you to all my sponsors!  Friends, family, friends of family, gym-mates, Chris & Moerae Solutions Inc (I owe you about a thousand thanks, and at least that many cookies)…  I will definitely take all the good energy you’ve given me along the way tomorrow!

It's cookie mania in here!

What a thrill it will be to run by the Rehab Centre on the home stretch.  Less than a year ago, my parents wheeled me through its doors in my wheelchair.  My physiotherapist, Mireille, and her student, Fred, treated me with so much care.  They helped me build back some muscle and mobility, they taught me to stand and walk.   I worked with them pretty well twice a day for months, while they rooted me on and on and on.  I even heard they could be spotted going up and down staircases on their bottoms in the Rehab Centre – trying to determine if I could do the same.  I will be blowing kisses their way as I RUN by tomorrow.

In the earlier days, I also had another physiotherapist close to my heart.  Janet, what countless wonders you did for my body and my mind.  You made “can’t” and “won’t” the only things I’ll never do.  Here’s Janet moving me along.  That leg leash was ingenius, p.s..

I also really have to thank my lastest phsyio, Kathryn, for taking me through this next strengthening phase.  I can never argue with Kathryn   Going up stairs two at a time?  Mmmkay.

I certainly feel the pressure to do well tomorrow; to prove to myself that I can take anything life throws my way, and to thank my family and the Ottawa Hospital’s staff for getting me this far (go team!).  I have done some research about avoiding pre-race jitters and on running a good race.  My goals for tomorrow are to:

1) repeat a mantra

2)  imagine you’re running on hot coals to improve cadence;

3)  lose yourself in the music;

4)  HAVE FUN!

Actually, I always have a mantra to repeat during a race.  Obviously this time it’s going to be the Rattle Me Bones tagline, which mean so much to me:  Run for your life.

Believe me, I will.

October 17: Turning 1 year old. Again.

If we open a quarrel between past and present, we shall find that we have lost the future.

--Winston Churchill (aka, my dog Winston Churchill Kendall’s namesake)

Wow, here we are.  October 17!  One year ago, an accident changed me forever.  For the better?  I think so.  Would I do it again?  I think not.

I recently met someone whose mother had experienced an accident similar to mine.  She sounds like a remarkable woman, who eventually worked through her own disabilities and fulfilled her dream of having children, and has now watched them grow into adults.  Possibly the most amazing part?  She says – if she could go back in time – she wouldn’t change a thing.

Looking back on the year that has passed; would I do it all again?  Honestly.  No.

BUT, I have to admit, the single proudest and most joyful moment of my life was when, in January, I learned to walk again.  I took my cane and walked myself to the entrance of the Rehab Centre to surprise my parents upon their nightly visit.  I’ll never forget the looks on their faces!  My Mom came in first and came running down the hall towards me, screaming for joy the entire way.  My Dad came in a few minutes later after parking the car.  He just stood there with his arms outstretched shouting “NO! NO! NO”!  Then he took a few steps toward me, stopped, and cried out a few more “NO!”s.

Some other memories I'll cherish for life:  the first time I felt my leg move on its own, as my sister dressed me; hearing I’ll be Home for Christmas, after making it home from the hospital - for Christmas; home-cooked Sunday dinners with my whole family in the hospital cafeteria; being rolled out to the Civic Hospital’s courtyard to feel the sunshine on my face; hospital visits with family and old friends; learning to stand; learning to run; getting stronger.  Oh, what a year!

These accident-induced memories are ones I could never, would never, erase.  Still, I wouldn’t relive the pain and suffering – nor would I want my family to.  My parents watching me learn to walk is, like, so 1982.

In summary, today I can look back on my laughter and cry.  But I can’t quite look back on my tears and laugh.  For now, I’ll suspend the quarrel between past and present. It’s time to lace up my running shoes!   I have some living to do!

Turning 1.  The first time.  Mmm, cake.

Heartfelt thanks to bystanders Dana and Alyshia for watching over me like angels last October 17.   To the Ottawa Hospital’s doctors and nurses who saved my life.  To Mom, Dad, Claire, Jo and Tomy who brought me back to life.  To Rehab Centre staff, and my Physio Janet, who gave me the skills to move through life.  To everyone along the way who gave me courage to run.

This year I am thankful for: family, friends, legs that run, freedom

So, umm, this is awkward.  For some reason I’m no longer receiving updates about who has sponsored me.  I have gratefully watched my tally rising over the past few weeks, but I’m not sure exactly whom to thank.  I’m looking into it, and I hope to be sending out specific thank yous soon.

In running-related news, I did a practice run along the RattleMe Bones route this weekend!  The route was quite lovely, through quiet side streets bursting with fall colours.  It also meandered through the expansive hospital campus, including past my Rehab Centre room’s window.  

It’s funny, near the end of my stay at the hospital, I was allowed to go home for weekends.  I used to dread Sunday nights – saying goodbye to my family and my comfy bed.  On the drive back to the Rehab Centre, I would usually enter panic mode, of the dog-being-driven-to-the-vet variety.  “Don’t make me!”  While I was running that same route yesterday, I noticed for the first time that the street before the hospital is called “Freedom”.  No one likes to be cooped up in a hospital for months, but it occurred to me that I was being given freedom all along.  Freedom to breathe on my own, freedom to care for myself, freedom to study, freedom to walk … Yesterday I was happy to be running towards the hospital.  Free as a bird.

On your mark...

I continue proudly to watch my family training for the race, which is coming up so quickly.  My niece and nephew have also just registered.  It will be Matthew’s first race.  Blink and you’ll miss Emma.  Can’t wait to see you all there in only 3 weeks!  Shall we start a bet on how many toenails I'll have left by then?  Runners!  Please help!  What to to?

Don't forget to register yourself, and please sponsor my run.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

When you're smiling...

Urgent!  The Rattle Me Bones race is in exactly 1 month!  Hurry up and register before a Kendall takes your spot!  This week both of my sisters registered!  As if being the best sisters in the world wasn’t enough. 

Me with Claire & Jo, my guardian angels.  Will they run or will they fly?

Dr. Seller & I this morning.
Cheese! (on numerous levels)

Well, the whole world definitely was not smiling with me yesterday, as I moped my way through my gym routine and then burst into tears doing my physio exercises.  I’m so tired!!! My physiotherapist has added several new strengthening exercises to my routine, as Operation Climb Stairs continues.  This involves the lesser-known Operation Exercise All Day.  But I know this is what it takes to get stronger and more mobile. 

Today I had something to smile about though.  I remember lying in broken pieces in the hospital after the accident and thinking: “man, I could really go for some teeth right about now”.  Of all the things I had to worry about, the thought of wasted teenage years having braces was at the top of my list.  The Ottawa Hospital’s Dr. Kevin Butterfield did an amazing job fixing my broken jaw and the broken bones in my mouth.  And my dentist, Dr. Daniel Seller, has been working his magic ever since.  Only one more step and we’re finished. 

I hear that one of my besties, Anaïs, also registered for the race this week.  Anaïs is one of Ottawa’s most active runners.  She’s also one of my generous sponsors (and cookie recipients).  Come on, you know you want some too.

I have been a busy baker.  Thank you sponsors!  -xo

Left: Me & Anaïs - taking time out from her Ottawa Marathon for a hug.

As for the running playlist...My girlfriends and I love running to Amazing by Seal.  “Everyone says you’re amazing…”  If Seal says it, it must be true.  My sisters better get this on their playlists.  Just saying.  

When life gives you lemons...

drink a lemon-flavoured energy drink?  Check out the latest Kendall to register for the Rattle Me Bones race:

That’s right, my MOM! 

When I was training for the Rattle Me Bones race in 2011, I never imagined that:

a) I would be lying in the hospital on race day;

b) My parents would be visiting me in the hospital everyday for 3 months;

c) My parents would learn to run, training with me for the Rattle Me Bones race in 2012.

What better evidence to show that the Ottawa Hospital gave us life?

Last week, I told you about how the Rehab Centre gave my brain a workout.  Working our way down the body:  let me tell you about how it helped me regain strength in my hands and arms.  I saw an occupational therapist at least three times a week.  She was a kind and cheerful presence, and gave me all sorts of tools so that I could bathe and dress myself.   Who knew there was an assistive device for putting socks on, or that walkers can be walked into a shower, or that meter-tall shoehorns are a thing?  The Occupational Therapy department helps patients build or regain their daily living and work skills.  I even had the opportunity to do woodworking (!).  Now, we Kendall girls were not exactly bred for the workshop, but as soon as I could weight-bear through my broken arms, I successfully made a birdhouse for my parents.  Eric from the Rehab Centre spent countless hours teaching me to saw, drill, paint, etc.  My arms and spirits were so much stronger for it.

So, obviously, let’s support the Ottawa Hospital!  With so much support for my run already, I clearly needed to get my bake on.  My first “thank you” batch of ginger cookies has been delivered.  You could be next.

Thanks to the kind advice from blog-readers, I have been able to work on my running technique.  With only 39 days left until the Rattle Me Bones, I realized something’s gotta give.  Thank you Hanaa for the wicked video on drills to improve stride-length.  I have also found the Adaptive Motor Trainer (AMT) machine at my gym to be extremely helpful in the stride-length and hill-climbing departments.  Essentially, it is the lovechild of the elliptical and stair-climber.  If your gym has an AMT, I highly recommend it.  Or, you could come kick it with us at the RA Centre!

Let’s have my running mom suggest a running song: I Gotta Feeling by the Black Eyed Peas.  One of my all-time favourites also.

Back-to-Ottawa. Back-to-School!

It was a BIG week!  Not only did I get home from Australia, I also went to my first class since the accident! It was one of those days when I could stop and think to myself: “look at how far you’ve come”.  Many thanks to my master’s supervisor, Amir, and the U of O Faculty of Law for believing in me.  

First day of school, Orleans, 1985 

First day of school, Ottawa, 2012.  I have a feeling that the plastic bag was more exciting than my Accessible Parking Permit.

Also, a huge thank you to the Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) Program at the Ottawa Rehab Centre.  I was so lucky to have worked with Speech Language therapists almost every day I was there.  My therapist would give me newspaper and Economist articles to read, summarize and present to her.  We also did memory, attention and reasoning tests, and played some serious cribbage.   Without that stimulation, I likely would have sat around in my wheelchair watching Cougar Town.  The ABI program also hosted daily group activities, where most of the patients in my unit would gather to do activities to stimulate our memories, organizational skills, and more.  Who could resist supportingthe Ottawa Hospital and its Rehab Centre, right?  RIGHT?

Speaking of…  Guess who is one of the city’s most recently registered Rattle Me Bones racers?!  MY DAD!  Running is new to him, and I’m very proud to see him working so hard.  Watch out racers!  Watch out.

I am so glad to be back in Ottawa!  I am happy to report that I’m finally doing a bit better!  I’m running a bit faster, my knee bends a bit more, and yes, I can sort of walk up and down the stairs.  I’m back ba-byyyyy!  I think I’m officially out of the pre-Oz plateau.  Things are looking way up.

In fact, I just got home from a run along the canal (at a pace faster than your average walker, thank you).  The canal was packed with runners.  What a delight!  Gooooo Ottawa!

Keeping with the Australian spirit, I’m adding Aussie supahstar Kylie Minogue’s Get Outta My Way to the running Playlist. I raced to that song in Bangkok’s Amari Run.  I would secretly sing “get outta my way” to those around me.  Give a farang her running space ;)

“It's, not, where you are, it's where you're going”

Travel outside of North America?  Check!  And another one is stricken from the To-Do List.  Anyone who knows me at all knows I love to travel.  This past year has been the longest I’ve been [stuck] in Ottawa since I was young.  I do love home, but I was ready for a breather from all the appointments…doctors, therapists, dentists.  Oh.  My.

When I was in the hospital, I would often think back to my travels to make myself feel better.  I’d remember how my challenges was always rewarded.  For example, I would put Indian music on my iPod and tell myself I was only uncomfortable because I was in an Indian hostel with a few injuries, a few stomach bugs, but an exotic, colourful world to explore.  Like that time I was in the Himalayas with Hanaa (p.s. Happy Birthday Hanaa!) – an early morning journey to see the peaks of Everest went something like this:

And let’s not forget this:

But I’d do it all again for this:

"It's not where you are, it's where you're going" – travel and life (and The Hours) have taught me so.

So here I am, writing from a coffee shop in Brisbane, Australia.  Isn’t it great having friends in high places (aka Down Under places)?  My leg did surprisingly well on the long flight over here.  Props to Virgin Australia for the adequate legroom.  And yet, props are withdrawn for losing my luggage. 

One thing I’m still terrible at is walking up and down inclines.  Of course Brisbane is THE hilliest place I’ve ever visited.  I have requested the instillation of a chairlift from the main road to the house.  Pending that, I should get stronger legs.  Maybe I’ll even be able to walk up and down staircases when I return to Ottawa?! 

But don’t worry, I am still running and going to a gym on alternate days to avoid getting too stiff.  This being Australia’s winter, I am basking in glorious weather.  So while the hills are getting me down, I have found a flattish place to run in the beautifully cool sun.  I’m finding it a bit discouraging that my leg and running aren’t improving much.  Can somebody (anybody!) please suggest how I might increase my stride length?  No, but seriously, I’m *this close* to running on the spot, people.

To my wonderful sponsors:  I am so grateful for you generosity!  Even if I have to run on the spot, I’ll do it for you.

And today’s running song goes out to: The Kindness of Strangers

Ottawa, you rule!

Did you know that – before the paramedics arrived and took me to the hospital – a few brave bystanders helped saved my life?  Two women – both strangers to me at the time – took control of the situation; they slowed the bleeding, kept my neck immobilized… They showed fate who’s boss.  People often say of my accident: “wrong place at the wrong time”.  That old adage is appropriate from my perspective.  But Dana and Alyshia must have been in the right place at the wrong time.  Or the wrong place at the right time? 

Fast-forward 9 months.  I could hardly sleep the other night; I was so touched that my first, generous Rattle Me Bones sponsor was someone I don’t even know.  I’ll respect her privacy, but D.K., thank you for getting the ball rolling.  P.S. Please contact me for cookies – extra dash of love guaranteed.

Ottawans!  Am I right?

On a related note: I clearly did not give due consideration to the cookie-sending logistics for out-of-town sponsors.  FedEx?  Teleport?  We’ll find a way. 

Alright, kind strangers and others, can you please help me build the ultimate running playlist?  It’s amazing what a good song will do to get your feet moving, especially in this heat.  My first suggestion is We Run the Night by Havana Brown feat. Pitbull . I dare you not to move your feet to it.  Today’s running song goes out to the kindness of strangers.  Any other requests?

Racing for the Ottawa Hospital AND staying active in Ottawa? You’ve already won.

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom” --Anaïs Nin

I read this quote every single day.  It was passed along to me from my sister, Claire, as I entered the Ottawa Hospital’s Rehabilitation Centre.  It’s true, yah know, that it’s easier to run towards things than away from them.  It’s easier to run towards things than to stand still.

On October 17, I was hit by a car in Ottawa at the corner of Bronson & Sunnyside.  I had been standing at the intersection waiting for the traffic light to signal my crossing when a car and minivan crashed into each other, and then crashed into me.  Or so I’ve heard – thankfully I don’t remember any of it.  Since then, my life has been a whirlwind of ups and downs, of setbacks and progress, of many, many miracles.

When I awoke from a coma, I had to write to my family because I was still intubated with breathing tubes.  Since running is so often on my mind, one of the first questions I asked them was:

Spoiler alert!  The answer is yes.

To make a long story short, I’m hoping this blog will allow my family and friends to follow my progress.  I also truly hope it will raise awareness about the importance of:

• The Ottawa Hospital.  It saved my life and sped up my recovery;
• Being active.  It saved my life and sped up my recovery.

And now for the longer story.  I’ve been running for a number of years, but I only began entering races in Ottawa and Bangkok (home #2) about 3 years ago.  Needless to say, I do love to run!  Right before my accident, I had been busily training for the Rattle Me Bones race – a run that raises money to support patient care, arthritis and orthopedic research at The Ottawa Hospital.  I had been following an 8-week training program and had finally gotten my 5K time under 20 minutes.  I couldn’t wait for the race, which was only a few days off.

Obviously (obviously!) I didn’t make it to the Rattle Me Bones event; instead I lay in the Intensive Care Unit of the Civic Hospital.  A little too ironic (yeah I really do think).  I broke so many bones *insert requisite “your bones were rattled” quip here*: ankle, knee, femur, back, many ribs, many bones in my pelvis, wrist, hand, jaw, nose, the bones that hold my teeth in place, and, sigh, many teeth (I’ll own being vain and admit this was horrifyingly embarrassing). My surgeons at the Ottawa Hospital did a wonderful job of fixing my wounds and bones.  Now some of my rattled bones look like this:

 

My rattled knee, ankle and jaw.

After the Civic, I stayed in a convalescence home, and then was extremely fortunate to be moved to the Ottawa Hospital’s Rehab Centre.  I’ll have to use this blog to tell you about how the Rehab Centre gave me back my independence – it helped me check off many of the items on my To-Do List (right of page).  My doctors, nurses and therapists taught me to stand, use the toilet myself, shower myself, dress myself, they tested and retrained my study-loving mind and memory, they helped me regain strength in my limbs, they fed me, gave me a bed, and kept me safe, 24 hours a day, for nearly 2 months.  The rest was up to me – thank goodness I was healthy and active before the accident…it gave me something to fall back on.

 Learning how to stand on my own two feet (literally and figuratively) at the Rehab Centre, November 2011.  In December I was allowed to use crutches on my own!

My family likes to say that I was re-born to run.  I learned to walk in January.  By February I was already running (if you can call it that) on the treadmill.  By March I was running outside (remember that glorious heat wave?).  And so I registered for the Ottawa Race Weekend 5K, hoping to finish the race in under 45 minutes.  I did it in 28 minutes!  After all that my parents and sisters have done for me in the past 9 months, it was a proud day for all of us.  I ran for them, and because of them.

Me with my parents and sisters before the Ottawa Race Weekend 5K. 
 My greatest cheerleaders - in running and in life.

As you can see from my To-Do List, I’m not quite back to my old self. Living in a 3-storey house without being able to walk up and down stairs properly? The. Worst. Also, a massive wound on my left thigh tore through my muscles and the scarring still gives me a ton of grief (sidebar - Dear random man at Ribfest: no, I was not attacked by a shark).  I still do physio 2 times a week and I try to workout on my own 3 times a week.  

 My poor little left leg.

And I am running! – around 10 kilometers every other day.  I’m hoping to get some of my strength and speed back.  And, you guessed it, I JUST REGISTERED FOR THE RATTLE ME BONES RACE!!!!  Admittedly I feel a bit eerie about it, after how things went down last time.  Inauspicious much?  But I have faith that I’ll make it to the finish line (and, umm, the start line) this time around.  

I would be so honoured if you would cheer me on as I train for the Rattle Me Bones race, and help me raise money for the Ottawa Hospital.  Watch this space to see how it’s going.  I’ll even challenge you!  If you sponsor me at all, I’ll run with your name on my race shirt!  If you sponsor me for $50 or more, I’ll bake you my niece Emma’s famously delicious ginger cookies! Or register yourself and train while I train!  You can walk or run distances ranging from 1K to 10K.  Unless you have a better excuse for missing it than I had last year. 

Racing for the Ottawa Hospital AND staying active in Ottawa?  Let's face it, you’ve already won.