Last season, during the last game of the year, one of our guys tore his ACL coming down from a block. His season was over...and, if fact, he hasn't stepped on the court since (a knee/back combo has him in "retirement.")
So, as any team would do, we moved on. We picked up a new high flying guy named Ryan to take over for our fallen comrade. Things were going great...
It all happened so fast. Ryan was on strong side, making his approach for the kill. As he planted to start his jump, all hell broke loose. He pushed off the ground and as he lept into the air, the gym was filled with an agonizing scream.
Ryan landed in a heap on the gym floor. His right hand lay limp at his side, his left hand clutched his left knee. He knew it was bad, I knew it was bad, heck, everybody knew it was bad.
He was helped off the court and to the hospital. As he was carried off, he looked at me and said, "I know this is a surgery injury." You never want to hear that.
The x-rays came back, and we discovered his fears were correct. Along with a dislocated toe, he also had...
A torn patellar tendon in his left knee, and...
A broken right wrist.
I have to say, for someone who just sustained a massive injury such as that, Ryan was in good spirits. He totally took it in stride, and rolled with the punches. Surgery came later in the week.
I don't know the device that holds your kneecap in place is called, but here it is!
Post-Op knee complete with 20 staples!!
Post-Op wrist with a dozen or so stitches.
I don't know if Ryan will play again, but I know he's done for the year obviously. It's terrible when a fellow player goes down, it sucks even more when that player is your friend. Hoping for a speedy recovery!!
