My world changed about three days ago when I partially ruptured my Achilles tendon while playing soccer. About 30 minutes into the game, I turned to chase down a loose ball, accelerated two steps, and felt the classic shot-in-the-back-of-the-leg feeling used to describe a rupture of the Achilles tendon. I immediately tumbled to the ground and began to look around to see who had tackled me from behind. When I noticed that there wasn’t anyone near me, I realized that I had suffered a serious injury. A few folks ran over and asked me what was wrong.
My gut reaction was that it was my Achilles tendon. Thinking back, my subconscious mind drew a picture of an elastic band snapping at the moment of my injury. After helping me off the field, a friend of mine took me to the local hospital where a doctor confirmed what I already knew; I had injured my Achilles tendon. At the time of the diagnosis (3 AM), the local orthopedic surgeon wasn’t available to provide a confirmation so I decided to go home and drop back the following day. That was two days ago.
On Thursday, I met with a series of doctors who were able to confirm that there was an injury to my Achilles tendon. After a short wait, I met an orthopedic surgeon who admitted that surgery wasn’t an option because he believed that it was a partial rupture and that it occurred closer to the gastrosoleus complex. This was based on his observations when conducting tests on my Achilles tendon.
I left the hospital with my left leg in a fiberglass cast that extended from my toes to just below my knee. My toes are pointed downward at a 45 degree angle in order to bring my Achilles tendon closer to the gastrosoleus complex and to promote healing.
Looking back on the time of my injury, I realized that my first mistake was not taking the time to warm up and stretch. My second mistake was not listening to my body. During the game, I could feel my calves tightening, especially in my left leg, which was (ultimately) the one that I injured.
At this point, I am scheduled to meet with the orthopedic surgeon on Tuesday. I have a few questions concerning my treatment. I would also like to have a MRI to confirm his diagnosis.
