November 16, 2006

The sudden and tragic end to my high school basketball career

Tis a tragic story really...most of you probably know about my knee, and how often it has failed me...but here's basically what happened...

2 years ago during basketball practice at the beginning of the season, I ran into one of our big guys and landed wrong on my knee. It twisted and I was down, and gettting carried off the court. Nothing serious happened really, but the injury took me out for half of the season. Even though i was out for most of the season the knee healed perfectly fine. Then a year ago while playing soccer, I jumped to head a ball and landed wrong again, on the same knee. This time it twisted, popped, and I was down, flat on my back, with everybody staring at me in shock, and the pain distorting my view of the clouds. I was sent to a doctor, the doctor told me to wait and see. So, I waited...all through last season. Became real good friends with bench...it didn't take long to realized I was going to be out the whole season, so I decided to have a positive attitude and protect my knee for my senior season. And before long my knee was in good condition and I started playing a little basketball in the summer. But I noticed that this time it didn't seem to heal very well. Sometimes I would get out of a chair and as I was standing up, my knee would slip out. It would even happen when I was just walking, or turning around. But I figured it was just the consequences for having been injured. So, my senior season came at full blast. I was going to practices, everything was fine, my knee was feeling good. And then...Thursday night, the first game of my senior basketball season, the season I had been waiting for, and protecting my knee for; I felt my knee slip again in the middle of the game. But this time it didn't resolve, it didn't just go back together, it continued to hurt, and I had to sit out the rest of the game. When I got home, my knee swelled up and I was back on crutches. But this time...I was going to no doctor, I was going to see a orthopedic specialist and get and MRI. I wanted to know what was going on. So, I went to an orthopedic specialist...and got an MRI. And only then, did I get the full story. 2 years ago, nothing horribly bad happened, but I had loosened up my knee just enough to fail the next year during soccer. And that is when I tore the ACL in my left knee. And then last Thursday I tore some cartilage also in the same knee. So I had waited and played basketball for a year on a torn acl. I waited all in vain. And now...I basically have just realized that...my senior season is over...my high school basketball career is gone.

So...
Next Tuesday, 7:30
I get my surgery, it's two hours, I'll be under full anesthesia and I'll be in the hospital for about 6 hours (including the rest). Prayers, would be awesome...
And hopefully...I can get through one more season...on the bench...

27 comments:

Christina said...

First of all, OH MY GOSH!!!! Second, we will most defanitely be praying for you. Third, what's an ACL? My biology stinks. As your friend, I want to remind you that tommorrow is another day, the sun will shine, and that all things are possible with Christ, yet not all things are profitable. Onward Christian Soldier.

Anonymous said...

wow! i will pray 4 u! have a good surgery???

Anonymous said...

wow, that's aweful, i'm sorry.
we'll all be praying for your quick recovery. in the mean time...uh...**words of encouagement**.
=0)

Graham said...

wow. Will you be able to run on it ever again or will the surgery just put it into shape so that you can walk on it? will ping pong be a go? Hope everything goes well, I'll be praying...

Anonymous said...

"Ahem. Today we mourn the end of the sports career of our dear friend and companion Andrew Doerr. Through a series of tragedies, his knee has been seriously injured and will prevent him from working alongside us as he has so faithfully done in the past. It is most grievous that such a talented young man should in such a way be cut short in the ambitions he has found his hand to do, and I believe we will all miss the gracious presence he has bestowed upon us in our efforts. But now that he is no longer with us, I declare that we shall carry on our burdens with greater strength and resolve, as the legacy of his work now rests upon our shoulders. Please join us now in dedicating this event to the memory of a great man and Christian warrior, who has done what he has found his hand to to with all his might."

(Everyone solemnly removes their hats and bow their heads as the lone trumpeter plays the clear strains of Taps to the brilliant rays of the setting sun)

Oh, that's so sweet.


The Archduke of the Keyboard

(sniff, sniff)

Andrew said...

Christina -
the acl is called the anterior cruciate ligament and it keep my knee in place...so without it my knee isn't steady...so they have to replace it

Graham - oh, i'll be able to do everything after about 3 months...basketball...soccer...ping pong...w/e just the problem is that after 3 months basketball if over

mister archduke...
um, nobody died...
its a temporary change in circumstances that has destroyed a year of hard work...

anyway, thanks a lot guys :-)

Christina said...

You see, I told you my biology stunk. Thank you for answering my question. Archduke, you've got a way with words.

Graham said...

thats better than some injurries... I know a guy who broke his leg and wasn't supposed to run for two years or something, but I guess the last thing you want to hear is, "oh thats no so bad then." so I wont.

Archduke, you can shoot your friend andrew, and lock yourself into that path of the liquid future in which we all have a military funeral for andrew, or you can give him a hand and keep on fighting. i choose the latter...from my far removed geographical location, so andrew is going to have to accept morrl support instead. I would rely on you to do it for me, but after that word by Tyler Taylor, I am no longer sure that I trust any of these sneaky annonymous types.

Charity said...

I'm praying for you! And I asked for prayer for you at church tonight. Hope the surgery goes well. I'll catch up with ya when we get back from holiday!

Anonymous said...

Christina,
Why, thank you very much. I didn't know my joke would have that much effect. I was thinking to write something so emotional that people might crack up, though.

Andrew,
I never said that you died.

Graham,
See above. And you don't need to give me that Tyler Taylor talk-- you know who I am.

The Archduke of the Keyboard

Graham said...

ah, but it might be profitable to pretend ignorance. Never give out free information.

Anonymous said...

-Hang in there Andrew! With all this publicity you'll be rolling in dough before you know it (inside joke).
-To the rest of you... Don't think that Andrew is sitting dejectly at home with no hope in the world. He's cheerful, and ready for whatever God has in comming to him.

For once with some degree of sypethy,

The Phantom of the Kitchen.

Anonymous said...

Graham,
It's too late to pretend ignorance now. And anyway, what benefit would it be? You still know me whether I pretend ignorance or not, and you still know me whether you know my pen-name is the Archduke of the Keyboard or not. And who said anything about free information? Andrew was the one who told you, not me. But as long as it's not risky, I can go up to someone who knows my real name and frequents this blog, shake their hand, and say, "Hello, I am the Archduke of the Keyboard" and see what reaction they give.

The Archduke of the Keyboard (but you already knew that)

Graham said...

there are always curcumstances in which an advantage informationally saved or ruined oportunities and other such things. Who knows. Maybe someday someone might go overboard and kill all people who acted like they knew you or something. Who knows. On the other hand, it might be real: ignorance is bliss.

Christina said...

I used that "ignorance is bliss" line and I got chewed out. And Andrew, "I'm pullin' for yea. We're all in this together"---Red Green

Anonymous said...

-In a bit the Vogons will come in to demolish the earth and it won't matter a pair of dingo's kidnies wether you know anything or not. So drink up, the world's about to end and any other theory perposed is bunk.

Letter count: 42

Signed: The Pantom of the Kitchen.

PS. So long, and thanks for all the fish.

Christina said...

*shakes head and walks away*

Graham said...

you sir have been reading way too much douglass adams. Way too much. Stop now. Enough.

Anonymous said...

Christina,
I'm guessing you like either the new Pride and Prejudice movie or Keira Knightley or both, judging by your new picture. It would be really cool if you got a picture of Peter Sellers in his Murder by Death role as Sidney Wang and used that for your profile.

Andrew,
See you tomorrow.

Dear Graham,
At least now you see how weird these anonymous posters can get. On the other hand, do I ever get like that? Nooooo.

The Archduke of the Keyboard

Graham said...

you just did.

Christina said...

I've only ever seen the new Pride & Prejudice. sorry but, who's Peter Sellers?

Nathan said...

You and Dallas Clark should be best buddies.

Anonymous said...

Christina,
Peter Sellers is best known for his role as Jacques Clouseau in the original Pink Panther movies--not the new one. He is a phenomenal actor, sometimes playing two or three roles in the same film. You should see one of his movies.

Graham,
I beg your pardon, I didn't say anything about the world ending, and I've hardly read any Douglas Adams at all. I've only quoted Monty Python once, and that was on a different blog. And I haven't integrated the word "bunk" into my regular vocabulary. There's more to this than meets the eye, which is no excuse in your case since you've met me in person. There's no use denying it, you know who I am whether you know it or not(a bit of dramatic irony there).

The Archduke of the Keyboard (who's just turned seventeen)

Anonymous said...

P.S. Andrew, not to rush you, but I think it's about time you updated.

The Archduke of the Keyboard

Christina said...

Ah, yeah. The original pink panthers. I knew Peter Sellers sounded familiar, but then a lot of names do.

What is the velocity of an unladened sparrow?

Anonymous said...

Not sparrow; swallow. And do you mean an African or a European swallow?

The Archduke of the Keyboard

P.S. Yes, I have watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Are you trying to prove something about me?

P.P.S. No offense, but Monty Python and the Holy Grail doesn't seem like the kind of movie a girl would enjoy. It's really stupid and sometimes way off-humor. But hey, so is Douglas Adams...

Christina said...

Mr. Archduke, I would proudly have you know that some of my favorite movies are from Mel Brookes and I enjoy all action, comedy, war, romantic, and almost every other kind of movie you can think of except for horror and the really scifi of the scifi kind. I mean, I do like STAR WARS (who doesn't) but I'm not gonna sit there and watch Farscape with my dad. So if you know of any really good movies, don't be afraid to let me know.