AFTER what has felt like weeks, my legs have started to function again.
Well, not fully back to giving me complete freedom of walking, but enough to get me through the day without pain.
As my bike sits in garage gathering dust, I feel the frustration coming back over me.
That’s until I am sat in front of a team of Nike staff in Berlin doing a session on mindset and I pause to reflect on how lucky I am to be sat here sharing my story.
The truth is that possibility could have ended so many times over the last twelve years of fighting this tumour.
So I reminded myself that a bad day alive is better than the alternative.
Now I know that last statement might not sit well with everyone as each of us have our own struggles, but as I sat there with the Nike team, I have recently had some hard reminders.
I have two friends who are currently in comas and one other person I am connected with through sport who has been fighting for his life after being hit by a car in London on the same day I left to the Alps.
All of them are young and with two of them being international athletes it gave me a big hit of perspective about my back and my own challenges over the last few weeks.
Being part of the UK Cycling family these last few weeks has been a roller-coaster of emotions.
From hospital beds to world championship podiums, the sport has transcended that of purely racing into real life stories.
It gives us a reminder that behind every athlete there is a human.
If you read my column weekly you might remember George Peasgood, the incredible dual athlete who medalled in both cycling and triathlon at the Tokyo Paralympics.
George should have been en route to Paris to race for another rainbow jersey when a freak accident happened during training that has resulted in George being put into an induced coma.
He suffered a brain injury because of this training accident and I followes the news as it spread of George’s condition.
Then I saw a post on Instagram from the fiancée of Team GB athlete Ben Gregory which said he had been transferred onto a ward and had managed to move his hand.
Gregory was an incredible athlete, who had competed in three Commonwealth Games as a decathlete and now is a well known trainer across London and in the cross fit community.
Ben had been hit by a car in London when he had to cycle to work due to the train strikes.
He was hit by a car and the crash resulted in the athlete suffering a fractured skull, neck, and haemorrhages to his brain.
According to doctors it was amazing he was alive after the accident.
With the sporting world following Gregory via his fiancée Naomi Heffernan Instagram account, it was a warm welcome to read he is now breathing on his own.
Even though the road ahead is uncertain it is testament to the fast actions of the air ambulance that he is still alive.
I know first-hand of life on a neuro ward, and for those visiting it can be a very emotional place - they see loved ones who only months ago were some of the fittest men in the country yet now they are fighting for their lives.
In many ways for both George and Ben, the fact that they were great athletes will stand them in good stead, but it will also be very difficult for them and close family.
As Michael Johnson said after his stroke, he approached his rehab like he did his training, and I know both athletes will do the same, but I also know it is going to be a very difficult journey for both.
It has been difficult to sit and reflect this week as I felt guilty for feeling frustrated with my back when people I know are fighting from hospital beds.
But I guess it all just reminds us of how important our health is.
No-one should never take it for granted.
