I never thought at the age of 57 I would appear in the sports section of my local newspaper. But there I was with my Tough Mudder buddies. And I was on the same page as my nephew who plays ice hockey for the London Raiders. First I thought it was a coincidence but it was actually by design. My nephew works for the paper. So thank you Jacob for wanting to be on the same page as me. My own children would have wanted to have been separated by the TV guide and the personal ads.

I was actually named in the article.Denise Linay also impressed, I should have been proud. Well of course I was. I have achieved a lot in the last year. From a bed in ITU to crawling through mud under barbed wire. But I also felt uneasy. I don’t want to be seen in that way anymore. It is in the past. I just want to be ‘a 57 year old woman’ not ‘a 57 year old woman who had open heart surgery’. It is time to move on. Of course I can’t forget it. The medication I need to take doesn’t let me. But I can stop being defined by it.

So I started the new week with a different mind set. And it felt good. I ‘blasted’ (well maybe that is a exaggeration) my personal training session. I felt strong. I am not recovering anymore. I am just training.

 However, the next morning found me back to the anticoagulant clinic for a routine blood test. As I walked along the corridor I felt a little emotional. Just the smell of the hospital reminds me of becoming that patient who was wheeled round on a bed. So I know the odd wobble is inevitable but onwards and upwards.