Finding the Way Back (gxg)

Chapter 15

That weekend brought with it the start of the women's soccer leagues in Europe. Arsenal was of course one team to play, opening up the Women's Super League on Friday as part of hanging their UEFA Women's Champions League banner at the Emirates Stadium in London. I had forgone watching the match as it would be bittersweet to watch my once-favorite club hang a championship banner, when I was at one point supposed to have been there with them.

Of course, my injury made it so that it didn't happen, and I hated that fact again. Still, I was happy that my favorite players had accomplished such an impressive feat.

In all honesty, I didn't spend any time watching soccer outside of the Napoli and Dortmund men's teams. Those two clubs had slowly replaced the Arsenal-sized hole in my chest, giving me two teams to cheer for as the Champions League loomed in the distant future. While I didn't think either team had a chance of winning it all this year, I was still happy to have teams to passionately root for, even if they had never been my first choices this year.

Both clubs, thankfully, won their matches over the weekend.

Today was now once again Monday, bringing another morning of working and physio. Normally that wouldn't be anything exciting, but Max wanted me to work on squats and lunges after having been cleared by Lydia to do so on Friday. My physio schedule had also been rearranged to accommodate the switch from going two days a week to three. This would allow me to get in the proper amount of sessions each week while being supervised during each of them.

Rose, of course, was attending the session with me, and I knew it was safe to assume that she would record most of the session. Not just because it was a milestone to cross, but because she was cataloging my sessions for her own use later.

Probably to make a long video to highlight my rehab journey for when it inevitably ends. If that were the case, it would be cool to relive the journey I've been experiencing.

To start the session, I am progressing through a set of stretches Max had created for me. All had a low impact on my knee, while also helping to make sure that there weren't any stiff muscles increasing the risk of injury. I was following every precaution I was given religiously, as I trusted the professionals to guide me in the right direction.

As I stretch, I glance toward Rose, who is sitting on a bench, typing away on her phone. As if sensing my gaze, she looks up and offers me one of her trademark smiles, which I return. Having her here provides such a calming feeling that makes me feel like I can conquer the world even when I can't.

It's the kind of presence that lights up a room just by existing.

As I am wrapping up my stretches, Max joins me with a smile on his face. He is full of the positivity I have come to recognize in him as he says this is a zero-negativity space. Only positive thoughts about the recovery process are allowed here.

It is an atmosphere that I enjoy. Being surrounded by nothing but positivity helps make the process easier, even when I might not be feeling it on a particular day.

"Ready to add some new exercises today?" Max asks, voice full of too much energy.

"Yeah." I give a smile. "I'm ready for the next step in my recovery."

"Good. Moving on to introducing squats and lunges will help improve the stability of your ankles, knees and hips. It is the stability in these areas that will allow us to move onto weight lifting in a few weeks' time once the desired stability has been achieved. Given that doing these exercises wrong can do more harm than good, I am going to keep you limited to doing them here with me for the first week. However, I want you to continue doing the exercises that Lydia has given you as a supplement to what we do here."