and the shin ain't listening...

Well let's see. Last time I came off a major injury (broken throwing hand), I won a national championship. Granted, it was Grand Master nationals but the UPA is counting it so I have to also. I need to get to that in another post. However, more immediately, now I am hoping that precedent holds true for the fall season.


I was staying with my kids at my parents in Rye for 2 weeks and I decided to get some ultimate exercise in. I hooked up to play some pickup in Pelham last Sunday which ended up being more running around than quality ultimate, but still good conditioning. I then talked my way into a scrimmage with the new NY masters team run by Adam Zagoria that was going to play Tuesday night at a field in Riverside off the West Side Highway. Of course, Arnold Sanchez warned me after the fact that he always skipped those games because of the field.

I found out late that afternoon that cleats weren't allowed, only turf shoes. I don't even own any, but I brought both cleats and sneakers just in case. I drive to New Rochelle to Sanj Khanna's house, drop off my car and he drives us in. Get to the field, other people look at my cleats and say no, so I put on the sneakers and start warming up. A little running, a little throwing, and then off to stretch my calves. I'm doing the right soleus on the end of a bleacher wearing my sneakers. Normally I'm wearing cleats and the cleats grab onto the edge of the seat. I'm a little more leery with the sneakers for slipping off so I'm not pushing quite as hard. As I'm finishing up I go for one final push and the sneaker slips off and I drive my shin with my full body weight behind it into the bleacher. Unfortunately it catches the corner instead of the side and rakes my shin. I quickly pull up the leg and there is a 4 inch gouge along the shin bone immediately dripping gobs of blood. And I can see the bone along the gash (look at your shin and see how frickin' close it is to the skin...). Canada Rob is right next to me and immediately says 'Uh, I have to walk away'. I grab the two flaps of skin and quickly press them together to try and stanch the flow. Sanj hands me a wad of napkins that I press against it, then we tape it down tightly with athletic tape around the leg. We hobble to the car (a LONG walk) and then decide to drive back to a New Rochelle hospital instead of taking our chances at a long wait in NYC. Fortunately he knows the backroads and we get to Sound Shore Medical Center in less than 30 minutes at the height of rush hour. We get there at 7:10, in a room at 7:30, and out at 8:20. The doctor spent at least 45 minutes with the wound, cleaning it out, shooting local anesthetic all around the wound, stitching up the inside and the outside. Sort of cool watching him do the outside as he had the stitches pull the skin together.

So, leg elevated for the next 4 days, stitches out in 10 (can't get it wet in the meantime), running in 2 weeks, play ultimate in 4, which would get me back basically the weekend of Sectionals. He said the skin there heals REALLY slowly. If it still looks ugly at Sectionals I'll play with a shin guard. Funny, these are the injuries I would have expected to incur when I was a much younger player. Meh...