Denaye Giroux Blog: The Year That Was

September 8th will mark one year since my dreaded Achilles Tendon Rupture. This year has gone by so fast it’s hard to believe everything that has happened since that day. The moment I found out my Achilles Tendon was completely torn apart was a day of fear, helplessness, and complete frustration after all of the injuries I had already gone through the previous year; it just seemed like one thing after another was happening. Just when I got through one injury another one happened. I still remember to this day the feeling of waking up after surgery in the recovery room and feeling the intense amount of pain was something I had never experienced before. If I could explain it in some way, it felt like someone was taking a knife and slicing the wound open again and again under the cast, a never ending burning pain that didn’t go away for three weeks. After that it was months and months in a walking cast and 8 months of physio.

I was told that I might not be able to race again, let alone walk normally because of how much they had to shorten the tendon when they sewed it back together. Although I have been able to cruise around on the bike again, I still don’t know what will happen next year. I believe that this is where true colours come out. After having a series of injuries, you can either give up and stop trying or fight until you get what you want. Believe it or not, I never cried once through this whole experience. If anything, it forced me to relax and take some time for myself; I found a few other activities I am interested in and got a chance to spend time with family and friends

It’s about taking things one day at a time, thinking back a year ago when they told me this would be at least a year long recovery, it seemed to be so far away, but days went by quickly when I set goals for myself. Being able to walk normally again is an accomplishment in itself. Now I am slowly getting back into the routine of things I used to be able to do. Rupturing an Achilles Tendon isn’t something we hear much of in the moto world. I would never hope this to happen to anyone in the future. It’s not a fun injury!

On a really high note, I’m looking forward to reuniting with some of my closest friends this weekend; I’m off to Camille and Alex’s wedding in Comox. It’s going to be a great time and I couldn’t be happier for these two to tie the knot.

Denaye