Trocheck's Blog: On the Road to Recovery

I feel a lot better than I expected to after the injury.
When I first went down, I think I was reacting more out of fear than pain. I was worried about a lot of things. I was worried about whether or not what just happened was going to cost me the season or, possibly, my career. I wasn't really sure of the significance of it all right away.

I was in surgery less than 24 hours after it happened, but considering the circumstances, I guess you could say that everything ended up being the best-case scenario. Despite the way the injury looked, there was minimal damage, which has set me up for a fairly quick recovery.
It obviously wasn't ideal, but the injury is a lot like the one I suffered back in 2015-16, when I missed the final six games of the regular season and then the first four games of the playoffs. Honestly, the break is like millimeters away from where it was the last time, so it's basically the same recovery that I had to go through back then, only maybe a little different because I had surgery this time.
In that first 24 hours, the support I received from our fans, from friends from back home and from people from all around the league really helped bring some positivity to the situation. I've gotten hundreds of texts and tweets. I've even heard from players that don't know me, but I'm extremely grateful for the fact they reached out. Nobody wants to see anybody get hurt like that in such a gruesome way. I took the time to like as many tweets as I could to say thanks.
Since undergoing surgery, I've continued to get better, and now I feel like I could be there on the ice right now if this stupid cast wasn't on. Right now, it's just a matter of the docs doing their job and letting me know when I'm ready to step back in and, hopefully, try to take over a game.
Like I said, I've been through something like this before, so I'm aware of what I have to do. I'm aware of what it's going to feel like when I start to get back to skating and walking. I know what to expect when I get out of this cast. I have that knowledge already. I've gotten all the feedback from the docs and I'm on the road to recovery, ready for everything.
I can't worry too much now. We all know what happened, but it's time to focus on getting better, doing my rehab and making sure that I'm staying in shape for the time being. I don't know if you can call it a silver lining, but I've also been taking this time away to watch our games from the outside looking in, working to understand a bit about what's going on with our team.
I think gaining that perspective will help once I get back to work.
As you can imagine, it's tough right now watching games and not being able to get out there and help the guys. I'm just trying to make sure that I stay around the room as much as possible, still trying to be a vocal leader as much as I can while I can't play. In my situation, when it comes to speaking up, you just have to be able to feel the room and judge the situations.
There are going to be times when I know I'm going to need to let the guys be with the guys that are playing and do their thing, but there are also times when I feel that I can step in, show my face and bring in some of those positive vibes.
I want them all to know that everything's going to be good. I'm going to be fine and I'm going to be back soon, ready to make a long run with them. I know that we are capable of a lot, so I want to relay that message as much as possible. Hopefully we can continue to play the right way and make sure we're not losing our good habits as we look to get back on the winning track here.
Whenever I get back, hopefully I can help the team.
I don't want the guys to worry too much about me. I mean, I'm not playing right now. It's the team that's going on the ice these next few weeks without me that's our team right now. They have to just worry about going out there and doing their thing. If in the back of their minds they have me coming back as a positive outlook, then hopefully that will help get them going.
Thanks for the support,
Troch