The Camino Reimagined: How a Hip Injury Led to a New Perspective on Adventure

The Camino Reimagined: How a Hip Injury Led to a New Perspective on Adventure

by a.d. elliott | Take the Back Roads – Art & Other Odd Adventures

Dear Henry,

After a few months of medical rigamarole, I've gotten the results from my hip injury. It isn't great news. I've torn my left hip labrum twice and compromised the structure of the labrum between the two tears. The surgical fix would require that I have the labrum completely reconstructed, using a tendon harvested from somewhere else in my body (as if I have extras). This surgery could not be done locally in Roanoke; I would need to go to DC, Charlotte, or Pittsburgh. Any surgery would, given all of my previous orthopedic nonsense, be risky, and most importantly, reconstructing my labrum would not reduce the (already manageable) pain in the hip, nor improve my (already excellent) leg function; in fact, this surgery would probably make everything much worse. So medicine isn't a fix, at least not a good one.

"The best way out is always through."

- Robert Frost

I decided to pass on any surgical intervention and stick with physical therapy. I've also given up my dream of walking the Camino de Santiago, which has left me a little disappointed. All of these things are, of course, first-world problems.

In fact, my entire life is a first-world problem.

You see, Henry, if I had been anywhere outside of a large city in a well-developed economy,  I probably would not have survived "the accident."  Because it was a police officer who first rendered aid, and because I was less than ten minutes away from a Level One trauma center, I lived. Because I had American doctors, ones who ultimately had to follow the will of their patient, rather than a state-mandated set of rules, I still have my left leg. Because this was an on-the-job injury, I was able to receive intensive physical therapy, which enables me, for the most part, to look and act "healthy." These same resources also saved both the life of my youngest son and me during that last dramatic pregnancy.

"We can complain because rosebuses have thorns, or rejoice because thorns have roses."

- Alphonse Karr

Even now, I have a home, land, a bed, plenty of food, clean water, access to top-tier medical care, access to a fitness facility (with a full-sized pool!) for physical therapy, and a husband who earns enough that I don't have to hold down a real job while I constantly work on myself, my photography, and my neverending book list. I still have the opportunity and freedom to travel and explore. I still have the opportunity and freedom to volunteer. I'm still doing better than about 90% of the world. I have nothing to complain about, even if I don't get to walk the Camino. I've been blessed immensely.

And about the Camino....

"If the only prayer you said was thank you, that would be enough."

- Meister Eckhart

Fish, master of finding solutions to everything, dug into the Camino requirements and then asked why I wanted to do it. While the correct answer is for Jesus, that is not why I wanted to go (and perhaps why that quest ultimately failed). I wanted to walk the Camino to gather the stories of the towns, churches, and people who live along the way, and I also wanted to attend Mass at the Cathedral of Santiago. Fish asked if I would consider driving it and foregoing the certificate, and I realized that the certificate was not that important to me. I wanted the journey to be the story, and a road-trip Camino is a great one.

I suppose it's really time to work on my Spanish!

xoxo a.d. elliott

P.S. Check out my YouTube Video here: https://youtu.be/C8MAoBQ4o2I

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a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller living in Salem, Virginia. 

In addition to her travel writings at www.takethebackroads.com, you can also read her book reviews at www.riteoffancy.com and US military biographies at www.everydaypatriot.com

Her online photography gallery can be found at shop.takethebackroads.com

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