I’ll
never forget the day I lost all feeling in my leg…
Everything
happened so quickly I had no time to come to my senses and realize what had
just happened. I was on the ground gripping my left thigh… but why??? I felt
nothing. I looked over my shoulder and saw my Coach running over to me. Out of
nowhere my Father appeared and was asking me all sorts of questions, “Are you
okay?”, “How bad is it?”, “Don’t worry you’ll be fine.” I was still utterly
confused. I must have hit my head on the way down. Regardless, my Father and
Coach lifted me up and were going to carry me off the field but I told them
“I’m fine, I think I can walk.”
I
had not rested my foot on the ground for one second when I felt the worst pain
of my life. A searing pain shot up through my leg and I let out what my Mother
later described as a “piercing scream, the type that makes the hair stand up on
the back of your neck.” I knew from that moment that I was screwed. My parents
rushed me to the hospital not knowing what kind of damage I had taken to my
thigh. Besides the agonizing pain I was feeling on the way to the Emergency
Room, I found out how I had injured myself. My parents told me I had taken a
powerful shot and the goalkeeper could not keep the ball in his hands. I
sprinted for the ball and tapped the soccer ball in under the keeper and then I
jumped over the keeper who was on the ground and managed to collide with the
goal post with my inner thigh. So now I knew what I had done, but hey at least
I scored a goal right? Was it worth it? Probably not.
It felt like a lifetime but we finally got to
the ER. The one thing I can’t forget about my time at the ER was when they
asked me how much pain I was feeling on a scale of 1 through 10, 10 being the
absolute worse. My mouth dropped. I said “Are you kidding me?” That was all the
doctor had to hear. It also didn't help that my leg was spazzing out, but you
know, I think he got the message. I was taken into x-rays to see if I had
broken anything. Fortunately, I found out soon after, that was not the case. My
femur had remained intact, no damage at all, well maybe a little. It was a
miracle, given I had hit the goal post at a full sprint. However, I was told I
had torn one of my inner thigh muscles, the adductor
magnus, broken a piece of my femur, the
lesser trochanter, and had most likely damaged a nerve, the obturator nerve. Just what I wanted to
hear. I was devastated. The doctor told me I would be on crutches for 6 weeks
and could not play again until I had rested for 8 weeks. I reluctantly did so
and as soon as I had finished the 8 weeks of rest I got back to work on
strengthening my leg. Day by day I slowly regained feeling in my leg as my
nerve repaired itself. I made a quick recovery and finished the season with my
team. I knew there was always the risk of injuring myself again, but that
didn’t stop me from playing the sport I love.
I
learned from that day in my life that nothing can get in the way of my goals.
Yes, I mean that literally, not even a
goalpost.
24 comments:
Great !!! So glad you have gotten better ! That is definitely a story to be told for those who feel like giving up. Some go through things that either physically, or emotionally hinders them from achieving the goals that were initially set out to complete. Your story is movitation and inspiration to get out there and do what one is called out to do no matter the obstacle that attempts to ruin the accomplishment With strength and a push of motivation to the mental capacity, there is nothing one can not accomplish if there heart is set out for it. Awesome strength and positivity !!
As an athlete, I completely understand your frustration with having to take time off at your prime due to injury. With swim, injuring your shoulder is considered part of the process. One thing that you did touch on is how quickly you recover because of how desperate you are to get back in shape, which usually leads to being the best you ever have been simply due to the fact that you were unable to play previously. Your detail of the injury and how it happened made the reader feel as if they were placed on the field right there with you. Great job!
I can definitely relate to how you felt when hitting that goal post, due to me doing the same thing, just not at full speed. I enjoyed how much detail you put into the setting and feelings that you experienced during the impact, and I definitely liked how sarcastic you were with the doctor. Also, that double entendre at the end was much appreciated. Good job!
Your piece motivates others to never give up when faced with looming obstacles. Your determination to achieve your goals were truly reflected on your blog. A goalpost standing in the way of your goal brings a slight chuckle to the readers. This piece was brilliantly crafted and thought out, especially the goalpost irony. - Jerico Dizon
I Enjoyed this piece a lot. I liked the way you kept the reader quite clueless as to what actually happened to you because it then made the suspense of last a lot longer. Also, Your determination is very admirable. Well done!!
First off i want to say i am glad you are ok. It kills me you hear that someone is in agonizing pain like that. You were able to make me understand exactly what you were going through. I love your determination for your sport and working hard and overcoming what needs to be done to get where you want to be.
This was a great piece, and considering that I was on your team and saw when this happened, I can personally say that the way you crashed into the pole looked horrible. I was surprised that your leg was only injured to the extent that you explained, but I am glad that you were still able to continue playing shortly afterwards. You truly showed a lot of strength and determination when it came to working hard to recover. Great job on this piece
It sounds painful. Normally something like this would convince me not to do anything dangerous ever again, but I can see that everything has worked out for you in the end and you can't be afraid to take risks in life
I see you humbert, was it worth it, yea I agree, probably not and good joke hahahh. Accomplishing your goals with the Goal post lol I see what you did there. Yea I've gone through similar situations not as bad, well depending on the perspective. But great job though sounds like it hurt but looking through the half glass full lens you made a goal and people probably laughed which is messed up but its just reality lol.
I can totally relate to this because I also went through an injury that took me out of the sport I played. Your message about always achieving your goals and not letting anything get in your way was very powerful. I also enjoyed your comedic inputs and lighthearted tone to further the quality of the piece.
This was a well written piece that I related to, since I also suffered an injury from sports that put me out for some time. I think your story, from the moment of the incident to the healing process was very descriptive and made it easy to understand what you had to go through. It's never simple to come back from an injury, especially one like yours, but you showed that determination and hard work can get you back where you once were. Good job!
I can understand and relate to your frustration as an athlete, because no one likes to take time off from their sport especially from an injury. I enjoyed your descriptive language and the light-hearted tone you incorporated with a few jokes here and there to lighten the mood of a rather unfortunate situation. Great job!
I found this piece relatable as I too experienced an injury that hindered me from playing my sport for a long time. You were able to effectively convey your message about not letting an obstacle such as an injury keep you from achieving your goals, and through strength and determination you can overcome anything. Thank you for sharing this story!
As an athlete myself, I know that getting an injury is probably the worst thing that could ever happen to you. Nobody wants to sit back and watch people play the sport you love. Everything is possible if you get back up and keep fighting when you get knocked down. Good job.
Wow! I love the subtle humor that was implemented into your tragic story. The courage that you withheld through such a devastating injury really inspires me to always continue to pursue my passions regardless of the setbacks, both mentally and physically. You overcame the walls of a physical setback through intensive training, but more importantly, you continued to challenge your mental strength by getting back on the field and finishing the season. Minor setback, major comeback. Great story, Humberto!
This sort of experience can only be one of the worst in your life, and you conveyed it very well. Although I can't call myself an athlete as of now, it must truly be difficult to go through such a tough moment for you. Very descriptive with a great message incorporated.
Wow I can only imagine how painful that must have been. The details you used were so descriptive and even though I don't play sports this really encouraged me to work hard to get through any obstacle. Good job.
The description and imagery used in your story was in great detail that it made it easy for my senses to get a feel of what you were feeling emotionally and physically. I'm glad to know that you're okay now and even more glad that you were able to pursue your interest. The question of "was it worth it?" is important to ask in our lives and this was only an example of yours. It's good to see a real life story of someone claiming that the success they've achieved was worth the pain and injuries (literally) they went through. Good job, Humberto!
Not to jump on the bandwagon, but I really like how you powered through this and made the best of this, although I'm not an athlete by any chance I need better self motivation for getting back into bodybuilding, sometimes I'm so into it that I don't care about limits but the next day I stop caring, after reading this I feel like there's no excuses when it comes to any challenge and that you need be persistent and patience. Great job and I want to hopefully use this as motivation to get back on track!
Not only did I like the piece you did a great job using comedic relief to show that you are not afraid to talk about this type of experience and you look back as a lesson. Also to continue on the comedic relief part you had perfect timing with the comedic relief as well. Great Piece man!
Loved the message that your piece portrayed! I totally understand from the aspect of an athlete. Injury sucks and it does slow you down, but it shouldn't stop you from achieving your goals. I can't imagine the pain you went through, though your descriptions made it easier to understand that pain. I also like how you added in a bit of comic relief at the end, that was a pretty good pun. Overall a great read with a great message. Wow Humberto, great moves! Keep it up. Proud of you.
The description in this piece is quite exceptional. It truly sounds like how a person who has no medical background would explain medical jargon. Well done, and i'm glad your leg is better.
While reading your story I was almost in shock and couldn't stop reading waiting to find out what happened. The way you described everything that was happening provided a clear image for me to imagine what you were going through and it was great that you were able to push through and chase after your goals being able to keep playing which was very inspiring.
I loved this piece because of the message as being in the Avid program, they stress the importance of setting goals. This is the inspiration people need to know so that they don't give up and learn to keep moving on.
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