Just A Minor Sprain

Just a minor sprain

After being told that I wasn't college material by several friends and family I was determined to prove everyone wrong.  I worked my butt off my junior year to get noticed.  I sent out tapes and drafted letters to many colleges.  My junior summer leading into my senior year I went to a major volleyball tournament in Davis California.  This tournament is a huge recruitment opportunity and I was lucky to have a few coaches stop by to see my skills.  

The summer months powered on and I trained hard.  I was at the gym almost everyday working on cardio and strength training. I was pumped for my senior year.  

 Practice was moving along great. I was loving being captain and leading the eager underclassmen.  Finally I had received a call from one of the colleges.  A five-minute call and my dreams came true.  I had received a full-ride scholarship to play volleyball. After everyone telling me I couldn't or wasn't good enough.   Ha! I had done it! 

The next day I went to practice feeling like a million dollars; such a great feeling. That practice I was participating in my favorite drill.  It’s a drill of speed and endurance.  Before the drill started I looked back at my team and told them, "I've never lost this drill and I'm not about to lose today, so run fast!".  I was the first person to start running, and I did.  I ran fast, really fast.  Unfortunately when I went to slow down my knee bent backward and sideways at the same time.  I went down quick with my knee stuck at 90-degree angle.  I cussed loud and screamed "Fu** fu** fu** me. Eff me. Eff me!" all I could think of was that 'this was going to blow my scholarship.'  I hopped to my car and drove home.  My mom took me to the ER.  The x-rays told the attending physician and us that it was just a minor sprain.  I was so relieved but shocked that I was handling the pain so horribly, cause it really hurt.  So I wrapped it and took a couple of weeks off.  I played for 2-months.  Then I really hurt it after playing a really bad school in my league.  I re-injured it after the game because my cousins wanted to play pickup so I jumped on the court.  After receiving a tight set to the outside I landed on the outside of my foot and my knee gave out.  A loud pop was heard around the court.  I hopped to my car again and screamed from the pain.  My step dad and uncle Claude carried me up the stairs and I refused to go to the emergency room- why would I? Just to be told I had another sprain.  I had no knowledge of knee injuries at this point of my life.  After horrible pain spasms I had my mom take me to the ER at 5am.  The next day I had a MRI and the day after that I was told that I needed to have surgery due to a medial meniscus and ACL tear.  I asked the doctor, “so like 3-4 weeks off? My championships are in 6weeks.”  He almost laughed at my naive statement.  My senior year was over.  I waited to have my surgery till Christmas break.  The two physicians that operated told me it was the worst ACL and meniscus tear they had seen in 50-years combined medical experience.  I had a five hour surgery, followed by a hospital stay over, accompanied by a morphine drip.  

The next day was horrible.  I was in pain, my mom was unprepared to take me home, and they want to give me Vicodin. I had been on Vicodin for 3- months and had built a hefty resistance.  So they up'd me to Percaset.  I had a crazy reaction to the new pain killer.  Almost got in a physical fight with my step dad and threatened to stick my crutch up my grandpas butt for leaving his chair in the way.  Crazytime- my mom took me off the Percaset.  I was out for a year.  A year without sports.... This killed me. It still hurts when I think about it.