When I was just 11 years old, I fractured my ankle playing basketball at the local park. The pain was white-hot and excruciating. I was reduced to a sobbing, blubbering, mess and unrecognizable upon my arrival the doctor’s office. After the diagnosis and subsequent surgery, I was placed on crutches and barred from participating in physical activity for at least six weeks. This was paramount to torture for my 11 year-old energetic and hyper-active self. Seeing my friends run around short of breath because of their own intoxicating laughter was bittersweet at best. One evening at the local park, I was just about ready to go insane until I surveyed my immediate surroundings and noticed a couple of kids my age sitting at a wooden table a couple of feet …show more content…
away from me. I figured I had nothing to lose so I hobbled over to them rather pathetically and struck up a conversation about something relevant. It turned out that I had a lot in common with this group of strangers that I just met and so time seemed to fly as we fell into the steady flow of conversation, only pausing whenever laughter resonated through us all because of a joke that someone made. Since they were there just about every day, going to the park with my group of basketball playing friends wasn’t like pulling teeth anymore and I no longer felt lonely. I now had something to do; converse with people that were quickly becoming as good as friends as my current ones. Had I been a tad more shy and a little less friendly, I may not have gotten out of the endless spiral of boredom that was my routine trip to the local park.
Instead of wallowing in my misery, I took initiative and made the most of my situation. One should never worry about what they can’t control. Aside from the social life issues due to my injury, I had to attend therapy for my rehabilitation. When I first started putting pressure on my ankle and flexing, I was as white as a ghost, deathly afraid that I might hurt it again. But eventually, as time went on and my physical therapist provided words of encouragement, I was able to trust my body again and have faith that my ankle would allow me to do what I was able to do before the injury. Since I had never dealt with having an action or movement temporarily taken from me, it was hard to take that first step again. Imagine standing at the edge of a cliff and staring down at an abyss. What’s down there is unknown to you and so you are unsure if you should jump or not. This was the predicament I found myself in when I had to walk to my physical therapist who stood a couple of feet away. I had to reach down inside myself and find the courage and bravery that I knew was in
there. Without it, the rehabilitation process may have been stunted and I would still be walking with a limp. This ordeal definitely changed me. The change was for the better, however. I started with a couple of friends and in the end, had twice as money, who are my best friends today. Who knows how different my life would have been had I not approached them that fateful day at the park? Another facet of my life that change was my perseverance. The rehabilitation was long and tedious. It required patience and the fortitude to keep moving forward with my exercises despite the strain I was under both physically and mentally. I came out of this experience mentally stronger, and a head on approach when confronting my problems.
Unfortunately like all the other sports I am apart of, basketball has its own fair share of injuries while participating during the sport. Unlike soccer, I have not experienced as many sport related injuries, but none the less, I have my fair share. Throughout all four years of high school, I still have to fight and take caution of my weak right ankle. It is because of my ankle that my basketball career has taken multiple catastrophes. For every time I land on my ankle in any that I see as a danger to my ankle, I immediately have to call myself off the court and miss valuable practice and game time. Plus, every time I step foot on any basketball court, i must have my ankle tapped and I must wear a brace. Not only must I worry about if my ankle will finally give out, I also have to worry about pulled muscles, strained back, bruised body parts, sore limbs, and even headaches from getting bashed in the head from an elbow every now and then. Finally the worst injury of all, being dropped dead tired and still having over an hour left in your practice. But after read The Glass Castle, I always think of a saying that Jeannette Walls’s father always told her, “ Things usually work out in the end. If they don’t, then you haven’t come to the end yet.” This saying has taught me that no matter how hard something seems to be, it all will eventually work out in the end and the good times
You are going to want to give up, you are gonna get impatient but it is vital that you listen to what you are told. The old saying, “Minor setback major comeback” is very relevant to the patients going through any kind of injury. You may be broken now, but if you heal correctly you could come back better than you were before. The most important outcome for me is that my patients have gotten the best care they could have received and they have recovered to the fullest extent and for my patients I would like them to know that their injury does not define them, it is what happens after that matters the most. The methods that I would want to use would be pushing my clients to always work hard for what they want to achieve; Granted, there are different injuries so each one will be handled in a different way. For example, if a client comes in with a torn ligament in their arm it is not going to be an easy process for them. My job just does not involve making sure my clients heal, but also motivating them not give up and to always see the brighter side of their injury. I will know that I have accomplished all of my patients’ goals when they are healthy and ready to be active again. Giving someone a second chance and watching them make the most out of it is rewarding enough. As long as I did my duties as an Athletic Trainer, I would feel accomplished
The timing was horrible, because I was immobile and was not able to do everyday necessities without having help. With the physical change I felt inadequate because I was a burden to my family, friends, and teachers. My psychological journey lasted over four years during which in time, my identity was being transformed from an athlete to a “nerd”. With my identity being questioned, I fell into what Harris describes as the “abyss”. Looking back now, I can see this was the turning point and that the pain was temporary. I had to discard my athletic demeanor and put more emphasis on my scholastic abilities for my future. I agree with Harris’s thoughts of, “reframing [from] negative, painful events in our lives, reinterpreting wounds so that they become starting points for growth” (Gestalt’s 3), and feel that I have used his ideas to become who I am today. At that time in my life I did not know Harris 's thoughts but I did know I had to think positive about my injuries or I would have ended up losing
Around the age of 5, going to doctor appointments was a normal occurrence . I would even look forward to it, spending time with my mom. I will always cherish those times that I spent with her. Those appointments eventually lead up to the surgery that would change everything. During that surgery, the doctor had created a hole in the mesentery lining, tissue that connects organs to the wall of the abdomen. This hole eventually became larger causing many organs to fail. We brought my mom into the ER where she was brought into surgery. This would be the first time my mom would die.
In health delivery system, one common goal for all providers, doctors and administrators is to provide high quality health care services at low costs. But in the United States, health care spending has increased drastically, but outcomes are not efficient. In the recent study conducted by common wealth fund shows that United States health care spending is 50 percent more when compared to 13 top nations in the world. [1] This report also shows that despite of having high health care expenditure in the United States, the health care outcomes are worse when compared to other countries whose health expenditure is low. To address these problems and improve outcomes, patient safety and satisfaction, in the field of surgery the American
Growing up I always found a way to injure myself, not intentionally, but I was able to acquire some type of injury. The injuries tended to range from obtaining stitches from falling on a cabinet to jamming a finger playing a sport. With injuries, came individuals (i.e. doctors, nurses) willing to help me pull through the injury as I would do the same for them if they were injured. These aspects of my life have led me to the career path of a Physical Therapist. One of the many elements which draws me to this field of work, is that I enjoy science and learning the ways of the body as it is extremely fascinating to observe how all of the bodily functions work together.
She immediately scheduled an appointment with an ankle specialist, who diagnosed me with hairline fractures throughout my ankle. At this moment, I thought that my career in sports was over as I would never come back from the months spent in a boot, unable to participate in any form of physical activity, and the months of therapy that followed, but I persevered and returned to playing condition before too long. Some people aren’t so fortunate. They sustain career ending injuries which often include soft tissue damage. The problem with injuries like these is not that they will never heal, as many of them will, but the time it takes for them to heal.
On one of my parents’ first dates together, my father described cattle they drove past as “amazing creatures” telling my mother someday he would like to have land and livestock of his own. That wish to transition from the big city to the country led him to buy a house in the middle of nowhere Indiana, soon raising his own amazing livestock. Growing up, I often complained about the amount of work living on a farm entailed, from cleaning pens to taking care of my 4-H animals. But my dad never complained because such duties were his reward for starting an idea from scratch. Following his footsteps in pursuit of a dream of my own, I chose to attend a large university where I studied abroad to contrast and challenge my rural perspective. Through that transition, I began to respect the difficulties my father experienced following his goal. And while the responsibilities he undertakes are stressful and uncertain, I now
When I was five years old,I had my first fracture, I fell off my brother’s tricycle while I was standing on it to reach for the light switch, I fell right on my left arm which resulted in fracture of my humerus and damage to my elbow ligaments, my arm was immobilized in a cast for about six weeks, after the cast was removed, I could not flex my elbow at all, I also had difficulty using my arm, I started range of motion and strengthening exercise till my arm was back to normal, it was a difficult but enjoyable process as well and I felt so proud of myself. This led me to find an interest in rehabilitation. I pursued this path and earned a B.A. in physiotherapy with the hope of improving the lives of others.
When I was young, I experienced frequent, unexplainable falls; whether I was playing a sport or just standing in place, I would end up on the ground. Eventually, my parents took me to a medical specialist, and I was diagnosed with low muscle tone. I was told that I would need to work hard every day just to become able to stand upright and that I should no longer compete in contact sports. As I just began playing football, this was devastating to me. After hearing the doctor’s diagnosis, I could have just accepted that I would never be the athlete I aspired to be or just given up on athletics all together. However, hearing him tell me that I could
Late December 2015 was, at the time, the worst month for me. It was around 8'o clock in the evening, the sun had set and the moon has risen to its’ fullest. I could smell the sweet aroma from the kitchen. I walked passed and into the living room, which was messy from all of our christmas decor. My mom yelled down the hall to my brothers.
I couldn’t participate in sports anymore and had to spend three days a week for six months at physical therapy. I hated every second of it for the first few weeks and would beg my parents to not make me go. I eventually got used to it and during my time there, I gained a love for it. Despite how miserable I was and how much I hated doing the stretches and exercises, I noticed my body slowly but surely starting to heal. It was amazing to see all of my hard work pay off. I could do all of the things I did before my injury and I had never felt better! I decided then and there that I wanted to spend my life helping people recover from their injuries and diseases. I knew that it wouldn’t be easy, but that it would definitely be worth it. Since then, I have been working to achieve my goal of becoming a physical
Throughout my final ten weeks at my placement, I have grown and overcome so many obstacles. I have accomplished a wide range of skills since the beginning and have been improving on them as I gained experience. At my placement as a student nurse, I have gained a lot of confidence, skills, knowledge and experiences that have helped me act and work in a professional way. All the experiences I have had during the ten weeks of my student years have helped me in shaping me into a professional.
In our lives we face multiple challenges. It makes you feel like tomorrow won’t come or that the sun won’t shine again. We wonder when the pain will stop or if the hardest days of our lives will be the last. At a very young age, my journey of hardest days were just about to start for me. This journey of mine began on the day I took my first breath on this beautiful earth. Seconds after that moment, life handed me my first challenge.
My injury was an accident, but I viewed it as a failure. Not only have I believed I failed my team and parents, I thought I failed myself. I had a goal for myself and that was to bring a championship to the program. But for it to end so suddenly caused negativity to fly around in my head, constantly bringing me down. I let my “failure” affect me mentally and a result of that, I was