Saturday, June 06, 2009

Hospital Again

I just got back from the hospital and it wasn't because I thought I ruptured my appendix. But I did rupture something else. Let me explain. This evening Dave and I decided to play some b-ball down in Yaletown. We had played in the courts there before so it was going to become a regular outing. We had a pickup game and played an intense match against some guys. As the sun was setting, they wanted to play one more and during that game I went up for a rebound and a guy came up with me, but landed on the back of my heel on the way down. My knee totally lurched forward and I could barely walk to the sideline. My friend, Sam, had arrived and saw my swollen ankle. She decided to head to a clinic and pick up some ice. I thanked her for doing that.

After icing it for a while, we decided to get it checked out at a clinic. After going to a couple of them, they were closing and no longer accepting patients. It was actually a good thing because we ended up going to St. Paul's Hospital.

Funny thing driving there from the courts was that Sam didn't have a driver's license and my buddy, Dave, had is Aussie license. He had only driven in Vancouver once so it took a bit albeit quick for Dave to get used to driving on the opposite side of the road.

When we arrived at the hospital, I totally thought this was going to take at least five hours to get in and out. But surprisingly the process was very quick. As soon as I got there, they registered me, and before I knew it they took my vitals and took x-rays. The nurses there were so nice and accommodating. I was laying in a bed with my leg on ice. The doctor came in and told me it was a sprain. But then he wanted to do one more check on my calf and realized it was much worse than what he thought. Because my ankle wasn't moving, he knew that I pretty much tore my Achilles tendon. That changed everything.

I will be going for surgery next week to get my tendon repaired. After a couple of hours being at the hospital, I was released. My friends and I went for some dinner at 11 pm. Using crutches has been interesting. I've never injured my body like this. Dave and Sam drove my car home and took the SkyTrain back downtown where both of them live. That was nice of them.

It's been a humbling experience being at home. It's a lot of work to get things done on one leg. I was told by the doctor I won't be able to walk for at least three months, and won't be able to play basketball for at least nine months. Funny thing is that tomorrow morning I was supposed to go on a hike.

So I guess delivering the mail at work on Monday may be a challenge. Looks like I'm going to be sitting at my desk a lot more.

Peace.