A Long Update
Hi everyone!
Last season was a wild ride from start to finish.
It started off with a Valentine’s Day knee surgery (I’ve always been a romantic) to reconstruct my right patellar tendon – which was over seventy five percent torn. Dr. LaPrade in Vail, Colorado worked true magic and used a cadaver hamstring to craft me a new tendon. It was a very intense, but successful, surgery. What followed wasn’t pretty; for weeks I was sick from the anesthesia and pain meds and couldn’t keep solid food down while I was hobbled around on crutches – I even had a pain pump attached to my stomach. I took solace in watching three seasons of “Chopped” and I do not remember a single episode. These were not my best moments and I am extremely lucky that I had Danny to take care of me (it is not an easy job and he deserves a raise).
Things were looking bleak but they eventually got better, and after a lot of trials and tribulations, I was able to resume training and even return to competition where we placed 3rd at the Golden Spin of Zagreb, 2nd at US Nationals, and 1st at Four Continents in Taipei, Taiwan. While I was so thrilled with our performances and placement at Four Continents, I was even more excited to resume our training and continue pushing forward for Worlds.
We immediately left Taipei and went to Japan where we were to train in preparation for the Olympics (we were attending them as first alternates). I’ve always dreamed of being in Pyeongchang for the Olympics…but being an alternate at the Olympics is kind of like being a bridesmaid where the love of your life is marrying your best friend. At times it was heart breaking and hard. It was inspirational, but it was devastating. I was able to see some of the best skating of my life while fighting the urge to cry because I wasn’t out there competing myself. Overall, the experiences we gained were life changing and will help us throughout our career, and even more importantly, they gave both Danny and I the determination to push forward.
During our training in Korea, we were working harder than ever on improving our dynamic elements and getting rid of our weak points so that we could end our season on a high note at worlds in Milan. Unfortunately, upon returning home, I had a recurrence of pain in my right knee which we soon found out was a stress fracture (something that is often seen after knee surgeries like the one I had to have). This cut our season short as my team and I knew that it wasn’t worth risking my health for one competition.
After that whirlwind, I’m happy to say that I am back on the ice and ready to move forward. Danny and I have both grown from this past year’s experiences, and our friendship has helped us navigate and stick together through all of the tough moments. Looking back, the hard moments, like vomiting in the hotel lobby because I tried to eat a spoonful of oatmeal a few days after knee surgery, really do make the good moments, like standing on the podium at a Four Continents, so much better.
On to the new season, we are thrilled to resume our work with Shae-Lynn Bourne and Shae Zukiwsky on a brand new short program. I’ve never been more excited, nervous, and….pumped up about a piece of music before. (Is now when I make the joke about skating to Phantom of the Opera again?) When Danny and I heard the piece, it immediately made us both smile and I knew it was the one! We hope you will love it as much as we do!
Thank you for reading this blog, for not giving up on us, and for your love and support – it really does mean the world to us.
Sincerely,
Tarah and Danny…and our dog Snow (@snowthedoodle on instagram)
