After the the trek in Kasol(Sarpass) last year(may 2009), once i came back my left knee became more trouble some than ever. I was running out of excuses to ignore it. Meanwhile I found out about Himalayan Mountaineering Institute's Basic Mountaineering Course and I was thrilled by the very idea of trying to do this course. But it required participants to be fighting fit. Compared to this course Sarpass would be a breeze.....
After a point the knee pain became so worse that i had to stop playing badminton. After 2 weeks of rest, with the pain showing no signs of lessening I went to see a doctor. Some tests and an MRI revealed a torn meniscus due to knee twisting. They recommended physiotherapy for some weeks. I had to go to a physiotherapist and get some treatment done everyday. Still there was no improvement. So finally in november 2009 the doctor decided that I should go for an arthroscopic surgery to correct the torn meniscus.
When you are young you feel your body is invincible. Its like your best friend who never complains and always does what you want it to do. You trust it blindly and feel secure and treat it however you want to and still expect it to never give up on you. But one fine day when it does give up on you, you have no idea of the pain....not physical pain but the mental agony....its like your best friend broke your trust...u can't believe what happened... this is exactly what i went through. To not be able to stand up, walk or even lift your leg is pathetic.. it pains you when your mom twice your age has to help you walk...when it shud have been the other way round.....
I was finding it difficult to climb the steps to my house after the surgery...It looked like I would not do the HMI course for a lifetime.......After the surgery I had to do like a Zillion physiotherapy sessions...it was boring and frustrating...and doing those physio exercises were painful too...the Death blow came when my physio told me that I would have to stop going for trekking for good since my knee will not be able to bear the strain....One month after the surgery, by the end of dec 2009,after a lot of physiotherapy,things started to look better..atleast i was able to walk properly now. So the doctor advised me to go swimming so that my quad muscles can regain their strength......u have no idea....at 6:30 am in the chilly december mornings, swimming was more of a torture than even the knee pain!!!! I love swimming and it is something i have been able to do well as a kid..but to do it on winter mornings is not something i wud fancy...however, i continued swimming till feb 2010 and went whenever it was possible. By now, things were much more improved. I did not need a knee cap everytime i walked and was able to jog at slow speeds...
Here I took the gamble...during all this time, the HMI course never went out of my head...it was always there in the back of my head...like an ever burning fire... it was lodged firmly in my subconscious...everytime i thought of trekking, my thoughts would invariably turn to HMI.....so without thinking I applied for the basic course Sep 2010(279)..I was not even sure if I could last a day at that camp...but still i applied....and got the confirmation... And here the fire got stoked...once i got a confirmation letter, things began shaping up...now i had a deadline...I have always worked best when I have had a deadline....There were 7 months to work with...I thought I just had an outside chance of making it.....
By Mar 2010, the preparation began in earnest ...I planned for it...Going for gym early in the morning and following it up with a swimming session should surely help...atleast I could try...and thus it began...everyday gymming for an hour and then doing rigorous swimming for about 15 to 20 mins.....Summer was creeping in and the thermometer was slowly rising...Swimming was more pleasurable now...It began very very slowly...For entire march and april all i did was walk on the treadmill and then do some exercises for quad muscle strengthening....never tried to run...and there was swimming after that....Here the turning point came...I have always struggled with a painful back problem....but swimming for so many months and having an active life had its effects...the back pain was gone..!!!! Gone was the pain which would some times which i had named as obliterator..becasue it obliterated every other thought from the mind....
It was May 2010 and things began to get serious...Decided to leave swimming so that I could have more time in the Gym....This was the month that i slowly started running on the treadmill...my maximum was 10 mins of running very slowly...and again quad exercises...now i was having time to do other exercises too...basically did strength training....Slowly the knee pain had begun to disappear..It only flared up when i pushed too much...or put too much pressure on my knees....Now the focus was on not how much can my legs handle but about the stamina...I had recovered well but that did not mean that I had good stamina....
It is now 3rd september that I am writing this blog...I am just a week away from flying to darjeeling to participate in the Basic Mountaineering Course(279) in Darjeeling....So far the training that i did have paid rich dividends....there is no more knee pain...it comes up only when i jump too high or fall on my left knee....I can say that my physical fitness was better than it ever was...I have never been able to run for more than 10 mins continuously in the past...but now i am able to do for close to 45 mins without a problem....pain free....I have finally gotten rid of the knee support and it feels all good.....(for it had started to become more like a crutch)
Now you might ask if all this is good enough to survive the tough one month course....My answer is a clear no...anytime my legs might give way again...I am no where near the fitness level that is actually required to do this course....My doctor gave me a go ahead signal to do the course...he feels the knee has healed completely...but i still have my nagging doubts.......But then you might ask me why am i risking it??????I myself ask that question sometimes.....
If I had to go by the word of my physiotherapist, then there is no way i could survive this course....but he forgot one thing....PASSION.....and a certain maddening love for adventure.... It can over come any pain barrier...and any obstacles....
It is with these thoughts that i eagerly await the dawn of 11 sep....not knowing what will happen next....but knowing one thing..no matter what happens, I will be enjoying myself....and feeling happy that i have reached this stage....... :) :)
The Maverick......
