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Horrible Sports Injuries
Many Woodlynde students and teachers have suffered serious injuries while playing sports, including breaking their wrist, ending up in traction at age 4 with a broken leg, tearing their ACL, and suffering a shoulder injury. While recovery took a lot of time and required surgery and physical therapy, most were eventually able to return to competing in the sports they so enjoy.
By Rose Goodman
Staff Writer
Many Woodlynde students and teachers have suffered serious injuries while playing sports, including breaking their wrist, ending up in traction at age 4 with a broken leg, tearing their ACL, and suffering a shoulder injury.
While recovery took a lot of time and required surgery and physical therapy, most were eventually able to return to competing in the sports they so enjoy.
IN TRACTION FOR 3 WEEKS
History teacher Mr. Robison broke his right leg so badly, he was in traction for 3 weeks.
Mr. Robison was playing Wiffle ball with his dad in the backyard when he was 4 years old.Mr. Robison hit a home run over his backyard fence and was rounding the bases. He slid into home plate and snapped his femur.
He and his dad both heard a loud "pop" in his thigh.
Mr. Robison immediately looked at his dad, screamed, and began sobbing. “I was in severe pain and obviously could not stand on my leg. I think I was more scared than anything, but there was some real pain involved,” he said.
He was driven to the hospital in an ambulance and the paramedics carried him into the ER. Mr. Robison was immediately taken into surgery.
Mr. Robison’s surgery lasted 8 to 10 hours throughout the night. The surgeon inserted a large pin through his knee in order to stabilize his leg.
Mr. Robison had to stay in the hospital with his leg suspended in the air, in traction, for 3 weeks. He was a 4-year-old kid who had a ton of energy and loved to play. But he couldn't do anything for nearly 3 months.
When he was finally released from the hospital, Mr. Robison was in a body cast and was unable to bend his waist for an additional 8 weeks.
Shockingly, Mr. Robison doesn’t have any limitations from this injury. “It is hard to remember since I was so young,” he said. “It was very challenging.”
BROKEN WRIST
When junior Zach Penn was 13, he was playing the last soccer game of his season. He crossed the ball near the sideline, and ended up falling backwards. When he tried to catch himself, he landed on his left hand and that’s when he heard a crack in his wrist.
A few minutes later, Zach went into shock from his broken wrist. He was rushed to the ER. After he was at the ER for a while, the shock wore off and Zach started to feel excruciating pain.
Zach’s recovery required two months of physical therapy. All these years later, Zach’s wrist still hurts at certain times.
“Sometimes when I’m even playing bass guitar my wrist starts to hurt, but most of the time it hurts because I am lifting weights,” he said.
2 YEARS OF PAIN
Sophomore tennis player Morgan Lang suffered through two physically and mentally painful years of wrong and unknown diagnosis for the injury she felt in her back right shoulder blade.
Doctors initially diagnosed her with Scapular Dyskinesis, which is an alteration or deviation in the normal resting or active position of the scapula during shoulder movement, due to repetitive use of the shoulder, according to Nationwide Children's Hospital.
Morgan went through two years of physical therapy, which she said did nothing for her pain. Morgan also underwent six different tests, including one very painful one called an EMG to see if she had nerve damage. When that wasn’t the case, the doctors thought she might have had MS, Lupus, Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, or Lyme disease.
Throughout these two painful years, Morgan’s worst pain was a 9 out of 10. There were times when both of her arms and legs went completely numb. She had other pain, too, such as sharp pins and needles that ran throughout her body.
Although Morgan still deals with this today, the pain isn’t nearly as bad as it used to be, and she has been able to return to playing the sport she loves: tennis.
“I think this could have been the hardest thing I have ever been through considering tennis is my outlet for stress and anger and it is something I love to do,” Morgan said.
Morgan was finally diagnosed with AMPS in January. AMPS is Amplified Musculoskeletal Pain Syndrome, which is an overactive reflex that causes constriction of blood vessels, according to Morgan. This deprives her muscles, bones, and skin of oxygen, causing lactic acid build-up.
This is why Morgan still has to do a home physical therapy workout to try to break this ongoing cycle of pain.
DISLOCATED SHOULDER
Mr. Shank, Dean of Students, had a huge accident on the ice-skating trip last December. He was taking a slapshot and fell right on his shoulder and dislocated it.
Mr. Shank said that initially, the injury wasn't painful, but once he got to the hospital, he felt excruciating pain.
“The most terrible part was while I was at the hospital, and they could not put my shoulder back in for an hour,” Mr. Shank said.
After a few months, Mr. Shank completely recovered from his injury.
TORN ACL
(By Rose Goodman, Staff Writer)
I tore my ACL and meniscus while dismounting from the balance beam at gymnastics practice.
My injury happened on Friday the 13th, in September. My mom first took me to urgent care, and they gave me an X-ray. The results came back as a sprain. After resting my knee for a couple of weeks, I tried to tumble again and my knee kept on giving out, and I was in massive pain.
Then on October 11th, my mom took me to get an MRI. Later that day, my mom told me the horrible news: I had a torn ACL and meniscus.
I have been a competitive gymnast for about 4 years now. I love doing it with all my heart, and it helps me lower my stress level.
I was devastated because I knew my gymnastics season was over for this year. I feel very upset watching my team compete. It is extremely hard for me because I have to sit on the sidelines not participating in what I love doing.
Even though I cannot do what I love right now, I will be back competing next year. However, I am going to take it slow because I don't want to re-injure myself.
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Woodlynde School is a private, co-ed college prep day school located in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that serves intelligent, talented students with learning differences in grades K - 12. Woodlynde provides a comprehensive, evidence-based Kindergarten, elementary, middle and high school program in a challenging yet nurturing environment for students with average to above average cognitive abilities (IQ) who have language- or math-based learning differences (such as Dyslexia, Dysgraphia or Dyscalculia), Executive Function Challenges, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), or Auditory Processing Disorder. Even for those students without a diagnosed learning disability (LD), Woodlynde offers expert and caring teachers in small classroom settings that support academic success. Woodlynde School also offers a post-graduate (PG) program in partnership with Rosemont College as well as a regional Summer Camp for students who learn differently.
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