It's Not Broken!

Last year we went spring skiing to Nakiska with the youth group. I skiied for half of the day, then traded in the timber and poles for a board. Of course, I'd only ever done this on Suicide Hill once in GP and I don't think I stayed upright for more than 5 seconds at a time. Then again, that's how far it was from us to the jump we would hit. I was in college then.

Youth pastors forget that they are not teenagers sometimes. The sun was out and I was soaked by the time I made it down the first run - cautiously. It took FOREVER to get back to the lifts because it was so flat and slushy at the bottom of the hill. Being the patient man that I am, I endured the trodding along for the first few times. Up and down, up and down, up and down. I wasn't doing half bad and was taking pointers from some of the youth. I even made it down the hill on a broken board and binding and got that replaced!

So, it was the last run of the day and I was tired and I DID NOT want to walk my board through any more puddles at that point. Besides, I was pretty good. Not THAT good, but good enough to know that I could stay upright for more than 5 seconds at a time. I hadn't biffed or stopped all the way down on this run and was pretty much keeping up to everyone else. I knew my nemisis, the bog at the bottom, was coming. I let everyone else go ahead while I mentally prepared, and then took off down the last section at full-speed. Clearing a straight line I found myself flying over the foreboding terrain and through the flat plains of victory! And then it happened...

In the bright sun I didn't see the mound of slush that led to my demise. Before you could say "BOOYAH" the board tip was buried and I was cartwheeling through the air with style. I landed tip-forward and my left knee took the brunt of the impact. I skidded to a sudden stop in the slush and sat up. I could feel that something was wrong in my left leg. After trying to straighten it through the tension without success, I gritted my teeth and pushed through the pain. I heard a POP! I stood up, picked up the board, limped my way to the rental shop, and gathered the youth group to my van and drove home.

About 2 weeks later I went to the chiropracter for my last check-up after the Sunfire's 'Big Bump' and thought he should look at the knee while I was there. I still couldn't bend it past 90 degrees. He laid me on my back, felt behind the knee, flipped me over, and then told me to turn over again. He placed my foot between his legs, then bent and grabbed behind the knee. During this whole time he refused to tell me what he was doing (smart man). About three swift jerks later my knee felt little difference, but I could at least move properly again! It was then that he told my that my tibia had crossed behind my fibula (the two bones in my lower leg) and was hitting my femur every time I bent my knee (that's the bone in my thigh). No, I didn't break anything. Yes, my leg was pretty screwed up for awhile. And of course, guys love to tells stories about scars, scrapes, breaks, and bruises. Anyone who lets their imagination get away with what it must of felt like typically feels slightly nauseous after that story - I know I do...

- Mark