Broken
A residing dull pain can be just as painful as a sudden burst of pain.
But getting through this past week made me realize how glad I am that I listened to my mom. And I think despite getting hurt, she's a little proud of me because I wear my helmet, no matter what the conditions are or how confident I feel my abilities in snowboarding are. ANYone can get hurt. It can come out of nowhere and put you on the bench for a considerable amount of time.
Let's face it, I'm reckless. I like going fast. I like the feeling of the wind rushing by me as I barrel down the mountain at extreme speeds. It's risky and dangerous. One small mistake, one wrong turn can severely injure myself.
And I did.
The medical term for it is I fractured the right transverse process on my L4 vertebrae. Basically, I broke a pointy bone in my lower back.
I wanted to win. It was the last run of the day and I wanted to get to the bottom first. But it was the part of the day when the light falls flat. It was difficult to see any irregularities in the snow. I was going too fast.
It happened suddenly. My edge caught on something. I flew forward and landed straight on my head - which if I hadn't worn my helmet that day would've experienced severe head trauma - then proceeded to flip over and slam on my back. After a few more rolls, my ending position was facing up the mountain crouched down on my knees with my head resting on the ground.
I wanted to throw up. I repeatedly forced out "Oh my God." My gum, which dropped out of my mouth at some point, became mixed in with the snow. But strangely enough, not a single tear. Mike and Chris caught up and had expressions of fear (or sympathy) on their faces. Men in yellow ran to help me. Brian rushed back up to be at my side.
I don't know if it was because I was scared/nervous, or I have some sick and twisted mind when it comes to me experiencing pain, but I kept trying to lighten up the situation by cracking jokes. It definitely showed that I was neurologically sound.
After a nice trip down the mountain strapped to a board with a neck brace on, a few X-rays, some pain killers and $500 in medical fees, I came to the conclusion that this experience is still not fun the second time around. Even with friends at my side and hot ski patrollers to my rescue.
OK, so that's not entirely true. It's a story to tell. It's a good excuse. Painful, yes. Miserable, definitely.
Six weeks better go by fast.
But getting through this past week made me realize how glad I am that I listened to my mom. And I think despite getting hurt, she's a little proud of me because I wear my helmet, no matter what the conditions are or how confident I feel my abilities in snowboarding are. ANYone can get hurt. It can come out of nowhere and put you on the bench for a considerable amount of time.
Let's face it, I'm reckless. I like going fast. I like the feeling of the wind rushing by me as I barrel down the mountain at extreme speeds. It's risky and dangerous. One small mistake, one wrong turn can severely injure myself.
And I did.
The medical term for it is I fractured the right transverse process on my L4 vertebrae. Basically, I broke a pointy bone in my lower back.
I wanted to win. It was the last run of the day and I wanted to get to the bottom first. But it was the part of the day when the light falls flat. It was difficult to see any irregularities in the snow. I was going too fast.
It happened suddenly. My edge caught on something. I flew forward and landed straight on my head - which if I hadn't worn my helmet that day would've experienced severe head trauma - then proceeded to flip over and slam on my back. After a few more rolls, my ending position was facing up the mountain crouched down on my knees with my head resting on the ground.
I wanted to throw up. I repeatedly forced out "Oh my God." My gum, which dropped out of my mouth at some point, became mixed in with the snow. But strangely enough, not a single tear. Mike and Chris caught up and had expressions of fear (or sympathy) on their faces. Men in yellow ran to help me. Brian rushed back up to be at my side.
I don't know if it was because I was scared/nervous, or I have some sick and twisted mind when it comes to me experiencing pain, but I kept trying to lighten up the situation by cracking jokes. It definitely showed that I was neurologically sound.
After a nice trip down the mountain strapped to a board with a neck brace on, a few X-rays, some pain killers and $500 in medical fees, I came to the conclusion that this experience is still not fun the second time around. Even with friends at my side and hot ski patrollers to my rescue.
OK, so that's not entirely true. It's a story to tell. It's a good excuse. Painful, yes. Miserable, definitely.
Six weeks better go by fast.