Friday of last week I had a follow-up appointment to go over my MRI results. During the original appointment, the physician thought that I had torn my bicep tendon.  However, after viewing the MRI results they found that it was a completely different muscle all together. The injury is in the long head of my right tricep. Rather than one big tear, there are several small tears right above my elbow. The doctor described it to be similar to if a burlap sack was being pulled apart. The injury was caused because of the hyper spasticity in my upper extremities. When I bend my arms my triceps spasm and try to prevent me from bending them. This is a problem because every time I pedal, I have to bend my arms. The constant fight with my triceps is what has caused the several small, extremely painful tears.

The only way that my muscles will heal is if they learn to get along and stop fighting each other. The treatment my doctors and I have decided to go with is injecting Botox into my triceps. Botox is a muscle inhibitor and will prevent my triceps from flexing and fighting me when they are not supposed to.

Not being able to train on the bike or in the gym has been very difficult. I feel like I’m getting behind on my training and even worse; I feel incredibly lazy!!! I knew getting to Huntington Beach was going to be difficult. But I did not expect to have to overcome so many obstacles. What I have found to be the most helpful is to keep the momentum moving by focusing on other aspects of the event; such as planning fundraisers, acquiring sponsors, etc. By always moving forward, road blocks that stop training can, in their own way, be beneficial. This injury has forced me to rest and has given me more time for the long list of other things that needs attention. Being able to control our perspective can be the difference between continual progress and a devastating injury.