Eeb-A-Deeb-A-Dee, That's All, Folks (For A While)

Stuart vs. V. at Caswell. Winner: V. 2-2, forfeit.

My Mojo: Great, Until My Body Gives Out...

Crap. Crap. Crap. Did I mention, crap? Crap.

Four games into the match, and I felt the unmistakable wrench of pain in my leg as my calf muscle tore. I was coming down on my toes just a little too hard, with my leg bent just a little too far forward, and the match came to a halt as my leg gave out.

I know exactly what the injury is because it happened to me before. And my doctor told me that once it has occurred, it is easier to do it again. Last time this happened I was on crutches for a month. There's nothing that can be done for it except for resting the muscle, and starting gentle stretches maybe in about a week. I remember the last time thinking how much I take my mobility for granted; to be able to run, ride a bike, and dance like there's no tomorrow is an incredible gift and when that all grinds to a halt it is humbling.

I could barely hobble out of the courts with my opponent's assistance. I got some ice and sat in the stands at Caswell for a while icing it down. Then I slowly stumbled to my car, and drove home. The injury ws so bad that I couldn't even use my right leg to push the pedals on my car, and I had to use my left leg, which made for some jerky acceleration and braking. Right now I'm in unbelievable pain that cuts through me like a knife; there is no position I can get in that makes it go away. I got my daughters to fetch my crutches from the last time this happened out of storage. There's no sense going to the emergency room because I'm pretty sure there's nothing they can do, but I'll try to make an appointment with the doc tomorrow. Looks like I am definitely out of commission for a while. I'll be back. What does not kill us makes us stronger. But for now, crap.

It was looking to be an interesting match, too. V. was an accurate hitter with good spin control. I thought my anticipation was pretty good and I was doing decently so far, though most of my play was defense. I got the sense, though, that he was recalibrating and he would have picked up some serious steam coming into the next few games. I'm pretty sure he was ahead in the fifth game, but I can't remember exactly what the score was.