Here’s my story. I’m only 25 and who knew I’m not invincible? Apparently I didn’t. It started with a cold, I hadn’t been sick for nearly 2 years and finally succumbed to the common cold. I had been off work for 2 days and decided I wanted to sweat out the remainder and chose to play tennis that morning. I had stretched a little and was playing a tough match against a strong opponent. I suddenly sprinted to a short ball and I heard what sounded like a gun shot. Quickly, I was on the floor. It hurt, but honestly the pain was nothing more than a 4/10. Lying on the asphalt I had a feeling that it was a tendon injury and not a fracture of some sort. I rolled over and felt the back of my left heel/calf and for lack of better words, all I felt was mush. The girls ran over to me and swore it must have been my shoe because the sound was like rubber snapping. I attempted to stand but was unable to place pressure on my leg. To add to my luck I was on a back court, we called for help and of course there was no wheel chair or crutches at the club. I had no way of getting to a vehicle short of being carried by 4+ people. I was forced to call an ambulance to help me get to a hospital.
I’m a nurse so I chose the hospital I work at. They took me there and thankfully one of my favorite physicians was working, after a quick Thompson’s test he told me he knew it was a torn achilles. He snuck me into an MRI in attempts of moving things along since it was friday and I have a managed care type insurance. The MRI confirmed the tear and also noted that the gastrocnemius was also torn (slightly). I was splinted and informed to contact an orthopedist. My ER visit was pleasant, they medicated me frequently and in my opinion, never let me experience pain. I was discharged home with some pain meds and crutches. My mother at my side the whole time, we left for my apartment.
Unfortunately, I was never instructed on the use of crutches. Let me just say, crutches suck! I have 3 steps leading to my apartment both in the front and back, I never knew how horrible this wound make my life. I fumbled around and some how managed to make my way into my home. The first weekend was miserable…
My mother helped loads. I couldn’t figure out how to prepare food and bring it to a place to eat. We ended up rearranging the kitchen and dining room in attempts to make it more “handicapped friendly”. My how I’ve grown to hate that phrase…
This is my splint I got in the ER, very soft and comfortable