“With every broken bone, I swear I lived” (One Republic)

Just over a year ago, I joined my amazing group of friends in the Polar Rush! This is one of those outdoor obstacle courses, similar to Tough Mudder, Spartan Race, etc. but it is in the snow! It involved a 5km trek along ski hill terrain in a fresh foot of snow with wall climbs, crazy carpeting, rope climbs, snow crawling etc. I went in with an attitude of ‘I’ll do what I can’ and while I attempted it all, there were a couple of rope climbing activities that my left arm/shoulder could not support.

It was cold, hard, and fun!

One of the obstacles involved climbing over a 4-foot wall. Seemed easy enough but when I hoisted myself up, my left arm gave out and I came down on my ribs pretty hard. I heard/felt a snapping sound but caught my breath and managed to get myself up and over. I had some pain, but not enough to have to stop. I continued on and had a great day with lots of laughs followed by some lunch, beverages, and hot-tubbing.

By the time I got home, I was spent.

The next day brought me some fairly sore ribs and it was difficult to breathe. After 4 or 5 more days I saw my doctor. She sent me for X-rays which showed I had actually fractured 4 ribs!! What??

Her next course of action was to send me for a bone density scan to check for Osteoporosis. My low T-score (T-scores compare a person’s bone mineral density to average values for healthy young women) confirmed her suspicions. “Osteoporosis and osteopenia are very common findings in patients with Parkinson’s disease, affecting up to 91% of women and 61% of men.” Osteoporosis and PD

This diagnosis hit me much harder than being told I had PD. It brought forth two unwelcome thoughts;

1. I am old.

2. I am fragile.

But in the last year, I have learned that just like people can get Early Onset PD, people can also get Early Onset Osteoporosis. (I always hated being late to the party!). So I’m not ‘old.’

And I learned that exercise is very important in the treatment of Osteoporosis. So although I certainly want to avoid breaking bones, I am not so fragile that I have to stop moving. Too Fit to Fracture (Osteoporosis Canada)

And instead of regretting my Polar Rush experience, I am thankful for the day with my terrific friends and to the wall which brought my bones some much-needed attention!