ATR: Who Knew
This is my first post so bear with me while I figure this whole thing out. I am new to the blogosphere as I never had anything that I was passionate enough about to share or even post on. Then I tore my left Achilles. Such a life altering event changed my opinion so here I am. Here is my story. On 3/04/12 I was playing basketball in my usual Sunday league. This was not my first venture. I usually play ball about two days a week and we had been playing Sundays now for about 6-8 months. I always arrive early to warm up and shoot around and since we had the first game, I was there 30 minutes before game time to take advantage of the open gym. By the time of tip-off, I was very warm, sweaty even, and was ready to go. 2 minutes into the game, I was defending my guy off the ball and I planted my left leg to close out and felt/heard a pop in my left ankle. I looked behind me to see who stepped on me and no one was around. Then I went to the floor. The pain was immediate but not too bad yet so I was able to hobble to my car and drive to the ER. Luckily it was my left ankle or there is no way I would have been able to drive. After sitting in the ER waiting room for an hour or so, the pain settled in, not just in my ankle, but also in my lower calf. I could no longer hobble anywhere and required a wheelchair to get into the waiting room. Then the MD came in and confirmed what I already new, the Achilles was torn. I was referred to my surgeon the following Tuesday (3/06/12) and was able to undergo surgery that Thursday (3/08/12). What I didn’t know until after the surgery was over is that I also tore my lower calf at the same time. Surgery went 40 minutes longer than it should have as the ortho needed to clean out the damaged muscle tissue. He also indicated this explained the extreme amount of pain I was in after the injury. I came across achillesblog when a friend of mine was searching on-line to see when I would be able to get back to golfing. The support is amazing so I signed up to share my story. If it helps anyone going forward, good, I am happy to share. Mostly right now it is for me to know I am not alone in the long recovery process
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Sorry you have to go down this road, wouldn’t wish it on anyone. The bad news is that it’s limiting, depressing, can make you feel like a prisoner all the result of your pursuit of a seemingly healthy activity.
The good news is that it get’s better and as it does you start reclaiming parts of your life! I look at someone that is wheelchair bound for the remainder of there life or have been stricken with an incurable infirmity & that helps keep things in perspective…We will and do recover. No doubt it does suck and I’ve had help staying positive which has helped the time pass.
God bless you in your recovery, looking forward to following your progress here on the Achilliesblog!
I gotta second ultrarunning316’s comments.
joss1799 - you are athletic. People who are athletic get hurt. There’s a popular saying among bicycle riders: “It’s not whether or not you’re gonna crash, it’s when.” Eventually, injury comes to most athletes. This happened to be our time. We got hurt. We had our surgery. Now it’s time to heal. It may take longer than we’d like, and it’s certainly an inconvenience to our lives and those around us for a while. But, it’s temporary; and, in the long run, it’s not that big of a deal. “Time heals all wounds.” It’s true! It gets better!
Keep up the positive attitude. Listen to your doctor. Come here if you need moral support from people who know what you’re going through. The mantra from my doctor and my PT has been, “Don’t worry. We’ll get you there!” Good luck with your recovery!
I’ll take it even one step further- this injury shows you just how fragile we are. It’s a clear demonstration of how, in an instant, our mobility and ability to enjoy athletics and the outdoors can be taken away. Fortunately, for the vast majority of us, it’s a temporary setback; and with hard work, a full recovery is possible.
There’s many other ways (disease, car wreck, death, etc..) that our physical abilities can be compromised and/or lost. Some day, for all of us, they *WILL* be lost. I am as determined as ever to enjoy - to the fullest extent possible - whatever time I’ve got left. For me- this isn’t a sign to start taking it easy: it’s a reminder to get out there and enjoy life to the fullest - while I’m still afforded the ability to do so.
ryanb - You go get ‘em!!!
I agree totally - this is not a sign to quit doing what you love. It’s a reminder that we have to take care of ourselves even more, so we can continue doing what we love, for many, many years to come!
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body. But rather it’s to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, “Wow! What a ride!!!”