Blowing my ACL when in my early 20's counts. Things like running, volleyball, and other sports gone. Especially now with the inevitable arthritis.
Blowing my ACL when in my early 20's counts. Things like running, volleyball, and other sports gone. Especially now with the inevitable arthritis.
"You win 100% of the fights you avoid. If you're not there when it happens, you don't lose." - William Aprill
"I've owned a guitar for 31 years and that sure hasn't made me a musician, let alone an expert. It's made me a guy who owns a guitar."- BBI
Tearing my meniscus a new one in BJJ was pretty life changing. I mean, I’ll certainly survive, but my days of running or moving rapidly appear to be over.
”But in the end all of these ideas just manufacture new criminals when the problem isn't a lack of criminals.” -JRB
concussion, going on over 8 years now. I still feel the effects of it today. I'm not what I was, and I know it. And I do too good a job hiding from my wife just what a daily struggle it is sometimes.
Pretty sure I've mentioned before that in 2007 I did the slide for life from the peak of a metal roof I was installing and landed heels, hands, head. I was 53 at the time.
Broke both wrists, left ankle, and my head. I was told I went unconscious for a moment, but that's news to me, I don't remember anything from right before the event to s little less than a day later.
Results on the concussion have impacted more than any of the other injuries, although initially I didn't feel that way.
My left ankle/heel didn't heal to my satisfaction, I went back to the hack of an ortho that took care of me in the ER several times, finally he told me shit happens. After about a year of coming home and flopping in a recliner with my feet elevated I finally wised up and quit mentioning my dissatisfaction with the original doctor when talking to other orthopedics. A doctor named Heady out of Kansas Orthopedic Center did a subtalar fusion and fixed me right up.
My left wrist is bone on bone at the ulna. The doctor that took care of my wrists was up front about the damage and told me that fixing it was beyond the scope of his experience. He did refer me to a specialist who told me that he could fix it and would if I insisted, but told me that if it was his wrist he'd wait until it was keeping him awake. It's not that bad yet. I changed all my AR's to B5 grips, take Aleve and ibuprofen when I want to shoot shotgun, and pee a little when I'm using a hammer and don't hit something square.
I will tell you that when you have both wrists in casts, you quickly find out who your friends are - my wife is the only non-medical professional to make the cut. My ex-wife was charge nurse for the SNU when they moved me there out of ICU, she pretty much took care of me but always sent an aide to help me tiddle. Her husband put the rest of the roof on my house. We had as amicable a divorce as possible.
It took me while to really understand the impact of the concussion. I had minor vertigo for about three months, most noticeable when I sat up in bed. It went away, but I had also lost what I describe as 'my seat of the pants.' If I'm driving and momentarily take my eyes off the road, I don't really feel the car drift as I look away. So, I don't look away from the road.
I also lost a good hunk of my memory, particularly faces. I used to be the guy who could ID just about every officer we trained. I remember the first couple of years, but the rest is pretty much gone.
I also became pretty random, I tend to shift gears in conversation without telling folks I'm going in a new direction. Kind of like adult onset ADD.
To be honest, these last two effects give me greater concern as I age and wonder what is in store for me cognitive wise.
Adding nothing to the conversation since 2015....
I have a few!
The most prominent is my right shoulder. In my younger years (I was 15 years old) I was a competitive water skier. I was barefooting and did a trick where you turn from the front to the back so you are skiing facing away from the boat. Ultimately I flipped over backwards and ripped my shoulder out of socket. It was really REALLY bad. Imagine if you had a pair of handcuffs on behind your back and then someone pulled your arms up and over your head until they were in front of you. It was like that---at 42mph.
In that same accident I injured my right wrist as well, which has never been addressed.
Ultimately I had a major surgery on my shoulder when I was 16 years old and had my right arm strapped to my chest for nearly a year. I went from being extremely athletic to basically being a cripple, or near cripple in the blink of an eye.
The pictures below are obviously not me, but it represents what exactly I was doing when I got hurt.
About 24 years ago I was 38 and had herniated disk removed/fused. Some noticeable reduction in strength on left arm due to nerve damage/muscle recruitment especially when maximizing bench presses but overall I have adapted around it.
Most recently I had c19 in October 22. I had an on going issued with rotatory cuff on right shoulder (15 inch tear, reassign bicep tendon, etc.) and had surgery Thanksgiving weekend 2022. Two weeks after surgery I managed to get pneumonia. I am on week 13 of rehab and have not been able to do anything other than walk and physical therapy. Looking forward to more intense exercise. I have followed all medical instructions and am recovering. I managed to do some dry firing of my pistol during this period and hope to get to the range today for live fire.
The central thing is to keep moving to the extent you do not do harm in recovering during these set backs.
Your mileage may vary. Keep the faith.
Blew my Achilles playing hoops.at 38 yrs old.
Played through college and professionally in Europe, so it was a significant part of my life.
When I blew it, had surgery, and during therapy I realized my wife was awful.
Got divorced and eventually met my second wife.
Best injury ever.
Tore the labarum pretty badly in both my shoulders in high school playing lacrosse. The tears were bad enough that my shoulder would pop out just getting out of a chair or sleeping. I had the left one repaired my freshman winter break and the right one done my sophomore winter break.
I re-tore my left shoulder again 2 years ago and needed another repair.
I'll never fully trust my shoulders again. I still work out and most things in life are fine, but any extended shoulder movements like volleyball are not something I'm comfortable with.
It is part of the reason I believe in gun ownership. I have no illusions about winning in a fight with someone leagues bigger then me and BJJ etc are a no go with my shoulders but guns are the equalizer. I stay out of trouble and haven't been close to being worried about my safety in a very long time, but I refuse to live in a world where physical gifts or deficiencies ultimately decide outcomes in a bad situation.
Oh, hell - it’s no secret.
I broke my ankle really bad a few months after I lost my wife. Three breaks, thirteen screws, two plates, two surgeries a year apart. My mobility hasn’t been quite right ever since and I’ve had chronic pain, and now I have back and neck issues compounding the mobility and pain.
My great fear is most pain control meds - I saw what my wife went through and refuse to take most heavy stuff except for very short periods of time. It’s actually amazing how your body can acclimate to chronic pain.
Ken
BBI: ...”you better not forget the safe word because shit's about to get weird”...
revchuck38: ...”mo' ammo is mo' betta' unless you're swimming or on fire.”
I understand. Took a blow to the head in 2000 that changed my life forever. I have never been the same. Not only was it the 3rd concussion I know about (the first one when I was young literally split my head open), but I got a lot of neck problems out of it as well. Nobody has been able to fix me. Had to quit heavy lifting, adventure sports, there are times I get sick as a dog for no apparent reason, migraines bad enough to cause vomit, etc..Originally Posted by hufnagel
Reply With Quote