I am in Lake Tahoe with my husband right now. We are here for a week. Since we arrived, we have spent most of the time sitting by the fire and relaxing. Well, I have been relaxing while my husband has been working. We came up here to have a change of scenery and to ski. Skiing represents health and hope for me. For the first 6 years of my illness, I could not even imagine skiing. Just thinking about putting on all of the gear was exhausting. That would have been all that I could have done during those years. In 2003, as my health improved, I skied in Zermatt, Switzerland. The act of skiing for a few days in a row was affirmation that I was claiming my life back. It thrilled me to be doing something athletic and fun again. Skiing feels like the opposite of sitting on the couch to me. Unfortunately, I relapsed in 2004 and I have not skied since until TODAY!!! We skied at Alpine Meadows in North Lake Tahoe. At first, I was so out of breath that I had to stop often. I had to stop about four times down each run to catch my breath and to let my leg muscles recover. I didn't care though. I just couldn't believe that I was on the slopes again. At one point, I just had to sit down on the slope and rest. By the end of the day, I completed 10 runs. I am exhausted and extremely out of shape but I did it. I skied! Now, I can barely move my legs so I can only imagine what I will feel like tomorrow. I know that I will spend tomorrow feeling crummy and resting on the couch but the success I had today will be worth giving up tomorrow for.
