I Tore my Achilles in Front of Half of my Company
Even though I was still sore, I was determined to play in our championship softball game. It was our company team and the first year we organized to play together. I was one of the only players from our company’s engineering division, so I really wanted to represent for them. I wanted our company to win and knew I could help them do that with my speed.
I helped a little with organization and offered opinions on lineups and such, but I am not a big softball guy at all. I really only play when my friends are short players and give me a call in desperation. My wife played NCAA softball on a scholarship so my interest in softball and playing with this coed team was a combination of having fun with coworkers and playing along side my wife. I’m fairly new at this company and was excited to show off my wife’s amazing softball skills and my speed. Thirty or so other employees came to watch.
I warmed up like I normally do–jogging and stretching. I picked up my speed a little, but my achilles were still sore so I slowed back down to a jog and did more stretching. I went back to the dugout before the game and asked a coworker for 800mg of ibuprofen.
My wife hit a single and I follow with a double that I turned into a triple. She scored and our team was up five runs by the end of the first inning (softball is pretty high scoring in a D+ level league). The employees who came to watch were drinking, cheering and having a good time. I was up again in the third inning. My wife had hit a triple and was standing on third base when I hit a deep single to left field and ran hard to first base. I rounded first and saw the left fielder playing casually so I decided to turn it up and push for a double.
CRACK!
I felt a huge pop in my left foot. I looked back behind me. I thought, ‘Did the first baseman just kick my boot?’ He was standing five yards away and had his mouth wide open. I glanced over to our team’s first base coach and he had his mouth open too. I took another step and realized immediately that my achilles tore.
I’ve always wondered what it sounded like when someone says ‘they heard a pop’ when describing an injury. I hear that all the time. I wasn’t sure if it was a pop that you feel or if you can really hear it. Was it loud or quiet? How do I know when it happens to me? Let me tell you, when it happens you know. There is no doubt that you’ll know when you hear a muscle or tendon pop. It was so loud that all the players around me heard. Even a few people in our dugout on the other side of the diamond heard the noise. It was jarring, but didn’t hurt at all.
I started hopping until my momentum slowed down. The 2nd baseman walked over and gently tagged me out. I stood there and looked over to my wife, who just scored, and smiled. We both knew what had just happened. She returned a sad smile and a long blink. The first base coach asked if I was OK and if I had kicked myself. “No,” I replied, “I just tore my achilles.”
The umpire and my wife helped me hobble from second base to the dugout. The crowd was silent. I tossed my keys to a coworker and asked him if he’d drop off my car at work and asked my wife to go get her car.
We needed to go to the emergency room, meanwhile our team won the championship.
4:47 pm - 10-31-2013
Great read and post. Unfortunately you tore your Achilles, but I love the story - as sad as it is. Did you have the surgery yet or are you going non op?
Good luck and keep us posted.
Ron
5:34 pm - 10-31-2013
Hey Ron. Yeah man, it is quite a story. I was pretty embarrassed but at least our team won! I opted for surgery and just posted a blog about it HERE.
1:21 am - 11-1-2013
Got it. I weighed the two as well, but with blood clots and the fact that I waited too long, I had to go OP.
Sounds as if you got right on it and should make a quick recovery. However, keep in mind that Kobe is at 7 months, has not been cleared to jump and will not probably be back until January.
With that said, I understand that he is a Professional Athlete, but I’m sure you are pretty good, too - so, move patiently forward.
Keep us posted.
Good luck
Ron
However, Kobe it at 7 months and has still not been given the OK to jump or sprint (just jog). It takes 6-12 months, but I suspect you will get it down ASAP. Kobe is expected back by December or January, but he is a Pro Athlete, unlike us.
1:30 am - 11-1-2013
Please delete the bottom, extra lines…However….
I am on a flight to Hawaii right now and on my laptop.
Ron
2:05 am - 11-1-2013
Thanks for the correction on Kobe’s progress, Ron. I corrected his timetable in the post.
The surgeon that operated on me told me that a majority of the achilles tears he gets (about 1-2 a week) are from people playing basketball. It’s so much pressure on your achilles to jump–I can understand why it takes longer for an NBA player to return from that injury compared to a NFL player. Also, Kobe is 5 years older than Suggs (31) and 10 years older than Crabtree (26).
3:17 pm - 11-1-2013
Alan, I’m convinced that jumping isn’t the main culprit, even in basketball (and volleyball, the sport that claimed both of my ATs). I think it’s any kind of explosive acceleration, and MOST frequently a sharp forward acceleration while you’re still back-pedaling. Yes, runners sometimes get ATRs, but the highest-risk activities are those where you get faked out and run “broken field”, with or without vertical jumps. In the UK, badminton is the cause of a % of ATRs that probably shocks any jock who’s never played competitive badminton. Sports with near-perfect traction are also the “best” for ATRs — soccer with cleats, and all the court sports we play on shiny floors wearing shoes that squeak and stick. Think about it like an engineer who was TRYING to tear an AT. . .
My fave anecdote concerns Misty-May Treanor. Gold medalist and perennial world champ at Beach Volleyball, one of the most vertical and most strenuous sports in the WORLD, no problems with ATRs. Then she gets invited to appear on Dancing With the Stars, and tears an AT boogying in squeaky athletic shoes on a shiny floor. Seems crazy to people who haven’t thought it through like a scientist or an engineer. . .
PS: Pls install the ATR Timeline Widget, and turn on “AJAX Editing” in your settings — both to make your pages more user-friendly.
9:56 pm - 11-1-2013
Norm, I think you and I are both saying the same thing here.
3:55 am - 11-2-2013
Then I can’t disagree!
4:11 am - 11-2-2013
Hi Alan, is that you, at the front right of the picture above. Check out that left foot!
Could have been an atr waiting to happen.
Point is, it’s not just the sports we play, the training and so on, it is also what we do the rest of the time. Our posture, the tensions in our bodies, much of it created since we were kids - all have a lot to do with our susceptibility to injury.
4:16 am - 11-2-2013
If nothing else my maudlin post above shows that I really do need to get this recovery on a faster track. Too much time time on my hands!
1:25 pm - 11-2-2013
Hello DaveG. No that is not me in our company’s championship softball picture. I was in the emergency room at that time, but I was getting text message score updates from my teammates! You can find me in the picture of this post: http://achillesblog.com/dapdapdap/its-time-for-surgery-on-my-achilles-tendon/.
I agree that fitness, flexibility, posture and other general healthiness had direct impact on a person’s vulnerability to get injured. This injury is my wake up call. I admit that sometimes I still think I am 18 years old and nothing can happen to me. I also sit at a computer for long periods of time at work. I don’t have the best posture. I definitely do a lot of stretching and resistance work to build and limber injury-preventing muscle, but I need to do more. Thanks for your comment.