My name is Anthony Ramos and my initiation into the club of the ruptured, blown, and torn Achilles tendon was on November 6th, 2009. It began as a leisurely night of basketball with friends and finished with a year ending change that I am still dealing with to this day. As you can guess my night ended with the injury which I can tell you was like no other I had experienced before. All I did was check the ball, took a hard step into my dribble and “POP!” in my shoe was the result. Like you I was thinking someone threw something at my heel as a joke or kicked me there. I screamed as I hit the ground and looked around to see that there was no one there and everyone was just as surprised as I was. I quickly called an Athletic trainer/therapist friend of mine. After giving him the details about the injury, he was quite sure that is was in fact a RUPTURED ACHILLES!!! He then told me to go and see another friend of ours who had his own clinic to get it fully assessed. Hoping for the best and expecting the worst, it was confirmed that I DID blow the tendon at a complete tear. I was then sent to the sports physician to get an authorized referral to an Orthopedic surgeon. Just my luck I was able to get booked a week later, November, FRIDAY THE 13th! I didn’t care though I wanted to get it done and healed ASAP.
Little did I know that after the weeks to come I would encounter yet another obstacle that I hope none of you ever have the misfortune of happening to you. On the following December 25th, 2009, I was ecstatic to be able to open my present that was my atrophied and numb right leg. Strangely I noticed that there was a bit of suture poking through my wound which I thought was a dis-solvable. Though I was like a new born spring fawn on the one foot I was SOO HAPPY to actually use it again and just be able to walk (hobble) around without crutches. I started rehab and was loving the pain that came with it.
The first weeks of post op, I was in the good old boot brace that was challenging to maintain in terms of keeping clean and maintaining my balance in the snow and ice. So the first few weeks of rehab were good in terms of the fact that through the pain and discomfort I knew I was getting better and that the struggle would only be temporary. BOY WAS I WRONG!!
In roughly the second week of treatment I was finishing a treatment session when I felt chills and hot spots. It prolonged into the night and I was actually feeling pain around the particular spot where the suture was poking out. It actually came to a point where it, sorry to gross you out, OOOOOZED PUSS and NASTINESS!!! That night I popped some pain killers and the next day I felt no better and went to a urgent care facility. They told me it was a STAPH INFECTION!!!
I was devastated. I felt like was robbed of the recovery that I had just “completed” and that was the worst feeling that I had felt in a VERY long time. The fact that I would have to put my rehab/physio/athletic therapy on hold for an indefinite period of time was now my new anxiety just like the regret that was initially eating at me
Fast forward and thank GOD that I was able to get over the infection. Nearly 3 months past that HORRIFIC experience, I feel I am getting around like “nothing” has happened except for certain sore moments throughout my day. Each of my sessions for Athletic therapy have continually been better than the next.
I firmly believe, bringing the right attitude and mindset, with a little bit of toughness to get through painful moments, are all you need in order to “comeback” from this sort of injury. Anything you do will always be an improvement both mentally and physically. Kind of like if you can get over this YOU CAN GET OVER ANYTHING!