Injuries Suck...what was your first?

[Lukem]

No torn muscles, ligaments or real broken bones, but a couple odd injuries. I had a collapsed lung while warming up for a 800 meter race in college. Being a stubborn distance runner who was convinced he could run through any pain, tried to run. Made it around the track once and felt the world closing in around me. Didn't make the second lap. Able to heal quickly and race again in 3 weeks, however was pretty devastating coming in the last month of the season of my senior year.

A year and a half ago I hurt my hip playing softball. Not real sure what happened, but the doc thought I might have slightly dislocated my hip and when it popped back it pinched the nerves and blood vessel that runs through the hip socket. Couldn't run a step on it, but cycling or elk hunting with a heavy pack didn't bother it one bit. Strange injury. Didn't run for almost a year, back at it now.

 

[hodgeman]

I tore up my low back some years ago...I have to take it easy on it and watch myself or there's hell to pay.

Had a couple nasty falls in sheep country last few years...cracked a femur (ouch) on one and pulled the muscles in my neck (double ouch) on another. Walked out after both and I was really fortunate upon reflection. I go a little slower now.

 

[rebecca francis]

I was on an elk hunt in November near Yellowstone and I was 6 months pregnant. We were riding through some snow and ice and the my horse slipped on the smallest little hill. I didn't have time to get my foot out of the stirrup and he landed on it. I knew for sure my foot was broke, but I had never had a broken bone before that. We had to ride out three hours then drive another hour and half to the Jackson hospital. I wouldn't take any medicine because of being pregnant and it hurt like hell! At the hospital I found out I crushed every bone in my foot. They said I would never run again. We drove to Utah to another doc and he said because of the very stiff boot I was wearing in the fall, none of the bones had been moved out of place, so I needed to just let it heal. It was the most excruciating pain I have ever been in. But I am an exercisaholic and I was riding a stationary bike within three days, with my broken foot propped up on a stool. Oh and I was also chasing my eleven month baby old around on crutches too. By the last week of my pregnancy I was walking and even slow jogging. My foot healed up great, and I consider it a miracle that I can still run and compete in marathons and other races. There is a lot to say about the power of the mind and will.

 

[flytrait]

Broke my neck in football at age 13 paralyzed for 4 months Doc said I was lucky to live. To sum it up, I still feel back issues everyday but you can't live scared.

If you are not doing what you enjoy no matter what that is, your not living. Good thing injuries heal!!

 

[Gman]

Cross check to the back of the neck blew out my disc and had to have my neck fused a couple of years ago. Oh and I had my boys snipped. Not sure which one was worse. But I couldn't do anything with the neck but walk. So I walked everywhere and soon developed a reputation for being the odd guy in a cervical collar that walked all over town.

 

[couesbitten]

While living in UT, I was coming home from a successful cow elk hunt in the early morning of Jan. 17th, 2000. Young guy driving from CA to CO hit me head on, when he fell asleep and missed a bend in the road outside Heber City, UT. Broke my jaw in two places, mouth wired shut and liquid diet for about two weeks (lots of milkshakes), followed by two weeks of mashed potatoes, soup, etc., and then on to pastas and other soft foods for the next two. Also broke a lot of bones in my right foot, which kept me from walking for about 8 weeks (I still have a plate and screws in there). My biggest fear was that I wouldn't have normal use of that foot for hiking the mountains, but 12 years later, I do just fine, although after a hard day of hiking, it does ache a little the first 10 minutes the following morning.

 

[Jdog]

If you sit on the couch you are not going to get injured

You could if you fall asleep and fall off and hit your chin on the table...my son did it!

 

[craitchky]

My first major injury was a torn rotator cuff. I had a SLAP repair, and a biceps tectomity (sp). I was in a sling for 2 weeks, did a good job with the PT, and was shooting my bow at #50 3 months later. Made back to # 70 by the start of deer season.
Second was a fracture of my tibial plateau. I slipped off a downed tree while whitetail hunting, landed on left leg with my knee hyper extended, heard a snap, and down I went. Managed to make it back to my truck on a crutch I made out of a large branch. Doc said the break wasn't that bad, and decided not to do surgery. 8 weeks non weight bearing, and PT, pain was still bad. Had a MRI! And doc said, maybe I should have operated 8 weeks ago. Wound up having surgery, cleaned up bone spurs, scar tissue, torn meniscus. That was 2 years ago, still have pain, still a little weaker than before, but I can still scramble around the mountain. The bad part was that was my good knee. Had a couple carpal tunnel surgeries also, not hunting related, just work stuff.

 

[Becca]

Wow, sounds like we are a pretty beat up group of hunters around here Pretty awesome to hear how many have overcome injuries to get back out there chasing critters!

 

[JPD350]

Some of you make me glad I am only healing from a triple hernia surgery a few weeks ago! other than it feeling like someone beat me repeatedly in the guts with a bat it hasn't been too bad LOL Before my surgery I freaked myself out researching hernia complications on the internet!! at this point I don't believe I will be a "things gone horribly wrong" statistic WHEW!

3 more weeks till turkey season and I'll be ready to go, and in 6 months I'll be ready to load myself down with a 100lbs of elk meat!

 

[Ross]

Zrider 2, all that hardware your packing from that surgery makes my 2 ACL replacement screws in the same knee look like nothing! From the vast array of injuries noted, it is apparent it takes a lot more than broken bones and ligament repairs to keep everyone from getting out and doing what they enjoy.

 

[Travis Bertrand]

I had two rotator cuff/labrum repairs done on left shoulder a few years apart. 6 months each to go back to full duty work. Life sucked. My last one was a few years ago and still wouldn't say 100%

 

[bowinhand]

Dislocated hip for me only one large pin in there. That's why I always take two sleeping pads on backcountry trips

 

[ElkNut1]

Aron, you're probably right! If I can't remember an injury it couldn't have been too bad! (grin) Maybe I've been very fortunate & I should count my blessings!! (grin) Luck to ya!

Paul

 

[philw]

I blew out my knee skiing in 2001. Ruptured ACL, torn meniscus, partially torn LCL, MCL, and patella tendon, the doc said it was almost dislocated. Had "routine" ACL reconstruction done by a well-know Denver orthopod using a hamstring tendon graft, and he knicked the peroneal nerve in the back of my knee, the motor nerve that controls the muscles in the calf. My anterior tibialis (muscle in the front of the calf that raises the foot) was 100% paralyzed for a year and I had to wear a brace on my foot to keep it from flopping around like a dead fish. My left calf is still smaller than the right one. Had surgery done on the nerve to clean away scar tissue, and the nerve partially re-generated to about 60-70% function so I could at least ditch the brace and start re-hab in earnest.

The silver lining was that my rehab doc told me I'd need to work my leg muscles as much and as hard as possible to help with nerve re-generation, so I started on a pretty rigorous program and never slacked off, just added to it as I could. In that way, it's been the best thing that ever happened to me. It also helped me to realize how lucky I am and how good I really have it. During the time the lower leg was paralyzed, I got to feeling sorry for myself twice. Both times, within minutes I was smacked in the face with someone who was really up against it, and realized that my issues were minor at most. The first time I was walking down the street in San Antonio and caught my toe on the curb (couldn't lift my foot) and tripped, fell down. I got up and kept walking, thinking "why did this happen to me ?? And right then I rounded the corner of a building and coming the other way was a guy in a wheelchair with no legs!!! That really gave me some perspective. The second time, I was going in for surgery to repair the nerve, was actually on a gurney in the prep. room getting the IV's put in and the nurse was asking me what happened to my leg. I explained, and she was saying how terrible it was that this happened to me, and I was starting to agree with her when an older gentleman poked his head in the door, said he was looking for the right place to get a bone marrow biopsy (which meant he probably had leukemia). Another lesson in perspective, and also a realization that all in all, I've been lucky.