Allison's Recovery

[sk8er]

Alllison Baver has posted comments on her website about her recovery rehab in Colorado Springs. She is unquestionably the grittest toughest competitor I've ever known. Maybe there's more with the guys and being all manly like they don't talk about things. E.G. Jordan Malone's many injuries and come backs. Still I give Allison huge kudos for her openness (we're all girls here, right?) and hard work. SusanG

[Mars]

Gonna come right out and say it.... Allison amazes me. Uber-kudos, and hope her recovery continues to go well

[sk8er]

News from the locker room: one of our skaters talked with Allison today just before our session. She's back on the ice, but painfully. She's moving to SLC in 2 weeks and said she definitely plans to be at Olympic Trials! ;D Bruce is making Apolo a new pair of boots.

[Lori]

A most welcome Google alert this morning!

www.miningjournal.net/page/content.detail/id/529207.html

Speedskater Baver Makes Incredible Return
By CURT KEMP Journal Sports Writer
June 24, 2009

Photo by Julia Woehrer

Short track speedskater Allison Baver pedals on a stationary bicycle while watching teammates practice on Monday at the Berry Events Center. Baver is beating the odds, recovering from a leg injury incurred during the ISU World Cup earlier this year.

MARQUETTE - When United States Speedskating Team member Allison Baver took to the ice this week during training camp in Marquette, the scene was awe-inspiring.

Not because the 28-year-old former-USOEC member's looks have garnered her a contract with Wilhelmina Models, one of the largest and most successful modeling agencies in the world.

And not because of the speed at which Baver flies around the Berry Events Center ice.

What's impressive about Baver skating is she's doing it against all odds. Again.

After colliding with teammate Katherine Reutter on Feb. 8 in Sofia, Bulgaria, during the ISU World Cup, the 2002 and 2006 Olympian sustained a spiral fracture in her right leg. She split her tibia and the shattered bone traveled to her ankle, causing more damage.

On the flight back to the U.S. after her injury, Baver said she didn't know what to expect.

"When I first came back to the U.S. from Bulgaria, I had to fly back with it broken and I hadn't had a physician in the U.S. look at it yet," Baver said. "At this point, you're waiting for your fate."

One doctor told her she could have a rod inserted into the tibia to stabilize the bone, but because of the severity of the fracture - the doctor compared the break to getting run over by a garbage truck - her 2010 Winter Olympic hopes would likely be dashed.

"He's like, 'yeah, you'll probably skate in three to five years.' He said. " 'You'll never be able to walk down the stairs or on uneven surfaces, but you'll be OK,'" Baver said. "And I was like, 'my Olympic trials are in I'm counting the months on my hands. I'm like, 'this is crazy.'"

Baver soon found out that inserting a rod was the recommended surgery by most doctors. Then the Pennsylvania native visited Dr. Wen Chao, who recommended a different approach.

"Because I'm an Olympic skater, she (Dr. Chao) said she had to make the bone perfect, or else I'd never be able to skate again," Baver said. "So she ended up cutting my leg and inserting a plate, the smallest possible plate, so that it wouldn't go into the boot."

For the surgery, Dr. Chao performed one long incision along her shin, which has left a noticeable scar on the part-time model's leg.

"It's not great for the skirt and heels idea," Baver said. "But I had no option."

To be sure her Olympic hopes would still be alive after the surgery, Baver's pink speedskating boots accompanied her into the operating room for her Feb. 19 surgery.

"We took a little bit of a risk in it healing to make sure it didn't affect my boot," she said. "But so far, it's healed perfectly."

After the surgery, Baver began the long road to recovery, which started off with two and a half months of the leg bearing no weight at all, a difficult task for an Olympic athlete accustomed to pushing herself with the Vancouver Games coming up.

"I had to just follow the doctor's orders," Baver said, "with time ticking, and me looking at my watch saying, 'is this possible?'"

Baver's U.S. Speedskating teammates tried to keep her spirits up the best they could; they sent cards, their parents sent cards, they sent her gifts from overseas and Apolo Anton Ohno had a chocolate cake made in Vienna especially for her, begging the question of whether or not Olympic athletes can eat chocolate cake.

"Well, I wasn't training then," Baver said. "And it was a specialty cake, you know?"

When she was able to begin rehab, Baver traveled to Colorado Springs to take part in six-hour rehab sessions with her trainer from the 2006 Olympic games.

"Our ankles and our knee and our hips are at a really extreme position. You need a lot of balance," Baver said. "So just the typical rehab kind of wasn't enough."

And after the long road back, Baver's training with the team again, and happy to be on the ice with her teammates.

"Of course there's a little bit of discouragement when my teammates are just sprinting, going as hard as they can doing exercises, and I'm just trying to balance, doing the basic stuff," Baver said. "But, I'm like, 'you know what? I am just so happy that I can even skate today. I really need to not get discouraged by this and just keep moving forward.'"

But, the whole comeback story is old news for Baver.

Earlier in her career, a fall during the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino left her with a career-threatening bone bruise. Baver came back from that injury to become the 2007 U.S. short-track champion.

And her teammates certainly aren't counting her out to make the comeback again, this time for the 2010 Games. In fact, Ryan Bedford and Ohno are daring anyone to bet against her.

"She's going to do it," Bedford said. "If one person's going to do it, it's her."

[aaosmts19]

What a trooper she is! Amazing guts. It will be great to cheer her on during the Trials. She's also posted a new blog on her webite:
allisonbaver.com/journal.cfm

[sk8er]

Thank you Lori! Amazing, just amazing. Apolo and Allison have the most incredible focus, determination and fierce will to succeed of anyone I've ever read about. I'm sure that must be true of other skaters, but I know more about them and they've been around longer. Go Allison! (You can hear her Dad all the way down the street when he yells that...)

[mtnme]

Thanks aaosmts19 for the heads up on Allisons' site. I often forget to check it for updates.


Articles like this put Allison right up there with Dara Torres in my pantheon of female heros, although for different reasons.
(Hey, I'm over 40. Dara teaches women to ignore the naysayers - You CAN be great at any age if you put your mind to it. Allison is a study in gutsy 'putting your mind to it'.)

_______________________________________________________________________________________


From Peri Kinder, US Speedskating.

June 29, 2009--Salt Lake City, UT. As soon as two-time Olympic short track speedskater Allison Baver hit the boards during a world cup event in Sofia, Bulgaria on February 7, 2009, she knew something was seriously wrong. She was right. Hitting the pads at a bad angle created a pilon spiral fracture in her right leg, taking her out of the race, out for the season and worst case scenario—out for the Olympics.

But Baver wasn't about to give in to a pity party or question her ability to return to peak performance in time for the U.S. Short Track Championships/ Olympic Trials in Marquette, MI in September, 2009. With exactly one year before the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, she flew back to the U.S. and had surgery performed by Dr. Wen Chao of Pennsylvania Hospital.

"(Dr. Chao) is a perfectionist, " Baver says. "I knew we'd have to get it absolutely perfect to skate again."

Following surgery, Baver spent a few weeks recuperating at home in Sinking Spring, PA, before heading to the United States Olympic Committee's medical training facility in Colorado Springs, CO, to start the rehabilitation process. For five to six hours every day, Baver worked with USOC medical personnel bending, stretching, increasing flexibility and developing strength in her leg and ankle. The excruciating physical therapy sessions worked to increase her very limited range of mobility.

"The time frame was our biggest concern," said Chris Schroer, USOC athletic trainer. "We knew eventually Allison would get better and get back to skating again. If there was a way she could do more, she would do it."

The USOC medical personnel also implemented the Exogen bone stimulator, which has been reported to increase healing in the tibia by more than 30 percent. This ultrasound device was applied directly to the leg at the fracture site, emitting a low-intensity pulse to stimulate genes and growth factors to allow the bone to heal.

Although progress was measured incrementally, Baver was inspired by a song sent to her by speedskater Kelly Gunther. Miley Cyrus's "The Climb" motivated Baver to keep working hard, even when times were tough.

"I listened to it and started crying," Baver says. "I have a lot of mountains ahead of me and I just climbed a big one with my surgery and learning to walk again."

On May 23, just a few months after her injury, Baver was back on the ice for the first time. The Sertich Ice Center in Colorado donated ice time for her to skate every other day and just a few weeks later, on June 15, she was back in Salt Lake City, UT training in the National Short Track Training Program.

"I didn't know what to expect coming back to training at that level. It was excruciating, " she says, "I really want to come back. I've dedicated almost my entire life to skating and I've worked really hard to be able to compete and skate. I'm so close. I can't give up now."

As each day passes, Baver gets noticeably stronger and more confident with her skating abilities. She is grateful for the support shown to her by speedskating fans and clubs, teammates, family and friends, and is ready to take on the challenge of the Olympic trials in September.

"I just keep believing that it's possible," Baver says. "At times when I have to keep pushing forward, I can't focus on the pain. I have to focus on my goals. My goal is to come back stronger than I've ever been."

[Lori]

Great report!

If you can believe this: When I first heard 'The Climb', I thought of Allison.

I have a playlist of songs that I'll be using over the coming months for the Featured Skaters on Rocker U - my intent was to use them randomly, with one exception: I was holding 'The Climb' specifically for Allison. I was afraid it might be too 'cliche', but after reading this, I'll stick to the original game plan!

[stfan]

Thank you Lori and Mtnme for those articles. What a remarkable young lady Alllison is. I surely hope and pray that she'll do well at the trials.

[aaosmts19]

She is getting some great press lately!

www.uppermichiganssource.com/news/story.aspx?id=319227

Allison Baver breathes, eats, sleeps short-track speedskating.

By Emily Pace
Tuesday, June 30, 2009 at 2:20 p.m.


MARQUETTE -- It's a unique sport: athletes gliding around a rink at 35mph, just inches from each other, wearing razor-sharp blades.

Sounds dangerous? It is. But, that doesn't stop short-track speedskater Allison Baver from getting on the ice nearly 365 days a year.

Her day may start out like anyone else, up at 6:00 a.m., followed by breakfast at 6:30 a.m.

But for this U.S. Speedskating Team member, Baver's daily routine is far from ordinary. 12 hours a day, six days a week, Baver is training.

Last week, she was in Marquette for the National Speedskating Camp.

"I think to compete at this level, it takes a different level of focus," said Baver.

Baver is hoping to make a comeback at the 2010 winter Olympics.

In February, she suffered what physicians said was a career ending injury, after she collided with one of her teammates during the ISU World Cup.

"It was beyond devastating for me to hear that I may never be able to skate again," says Baver. "I didn't know what to think, I didn't know what to do."

However, there was only one thing for Baver to do, train.

Her training regimen has changed, now she spends less time on the ice and more in physical therapy; but her schedule remains extremely rigorous.

Her day consists of an hour long warm-up, then physical therapy, followed by a few hours at the rink, and heart-pumping cardio. After that, it's time to recover with stretching and massage, and that's all done before lunch.

"At this point, it's part of what I do," said Baver.

Baver's day basically repeats itself in the afternoon, coupled with various skate-specific training exercises.

"They push their body to such a high intensity and push the limits that they definitely are always tired," said Laurent Daigmault, the USA Short-Track Speedskating Coordinator.

Baver has had to sacrifice a lot for the sport, especially on a personal level.

"For the most part, I try to talk to my mom, my sister, my brother, and my dad like everyday," says Baver, "because without them as my support system, I wouldn't be be able to do it."

Despite its few drawbacks, Baver is committed, and says there's no place she rather be than on the ice.

[aaosmts19]

Allison on local TV tonight...maybe the video will be on the TV's website:

www.uppermichiganssource.com/news/story.aspx?id=319180
When we see Olympic athletes, it's usually in the sports arena, like speed skaters on the ice. But on your TV6 News Tonight, you'll get a behind the scenes look at a day in the life of Allison Baver. TV6’s Emily Pace shows us the intensity Allison has an Olympic short-track speed skater and her drive to compete in the Vancouver Games next year. Her story UP Close tonight.

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It looks like TV6 has a video replay of the early news under the Video tab on this site.

[sk8on]

Jun 30, 2009 15:34:42 GMT -5 aaosmts19 said:

Allison on local TV tonight...maybe the video will be on the TV's website:

www.uppermichiganssource.com/news/story.aspx?id=319180
When we see Olympic athletes, it's usually in the sports arena, like speed skaters on the ice. But on your TV6 News Tonight, you'll get a behind the scenes look at a day in the life of Allison Baver. TV6’s Emily Pace shows us the intensity Allison has an Olympic short-track speed skater and her drive to compete in the Vancouver Games next year. Her story UP Close tonight.

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It looks like TV6 has a video replay of the early news under the Video tab on this site.

aaosmts19, thanks for the heads up. The video is now online. A nice report on Allison, and a look at some of her training.

www.uppermichiganssource.com/news/video.aspx?id=319227

[aaosmts19]

I'm thinkin' those pink bands are hers and not her coach's!

[sk8er]

New post from Allison on her trip to Marquette with the National Team From her official website:

07.01.2009 - Back training with the national team: Yeah baby!
I'm in Marquette, Michigan training with the national team. At the beginning of the week my ankle was so painful I couldn't walk!

However, everyday seems to get better and better. I did everything possible to minimize the swelling from traveling, and athletic trainer Sarah Newman helped me gain enough mobility to skate.

It's been awesome having fun with the team here. The Olympic Trials will be here, so I got to do some fun team media stuff. Then we all went to a team dinner.

I've been skating the core of the workout with the team, but still have a lot to work on and have been doing rehab every single day.

I focused on rehab with Brent Hamula --- the team's athletic trainer for 2002 who lives in the Boston area. He will be working with the team again. We worked on specific glute strength today after skating, for about two hours.

I have introduced running into my training, a few times per week. I got to run on the beach, which was awesome!

I'm going to be hanging out with a friend locally. I am also checking out where I am going to live during the Olympic Trials.

I splurged a bit this week and had two ice cream sundaes (with malt) and chocolate malt...my favorites! Yeah baby!

Happy Independence Day,

[sk8er]

07.30.2009 - Character Building Countdown to Olympic Trials

The Olympic Trials are coming up soon... but hey, who's counting anyway!

I've been doing a lot of training on the ice by myself. It builds character. I’m working hard to get my conditioning back, with the goal being able to balance on my right leg in the skate position.

It's been tough, and I have been doing some crazy hard training. I’ve been running on the track (yeah, that hurts my leg) as well as skating, and many other things.

I've been putting in a lot of hard work, and yesterday surprised myself during my on ice workout, superseding my goal! I wanted to just get off the ice and be like OK that's good! But, I did 3 more sets. Ha ha!

The rest of my day consisted of:

* Lunch
* Another workout
* Rehab
* Skating jumps followed by an ice bath
* Finished the night by hitting up one of my favorite spots for a relaxing dinner with a friend

The next day, it’s all about ice training in the morning, an interview at noon, a doctor's appointment and weight training!

Till next time! Allison