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Me being your work, is that it? she lifted an eye-
brow at him. As he nodded, she sat back with a sigh and
put her hand on his arm.
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Heart of a Champion
Can I ask you a serious question? It s something I ve
been wondering about for months now, but I wasn t sure
what your reaction would be. If it s too personal, just tell me
to back off, she said, hesitating for a moment to gather her
courage.
I want to know how it feels to know that you ll never
skate the way you used to again, Christy said, gazing up into
his eyes. I mean, you had it all. You could have gone all the
way. I used to watch you on TV and think you were the best
skater I had ever seen.
Taken completely by surprise, Jason had to think for a
moment before answering.
I don t mind sharing with you in the least. The truth? At
first it was really bad. When I was in the hospital after my hip
surgery, no one wanted to tell me anything. I d ask my coach
and my girlfriend Tina, and they d just say something vague
about more tests needing to be done. I d ask the surgeon and
he d tell me I d have no pain walking, as if I hadn t even men-
tioned skating.
Finally one night about a week after my surgery, I was
having trouble getting to sleep and was awake when the or-
thopedic resident came around to check on me. I told her how
desperate I was to get an answer about my future as a skater,
and she took pity on me. She told me the damage I had done
to my hip had been extensive and although they were able to
rebuild it, it would never have the strength to withstand
jumps again. She told me it would be able to stand the pres-
sure of everyday things like walking and running and I could
even skate as much as I wanted to, as long as I didn t put the
enormous amount of pressure needed to land anything more
than a single jump, he explained.
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Heart of a Champion
How awful that must have been for you. What did you
do then?
I checked out of the hospital as soon as they would let
me and stayed in my apartment for two months. Friends
would bring over food for me, because I d tell them I still
couldn t move around easily. I did my banking and bill pay-
ments online. I mean I literally never left my place that entire
time. I kept most of the lights off and the curtains closed. I
didn t even feel like I could look at myself in the mirror, be-
cause I had no idea who d be looking back at me. Skating had
defined me for so long, I had to find a way to learn to be with-
out skating.
My girlfriend Tina broke up with me during that time,
because I wouldn t even take her calls, and she eventually left
me a message saying we were through. I was relieved at that. I
figured if I didn t know who I was, I certainly couldn t have a
relationship with someone else. I felt like I was sinking deeper
and deeper into this huge abyss, and I didn t mind at all.
And then one day I was watching a talk show on TV about
people who had overcome some really terrible things. They
talked to burn victims and battered wives and quadriplegics who
were living their lives. They weren t the same lives, but they
were living, and they had found happiness and I got really mad
at myself. I felt so sorry for myself, and I had no right to feel that
way. I still had my health and all my faculties. Just because I
couldn t compete anymore, I had stopped living. I realized then
and there how self-involved I was.
So I picked myself up and started to piece a life together
for myself. The first thing I did was sign up at the University
of Toronto for my Masters in physiotherapy. I already had my
Bachelor of Science, which I d earned while I was still skating.
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Heart of a Champion
I needed a new career, and I figured I might be able to help
people who had sustained sports injuries.
Once I received my Degree and Certification, I bought
my way into the Spadina Physiotherapy Clinic with the last of
my savings and started advertising for sports clients in the
newspapers. I had about eight regular customers within a
month, but I needed to supplement my income until I had a
full compliment of clients.
I wracked my brains trying to come up with something
else to do to make money, when I received an e-mail from my
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