Preparing for Adventure: A Saturday to Remember

My parents left out of town for the weekend and I was left with the distinct pleasure of staying home alone. For those of you who are thinking that this story will turn out as a wild, partying bonanza, you are wrong. In reality, I went to a 7 on 7 football tournament at Stanford University with the Pinole Valley Spartan football team. The weather and competition was heated, at a level far from normal, with teams from all across northern and southern California, but my team and I were ready to cool down any team in our way.

As we dove into battle with our first two adversaries, we had no problem getting ahead, but maintaining the lead was a different story. We lost our first two games by the absence of 1 point. And as are losses began surfacing something else within my right shoulder began to emerge. My shoulder became limp during the most pivotal point of the second game in which the other team's player scored because of my temporary inability to defend him.

As we moved on to the third game, I simply tried to play as though I was fine, when truly I was not. On the last play of the game we were tied. The other team had just scored and they needed to score again on their extra point try to win. The ball was hiked and a receiver immediately entered my zone; I delayed my attack, trying to make him seem as though he was open when he really wasn’t. My decoy was successful and the quarterback threw the ball as I closed on the receiver. The ball was almost in the receiver’s hand, it was time to make my move to hit the ball down. I threw my arm in front of the receiver almost hitting the ball, when I heard a tearing sound and immediately afterwards my arm went limp. I had no control of my arm as I hit the ground causing it to land in a awkward position further separating my shoulder. I laid on the grass as a trainer approached me. I told him the pain was in my shoulder and he began to feel through the ripped ligaments, noticing that my shoulder was where normal shoulders should never be. He gave me two options: 1. I could let it heal naturally, or 2. I could go to the hospital. After assessing the deep and sharp pain in my shoulder and the intrigued face of the man holding my shoulder, I decided to head to the ER.

No ambulance came for me, just the simple passenger seat of a Honda civic. I arrived at Kaiser Redwood City about ten minutes after the incident. After many calls my parents were reached and alerted of my current state. I spent three hours in a hospital bed going through x rays, repeatedly getting told about my dislocated shoulder, receiving doses and shots of lidocane and morphine, all for the simple joy in the feeling of the doctor pulling my shoulder back in to place.

As I sit organizing and voicing my feelings, after a day and a half of icing, boredom, and realization; I want to leave you with this, always listen to your body and know your limits. You may have only one life to live, but you only have one body to live it with.