My Personal Pain Story
I love baseball.
Growing up in Minnesota, on hot summer days, all I wanted to do was play stick ball out in the street. Give me a broomstick and tennis ball, and me and my neighborhood friends were good for hours 🙂
As early as I can remember, it was my passion.
I would play catch with my pops, and even at the sprouting early age of 8, he would remark how fast (and hard) I could throw.
I thought he was just trying to be nice daddy.
But later in the 9th grade when the high school varsity team asked me to play for them, I realized, “Hhmm…maybe I am good.”
——(skip forward)
I was on my way to becoming a professional baseball player. I was only 20 years old.
It was my life long dream and it was finally coming true.
One day, a bunch of college friends asked me to play in one of their intramural softball games. It was a bunch of girls and guys and just for fun. But they took it seriously and really wanted to win. And since I was the “baseball hero” I couldn’t say no.
The game started at 6pm but I was running late.
When I got there, everyone was yelling for me to take the centerfield position. I didn’t have time to warm-up but thought it would be okay since it was “just for fun”.
I ran out to centerfield and was stretching my shoulder trying to warm it up when the batter stepped up to the plate, the pitcher tossed up the ball, and swing…crack!!
It was a long hard hit ball coming straight towards me to centerfield. It was long, high and deep… and going over my head.
I watched the ball hit the ground, bounce and hit the back fence.
As quickly as I could, I ran and got the ball and turned…
The batter was fast and he was rounding second, then third base…
I wanted to throw him out at home, I had a chance…
So I took a deep breath and threw as hard as I could…
That’s when my life changed…
A sudden flash of white light struck me like a bolt of lightning and excruciating waves of pain immobilized my entire body.
I couldn’t move.
I knew something was terribly wrong.
I never felt anything like this before. I’ve broken bones, including my nose, but nothing was like this.
I literally couldn’t move a muscle.
After a few minutes, the hazy fog began to subside and I was able to start walking. Everyone came running out to me wondering what was wrong.
I gingerly walked off the field cradling my arm as if it were a helpless baby and I was trying to protect it.
Just so you know, I did end up throwing the guy out at home and saved the game (Yay).
But in return, I lost my childhood dream and would never play baseball again.
———
Later I learned that I tore my rotator cuff muscle.
And that’s when my battle with chronic pain began…
(To be continued)