So… I am trying to lose weight and exercise as all 34-year-olds should, so I have started playing soccer with a motley band of college students on Sunday evenings. Last week, I was tearing it up and schooling these younguns. [I scored four goals] This week, I was out there for about 5 minutes, going hard for a ball, when [I think] that I was tripped up from behind. That caused me to lose my balance while running nearly full tilt.
[I feel here that I should mention that we were playing on asphalt tennis courts and not on turf]
Somewhere during those last fateful moments [on the way down] I realized that no good was going to come of this. I tried mightily to careen into the fence to soften my fall, but alas, gravity had other plans for me. I simultaneously crashed my left arm and head into the conjunction of fence and court.
My head hit the fence post, splitting it open on the left side, and my left arm took most of the brunt of the fall and ended up pinned between the asphalt court and the fence. I was concerned about my head, because I knew that I had hit it pretty hard, but it never really hurt. It didn't take long to know that it was bleeding profusely. My first concern after figuring my head injury was superficial was to extract my arm from its weird location. I knew that I had hurt it, but I checked its range of motion and it seemed fine. The more time that passed, however, the worse it began to feel, especially if I moved it. The college paramedics arrived and checked me out and drove me to the ER. At that time I still thought that the head laceration was the most serious thing wrong. I knew I was going to need stitches. [Actually, they are staples, so I look like the Frankenstein monster]
Anyway, after x-rays, which was the most excruciatingly painful part of all, it was revealed that I had a radial head fracture. According to the AAOS [American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons], Radial head fractures are common injuries, occurring in about 20 percent of all acute elbow injuries.
Here is a picture:
So, yay for me.
7 comments:
Again, Poor Rich!!! Ouch! Well, you're due for some pretty good TLC, don't you think? Don't let it discourage you...well, maybe just from playing soccer on asphalt, but not from exercising all together! :)
I hope that it feels a lot less sore SOON. :)
over from alana's...
you poor thing...at least you won't need a halloween costume now. hopefully it wasn't your own students you were playing with!?!
I hopped over here from your wife's blog to say...Ouch!
My 6 year old son broke his foot Friday night while playing Tag with his little friends from church. We go Wednesday to get it casted.
So, we will say "yay" with you.
Take Care,
Darlene
Oh, Rich, I'm so sorry that you're hurt!! It reminds me of mine and Alana's joy ride over the edge in Alabama!! :) I hope you feel better very soon!! :) We're praying for you!
Man! Well as far as the staples are concerned, at least it's Halloween time! And now we can be "radial head fracture" buddies, because that is exactly what I did to mine about 3 years ago. Concrete + Elbows = Not a good thing. :)
I wanna see the other guy. I am sure he is way worse off than you.
I would make the "swiper" drive you to and from school as compensation for pain and suffering.
Yikes...my daughter did that this summer. But I didn't get to see a picture like that...interesting now that I know what happened to her. Hope it feels better soon!
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