Chapter 23 Chapter 19 Pain

During the recovery period, Jiang Shan paid a lot. To be fair, Jiang Shan has always paid a lot for me.I am a person with a lot of mood swings. When the situation is out of control, I can't help but lose my temper. Over time, losing my temper with Jiang Shan has become a fixed way for me to vent.Speaking of it, I feel that I am also quite cowardly - I dare not talk too much to outsiders, and if I get angry, I will turn to my husband.If it were someone else, I might not be able to bear it long ago, and only Jiang Shan can endure me regardless of the past.I heard from my friends that this is called "Woli Heng", and many people are like this, which shows that he is "one of his own".That comforted me a little.

When we were both pros, we had a very normal relationship, two people doing their jobs and everyone having their own space.After my comeback, I just wanted to play well.Jiang Shan took the initiative to take on the responsibility of "nanny" and handled many things for me that I was not good at. While teaching me how to adapt to the environment and learn to grow.Sometimes when I get too arrogant, he doesn't say a word. Afterwards, I feel that something is wrong, and I will take the initiative to find him to make up.Our relationship is like relatives, living together for a long time, although the passion has receded, what remains is the kinship of flesh and blood.

From the time we started dating until now, he is the person I rely on the most.When you were young, when you were frightened or hurt, your first reaction was to turn to your parents for help. When you grow up, you must learn to be self-reliant.If you are unfortunately always on the cusp of the storm, you must be mentally prepared to "knock out your front teeth and swallow your blood, and thank you for your concern and support later".I am a simple person, not good at words, not good at communication, and the only little social experience I have is learned after knocking on the threshold of reality countless times.I can't imagine where I would be if I didn't play tennis well.

The only thing to be thankful for is that God gave Jiang Shan to me, and he gave me enough sense of security.When I encounter negative emotions, I have someone I can rely on and someone I can talk to. I think this is the greatest happiness. When I was young, my parents had a very good relationship and I had a very happy family.So I yearn for marriage very much. After I was with Jiang Shan at the age of 18, he was almost the only one in my world.During the two years after he retired, he played mahjong with his friends, and I could sit beside him all night without saying a word, just quietly accompanying him.Many people find it unbelievable: How could Li Na be such a person?How could such a thing be done?But it's true.I am Pisces, AB blood type, many complex and contradictory personalities are concentrated on me.

Jiang Shan said that what he appreciates most about me is that I can face reality squarely and break many boundaries.We Chinese are used to protecting our face and looking for all kinds of excuses.We don't know about other aspects. In terms of sports, we don't do well in many areas, and people will say: This is because our Asians have poor physiques, which cannot be compared with Westerners.I don't think this is the right attitude.Most of the time, the people who say these words don't even know what level of physical fitness their own nation can achieve. Husband and wife get along for a long time, and many characteristics, small habits, and small problems will infect each other.When I get anxious, I bite my nails.He never does.But during the period of taking care of me, he was busy and helped me contact the operation. After the operation, I found that his nails had become bald - I gnawed it myself.Jiang Shan is a deep and serious man, he will not pass the pressure on to others, he will only choose to bear it by himself.

From 2007 to 2008, I was tortured by injuries, and finally waited until the rib injury was almost healed, and the knee problem appeared again. Water in the knees is a common sports injury that has afflicted many well-known athletes.For ordinary people, as long as they actively carry out acupuncture, massage, traditional Chinese medicine, physical therapy and other treatments and avoid overwork, they can obtain curative effect.For me, who competes in various arenas almost every week, sports fatigue will aggravate the injury, and it is not easy to recover. If I want to cure it, I can only use scientific and reasonable plans and precise training without participating in competitions. Only with treatment can we gradually get better.This is obviously impossible.

I knew I had a problem with my knee. In January 2008, when I was playing in Australia, I felt something was wrong with my knee. After the game doctor diagnosed me, my cartilage was worn out and there was water in my knee. They helped me pump out part of the fluid.I asked him: if there is an operation to treat hydrops in the knee, where is the best condition?The doctor told me that Australia is good, but the recovery in Germany is the best in the world. At that time, my schedule was full, there were always games, and I always felt that I could continue, and the knee matter was behind me.Take some anti-swelling medicine every day, and then continue to train and compete, just keep procrastinating. In March, I flew to the US for the world tour in Indian Wells and Miami.In order to understand the physical condition of the athletes, the organizing committee of Indian Wells arranged a full physical examination for everyone.When the doctor checked my knee, I found that I couldn't do some movements at all.

The doctor told me in a stern tone: "You can't play anymore." In order to let me understand the seriousness of the matter, he made an analogy: If you use a number from 0 to 10 to indicate the degree of knee damage, I have reached 7 now. Location.He said that he couldn't understand why some players insisted on playing under such circumstances. As a game doctor, he was obliged to explain the situation to the organizing committee. The American doctor kept his promise, and immediately issued a list to the organizing committee asking me to stop training and competition immediately.At that time, the Chinese team was led by the head coach Jiang Hongwei. I couldn't call the suspension myself, so I asked coach Jiang to discuss countermeasures.Coach Jiang communicated with the doctor once and decided to let me go back to China to recuperate and give up that game.

I was a little grateful to the American doctor, and I also asked him where the surgery was best in the past. His answer was similar to that of the Australian doctor: surgery is similar everywhere, and the United States can also do it, but Germany has the best recovery. Since everyone said that Germany's recovery is doing well, I decided to go to Germany for surgery.Jiang Shan immediately arranged a plane ticket and took me directly from the United States to Germany. We searched for housing, searched for a hospital, and arranged for surgery non-stop. Everything went smoothly. Finally, my doctor told me that the operation could be arranged the next day.My heart just let go.

But at this time, news suddenly came from the national team: the operation must be suspended! The reason for the suspension was: it was only 5 months before the Olympics, and the leaders of the team were worried that I would not be able to recover in time after the operation, which would affect the competition, so they had doubts about my operation.They asked the doctor to write a report, clearly stating the time required for the operation, how long it would take to walk on the ground after the operation, and how long it would take to resume training. The doctor then wrote a long letter listing all these problems and sent it to my leaders.But the domestic side expressed doubts about the content of this letter. They thought that the time given by the doctor was too short, and I could not complete all the treatment and recovery in such a short period of time. Therefore, they asked me not to undergo surgery and return to China immediately.

The matter has come to this point, I have no choice but to say sorry to the doctor, I have to obey the discipline and return home. The doctor said it didn't matter, he could understand my situation, and if he needed him, he could give me help within his ability at any time. I remember that day was March 21, and we bought tickets to return home that night.After returning home, he accepted domestic expert consultation.On the third day, the results came out, and my leaders were all present.The result of the consultation was: conservative treatment was recommended, and surgery would be performed after the Olympics, but the decision was still in my hands. Since it is for me to make up my own mind, I have to ask the situation clearly. I asked the experts: What kind of treatment is conservative treatment?Can I increase the amount of exercise during training? If an athlete cannot increase the amount of exercise during training, then the training will lose its meaning.To my question, the answer given by the expert group was very vague, and no one could come up with an accurate statement.This is equivalent to saying that while "conservative treatment", I get up every morning without knowing what my body will be like today, and I don't know how much energy I can put into training, let alone when I arrive at the start of the Olympic Games. Whether the situation can bear the pressure of the game is still unknown.Whether I can persist until the Olympics under the condition of "conservative treatment", no one can give me an accurate answer. I have always been a person who likes to be straightforward, yes or no.Let me hang there, unable to reach the sky or descend to the ground, it hurts me more than the injury itself. In contrast, the German doctor's operation plan with accurate data seemed much more reliable. Instead of waiting for an unknown result for 5 months with fear, it is better to give yourself a quick decision.I decided to give it a go and make a decision for myself.I told the leader: I have decided to undergo surgery. I booked my plane ticket, got my visa done, and messaged the doctor who was waiting for me. On March 30, I flew back to the hospital in Munich again. At 8 o'clock in the morning on the 31st, the operation began.The operation, which was delayed for 10 days, can finally be carried out. This incident made me somewhat chilled.When I lost my temper and went abroad again, no one stopped me abruptly, and maybe no one dared to take this responsibility.Going abroad for treatment is a choice I made myself.In case the operation in Germany fails, or there is a problem with the recovery, they can push it on me-"We suggest conservative treatment, but Li Na herself is unwilling to accept it." What was even more exasperating was that my grades during the Olympics were not bad. Some people in the meeting at the time expressed their opinion that he encouraged Li Na to have the surgery.Well, how should I say it?If my grades are not good, you will definitely say that "Li Na insisted on going her own way and did the surgery", right? The German doctor who operated on me was named Erick Rembeck (Erick Rembeck). He used to be the team doctor of the Munich 1860 team and the team doctor of the Davis Cup German tennis team.Thomas, our foreign coach, recommended him to me.Eric introduced me to another excellent physical trainer——Johannes Wieber. Both of them are old acquaintances of mine. When I injured my ribs in 2007, they came to Munich for two A week or so of training, at which point we've gotten to know them.Both men had been athletes, Eric had run a marathon when he was young, and Hanas was a handball player.Handball is not very well-known in China, but it is said to be the second most popular sport after football in Germany. I was very impressed with Hanas. He was only 39 years old at the time, and he was a typical German man—tall and straight, with a loud voice, imposing manner, and his whole body exuded a German style. This trip to Munich in 2008 was the most difficult and lonely day in my impression. Jiang Shan was the only one who accompanied me throughout the operation. From arranging hospitalization, to rehabilitation and training, the two of us survived together. The environment of the hospital I live in is very good, simple and beautiful, not like a hospital, but like a nursing home.Doctors and nurses are very kind to patients.Before the operation, the nurse came over and asked me: "Are you ready? We will perform the operation." I said yes.She said: "Then let's go." She pushed my bed and walked towards the operating room, chatting with me while walking. I remember that the operating room was a transparent glass room with good lighting. There was a row of shiny silver needles, scissors and other instruments beside the operating table, which looked very clean, and my mood gradually relaxed.The nurse helped me cover the blanket, and the doctor also came over at this time. He was wearing a white hat and a white coat, with clear eyes and a very kind look.This doctor used to be a bit prejudiced against Chinese people, but during our communication, he said that I changed some of his impressions of Chinese people. He once told me that I was about the same age as his daughter.In fact, he talks to me much like a father talks to his daughter.When the operation started, the doctor came to me and told me: "Now we will give you anesthesia, and you will fall asleep in a while." I nodded. The doctor here is really fun. He will explain everything to you first. This was the first time I had an operation in my life, and I was very curious. After the anesthesia was administered, I always wanted to open my eyes to see what they were busy with.The doctor patted my face and asked me, "Are you nervous?" I whispered, "Don't be nervous." As soon as he finished speaking, his eyelids felt heavy and he soon fell asleep. The operation took about an hour, and when I woke up, it was already noon.The nurse took me back to the ward while I was asleep.I saw my legs propped high above the head of the bed, with a tube protruding from it and a bag for draining blood from the other end.I didn't have a cast on my leg, just an elastic bandage.The anesthesia given before the operation hadn't completely worn off, and I was lying there, still a little dizzy. I was a little scared for the first operation, but fortunately, the doctors and nurses treated me very well.The doctor had surgery all day, but he made a point of visiting me in the ward before he got off work to ask me how I was feeling. The nurse will bring the meals to my room and I can eat by myself.After the anesthesia wears off, the wound hurts a bit, but I think it's bearable.The most frustrating thing was that when I went to the toilet that night, I felt dizzy when I first got up. There was a tube that guides the congestion in my body, which hindered my hands and feet, and it was very difficult to go to the toilet.After walking back from the bathroom with great difficulty, I felt like I was exhausted, and I was covered in cold sweat. On the third day, the doctor came and taught me how to walk with crutches.On this day, the doctor was going to pull out the tube in my leg.He warned me in advance that it would hurt a little bit, but when I actually pulled it out, I broke out in a cold sweat for a moment-it felt like pulling a bone out of your body.After pulling out the tube, I rested for more than two hours before slowly recovering. After the operation, I didn't dare to bend my legs, and even a little bit would be frightening.When the tube was pulled out, the elastic bandage was removed, and the wound was covered with a white cloth, and an ice pack was used to reduce inflammation.I had minimally invasive surgery and it didn't leave any scars afterwards. I was discharged after 5 days in the hospital, still on crutches.Because I haven't trained for a long time, my muscles atrophy very badly. During the hospitalization, the doctor will help me massage twice a day. He is skilled in massage techniques and won't hurt me at all. On the first day after being discharged from the hospital, I started to do rehabilitation training with the physical coach Hanas. I couldn't move my legs temporarily, so I only trained my upper body.One week after the operation, I went back to the hospital to have the stitches removed. After the stitches were removed, I was on crutches for ten days before the doctor allowed me to walk by myself. When I first threw away the crutches, I was still afraid to exert force on my right leg. Every time I tried to shift my weight to my right leg, I felt uncomfortable immediately.The training schedule that Hanas arranged for me was very full, and the classes in the morning and afternoon were full every day.Like a little cripple, I limped to training ground 2 every day and limped back. How can my legs recover?I didn't have a clue in my heart, and this matter weighed heavily on my heart like a boulder. Hanas formulated a complete rehabilitation plan for me based on my physical condition, and we performed rehabilitation exercises in front of the mirror.When I first started training, I found that my legs were extremely uncoordinated.With the training plan arranged by Hanas, I can easily complete the left leg, but I can't do it with the right leg at all.At this time, I feel very uncomfortable - the right side was stronger than the left before the operation, but the right side is much worse than the left after the operation. During the training, Hanas asked me to "squat lower" and "lower" from time to time, but my right half of the body couldn't get lower no matter what. It felt like it wasn't my leg, but something else. human.You've tried desperately to get this plan right, but its condition doesn't allow you to work hard.That feeling is so hopeless.I was very anxious and wanted to do a good job, but my right leg hurt when I tried hard...and at this time, it was only four months before the opening of the Olympic Games on August 8! I could almost hear the seconds hand clicking away on the dial.Hanas told me it's okay, believe in yourself.He also made a lot of plans for me, including going to Wimbledon later.But deep in my heart I have always been a little skeptical, can I really recover?Can I still play?During that time, I often fell into a state of extreme panic, hopelessness, and anxiety.Watching other people playing the game, but I can't even take the beat.I often lose my temper with Jiang Shan: "Why is it that others are so good, but I am injured every year, so I can't play a whole year's game? What's the use of me practicing so hard? It's not because I can't play! " Jiang Shan did not have the same knowledge as me. He was actively discussing my condition with Hanas and the doctor while taking care of me.It is good to stay in Germany, the doctor and Hanas can contact me anytime.For example, I feel a little uncomfortable in my legs today, so I immediately contacted the doctor. The doctor will tell you what the problem is, and then call Hanas right away to tell you what plan can be done and what plan can’t be done, which is very important for recovery. At that time, I had no idea that I would have the results I have today. I couldn’t move my legs. I felt like I had fallen into an abyss. I just felt that there was darkness ahead. What can a lame retired tennis player do?The path of surgery is my own choice. Even the best doctor has a few percent error rate. Am I really choosing the right path?Or should I opt for conservative treatment, as others have suggested, and leave it to fate?This is the first big gamble in my life, and I am anxiously waiting for the result. Fortunately, with the passage of time, my legs gradually showed a tendency to get better, and I was able to complete the targets set by Hanas gradually.Since my visa in Germany is only for three months, I have to leave Germany before June 30th.I am not very sure about myself, I feel that I have not recovered to a 100% healthy state, but the doctor said, I can go to play, let me believe in myself, play and try. So I went to Wimbledon in 2008 and even beat my opponent in the first round.Although I lost the second game to a very young girl, this precious victory is a solid proof that "the competitive state is recovering".I was so excited that I almost cried.After losing the game, Jiang Shan and I packed our bags and happily went back to China to prepare for the Olympics.