For those of you that don't know my son is a runner. He loves running and has since her learned to walk. He's always been very athletic and into sports. He played football from 2nd grade through 8th grade, and decided to switch to cross country his freshman year of high school. He is a sophomore this year.
He was running in a cross country meet last week and he injured himself. He said about half way through the meet he started getting pain in his right hip, but didn't think anything of it and kept running. Towards the end of the meet he went to pick up speed (like he always does) and sprint to the finish line. He reports that just before he hit the finish line it felt like something tore in his right hip and his right leg gave out.
The physical trainer at the meet came over and assessed him. She told us he probably just pulled a muscle in his hip and need to ice it. To go home, ice his hip, and take ibuprofen for swelling and inflammation.
Austin was in enough pain that he couldn't put any weight on his right leg. He couldn't walk on it. My husband and myself helped him to the car. I knew something was really wrong by the time we made it home. My husband had to carry Austin up the stairs to the house and inside. Austin had tears in his eyes, but being the athlete he is, kept telling me it was fine and he'd be better by morning. He slept on the couch instead of going up more stairs to his room that night.
I called that night and got an appointment with our family doctor for the following morning to have it checked out, and it's a good thing I did! The following morning Austin still could not walk on his right leg. We managed to get him back into the car and into the doctor's office. Our doctor sends him for x-rays and a MRI right away. The x-rays come back that no bones are fractured or broken. His MRI comes back with the following:
Austin cannot bear weight on his right leg now. He can't walk on his own. My 16 year old son now requires help with putting on his clothes, showering, pulling on socks or shoes. He is taking it all pretty well at this time. The doctor said he has to be non-weight bearing for at least one week, maybe two, and that it will will take extensive physical therapy, stretching, and training for him to be in running condition in time for cross country season next year. Right now, we're just grateful that he will be able to walk again, shower by himself again, dress the lower half of his body by himself again. He does have crutches to help him get around, but holding his leg up to get around with the crutches also puts strain on his already strained and sore muscles. So, we're taking it one day at a time.
I didn't share all this with you for anyone to feel bad or sorry for Austin, myself, or our family. I share this with you as a warning not to second guess yourself as a parent. If you think your child needs looked at further then ensure it gets done, even if they insist they're going to be "fine." Don't discount your intuition. To physically look at Austin you had no idea he was hurt that badly (other than his facial expressions when he tried to walk.) His hip was not significantly swollen, it wasn't red, or bruised, or warm/cold to the touch. He's looking at a long road to recovery.
On a more positive note, he's mentally handling it well right now and focusing more on his school work, He's still rather proud of himself for completing the last meet even though he was hurting and for beating his last time. Somehow, even hurting, he manage to beat his time from his meet on August 27th to the last one of September 3rd and he's rather proud of that as well. (He was hoping to make it to state in cross country this year, so he's a little bummed about that.) He's learning to get around on his crutches better everyday. We get to start physical therapy next week. If you'd like to follow Austin's recovery just stay tuned right here! I'll post updated as they come along. If you'd like to give Austin encouragement you're welcome to do so in the comments! I'm sure it would help him stay positive to know other people are cheering for him to get better too!
