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“I got bad news for ya kid. . . “
June 19th, 2015 by cjcinto
So lets get up to speed on how I got here.
In short, I am a 37 year old full time firefighter/paramedic. I like to think of myself as a fit individual. I have ran the Chicago Marathon for 6 years in a row and participate in CrossFit two to three times a week.
Unfortunately, the ATR monster does not care how fit you are or how much you exercise. He just lies in wait. Patiently waiting for you to make the one wrong step or an awkward hop. Mine came in the form of running a Tough Mudder. One of those 10 mile sloppy mud runs littered with insane obstacles. A dozen or so close to middle age ex college athletes trying to capture glory one more time on a rainy and cold May morning.
Up until it happened I felt great. I had been actually training for the marathon this year and was halfway through my program. We were almost to the finish line when it happened, three lousy obstacles to complete. And not a mile before that I did it! Cursed myself. Talking with a group member I was running with and saying “I feel really good right now, I don’t think Ill be sore or anything tomorrow!”
Things change quickly.
We came up to a giant vert ramp. One of those monstrosities you see bikers and skaters drop into to do aerial tricks. Object was to run up the ramp and jump up to catch the hand of a waiting participant to help pull you up. I saw many fail on there first attempt and puffed my chest that I was going to getup on the first try. Here I go. Full speed. Jump. “POP!”
Hanging there by a grasped hand, I knew what had just happened. What struck me odd was how there was no pain. I slowly climbed down the other side and assessed the damage. I could still bear full weight. I could walk fairly well, aside from having no strength pushing off my toe. I walked in the last quarter mile and crossed the finish line. ”Maybe not too bad after all“, I thought. Went to the medical tent, even the doctor there though there was no way it was an achilles injury based on my mobility and lack of pain.
Things did not improve during the night. I was even supposed to be on duty the next day at the firehouse. Not happening. Took a sick day and eventually carted myself to the immediate care down the street. With the swelling present, even they wouldn’t diagnose it with confidence. Orders were to wait three days to let swelling subside and follow up with an orthopedic doctor.
Day three comes. I had a nauseous feeling like I wanted to puke. I knew in my gut something wasn’t right. I was in his office all of ten minutes before I got the bombshell. ”Well I got bad news for ya, you ruptured your tendon” After that it was a blur. I felt like I had just been hit by a truck. I starred at the linoleum thinking “How did the happen? Why me? What am I going to do now? No more marathon this year!”
We talked about options. Surgery was the only one that really stood out. Just a cast and therapy alone would leave no where close to where I was. For my career and for as active as I was, surgery was the way to go. I wouldn’t be happy with the results if I treated it conservatively, the doc said. And like that, my repair surgery was scheduled. On the bright side, he got me in the very next day. None of the stressful waiting. In. Done. Moving on.
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5 Responses to ' “I got bad news for ya kid. . . “ '
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ATR Timeline
- Name: cjcinto
Location: Oswego
Injured during: Running
Which Leg: L
Status: FWB
555 wks 6 days Post-ATR
555 wks 1 day
Since start of treatment
Back to Duty
- cjcinto has completed the grueling 26.2 ATR miles to full recovery!
Goal: 152 days from the surgery date.
Click here for the Group Marathon Tracker
on June 19th, 2015 at 12:50 pm
Good morning,
Congratulations on having my dream job as a firefighter. I tried to get into the academy here in California but there was one problem; I’m afraid of heights. I tried to overcome it, but just couldn’t. Anyways, I am currently at 18 weeks post ATR and I went the non surgical approach and I must say so far it has been a smooth transition relatively speaking. I can already run a bit and my ROM is where it was pre injury. I can do calf raises and I believe I am on the right track to where I need to be. Look up Brady browne on youtube. He is a football player who went non surgical route and at 7 months, he was doing drills full speed. I am not trying to sway your decision one way or the other, but I think there have been great success stories with going non surgical. Sending prayers your way and good luck on this journey. It will be a tough first couple of weeks, but then things start speeding up.
on June 19th, 2015 at 12:51 pm
just noticed you are already at 5 weeks post ATR, so disregard my commentary lol
on June 20th, 2015 at 8:40 am
I am curious about the inability of the Doc at the race or the urgent care facility to diagnose this. Did either of them do the Thompson Test? That is the first thing they did to me in the ER and they immediately diagnosed it based on the results. Good luck on your recovery, looks like you are about a week ahead of me.
on March 16th, 2023 at 6:13 pm
Stuck around a whileBest Lead generation company
to recommend non-op treatment, then he uploaded a bunch of nice new ski video.
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