I gazed down the pitch, the sun beating down on me. I stood in ready position desperately waiting for some action. One of my allies had the soccer ball at his feet and was dribbling down the field. I was currently a defender on the right side of the pitch. A player on the opposing team took the ball with a swift swipe of his foot. Now he dribbled down the right side of the field right at me. It wasn’t until he was about 20 yards away from me that I realized how massive this kid was.
He took a heavy touch and the ball was out in front of him, I heard my coach yelling” Go for it Jordan! I ran towards it and so did the monster of a child, this would be my last foot race for a very long time. I struck the ball with all 90 pounds of me and simultaneously he struck the ball with his 200 pounds of strength. The ball froze between our feet, I heard the sound of my tibia and fibula snapping, and I felt the friction of my bone breaking a part. I flopped on the ground like a fish moaning in agony. I felt like my leg was alight by an endless fire. The manchild stumbled and continued on his way. I rolled on the floor gripping my leg, waiting for the pain to go away.
The whistle blew and my coach walked out to me. He probably said something that I don’t remember. He scooped me up and carried me off the field. My parents drove me to the hospital and each small bump was sheer pain. When we arrived, some medics got me into a wheelchair. They guided me into an X-ray room. They laid me on a cold, metal bed and moved my leg into painful positions. Then my Dad pushed me to a white room with several beds and curtains separating each one. A doctor approached my bedside and said “Your son has broken his tibia and fibula and we need to set the bone. He handed my parents a photograph of the X-ray. “We need you two to exit the premises for the next hour. ”
My Dad nodded and my Mom and Dad left the area. Then a nurse put a mask over my nose and my mouth was filled by cookie dough flavored gas. “Count backwards from 10” she said calmly. “10… 9… 8… /… ” I drifted into a deep sleep. When I awoke, everything was spinning. I turned my head and saw shapes sitting beside me which I assumed were my mother and father. I closed my eyes and fell back asleep hoping everything would be normal once I awoke. This time everything was slightly blurry and spinning slowly.
I put my hand under the cover and felt my hard, full leg cast going all the way up to my hip. My memory at this point is definitely a bit foggy. But my parents did record a funny message of me when I was still under the influence of morphine. I sat in a wheelchair for about four weeks, and then moved on to crutches for another ten weeks. While I was in the wheelchair I was on some pretty heavy medicines; Vicodin and Valium. It was a roller coaster of emotion being that messed up. I finally got my cast off and went on a hike in Big Bear with my family. I started feeling some sharp pain right above my knee on the way down from the mountain.
My parents decided we should have it checked out and the X-ray revealed I had a fractured non-ossifying fibroma, or a non-cancerous bone tumor. Then the doctor gave me the horrifying news. He said “You’re going to need to have surgery on your femur. ” And then he explained the process and some other boring hospital stuff. Truth is I was kind of scared. I did not like the idea of someone slicing my leg apart, scraping off the tumor, inserting silicon bone, stitching me up, and casting me all while I was asleep. “Can the fake bone stop a bullet or knife? “|| asked “Unfortunately, not. ” He replied.
Now the only thing to look forward to was the three inch scar. The surgery went well, but I was required to be casted for another four weeks. I can’t recall all that much about the surgery, but I do remember how I felt when I woke up. Terrible. I was able to return to sports about one month after I was fully healed. I was without a right leg from October until June. For me it is safe to say 2014-2015 have been the worst years of my life. However, this event shaped me as a person and I learned I have to know my limits. I am positive this hurt me at the time, but will benefit me in the future because I learned so much.