Monday, April 23, 2007

Achilles Tendon Rupture: The Last Injury from Flag Football

Well, well. It's been quite a year ...

One full of injuries that no man or woman (or animal) should ever have to endure in a lifetime let alone in twelve months. Last year, I broke my left clavicle and then six weeks later, I tore my left ACL in my first flag football game back. It's not like I've been fighting in the UFC, we're talking about flag football. Read: non-contact pass and catch. If I were a Wildebeest, I'd already be a fancy meal for some lions.

It's slightly frustrating .....given that I'm just 9 months out of ACL surgery and had just returned to my former self through a combination of metabolic based lifting, yoga and agility classes. So much for discipline and conditioning. I could have just as well sat on my couch, drink PBRs all day, and pop Ho Ho's into my mouth.

The upside? At least I made it through 4 and quarter games ... before I ruptured my achilles tendon. Woo hoo.

The way it happened is quite ridiculous. Playing QB, I received the ball upon "hut," dropped back three steps, set up, planted and then "clack!" It felt like Bruce Lee had kicked the back of my heel. Luckily, I kept my balance and released the ball on my good left foot and was able to get the pass off. Despite the catch by Johnny, I knew I was done. Done for the year, done with flag football.

I made the call to the boss of the house and we headed to Swedish Medical Center's ER. I was happy to see that they had remodeled the waiting area. I spent the next two hours getting confirmation of my fate and was sent home in a plaster splint.

Next stop ... my visit with Dr. Waqqar Khan-Farooqi, a Foot & Ankle surgeon at the Orthopedic Physicians Associates.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi,

I ruptured (fully tore) my achilles tendon playing basketball on 02/08/2008.

After the surgery, I googled to find other people who are recovering from their achilles injury as well, and I found lots of blogs here and there, including yours.

It’s been helpful reading about other people’s experiences with the same injury, especially those further along on the road to recovery. It’s good to know that I am not the only one making sure to keep my leg elevated, using a shower chair, and limping around on crutches.

I’ve created a community site so that people who injure their achilles tendon can create their own blogs and share their experiences as they progress toward full recovery.

My AchillesBlog is: http://achillesblog.com/dennis

You can create your own there too. Please give it a try and join the Achilles community. I am constantly working on the site, so any feedback will be great.

I’ve also been gathering and posting a list of external blogs related to achilles injury there, as well as other useful resources. If you find some other good links, feel free to email them to me, and I’ll add to the list.



Dennis

David said...

I ruptured my achilles tendon in April 2008 and I am due to lead a group of 35 students skiing in 12 weeks time. Read about my recovery here and see if I make it !! http://rupturedachillestendon.blogspot.com/