I've mentioned before that Greg and I play coed soccer on Sunday's as a way to stay in shape and have fun, but our last game was one that I won't soon forget. Our team was winning and I had already scored two goals. While going to take another shot, the opposing teams keeper came outside of the box and hit me full speed.
Let me back track a little bit. I play coed soccer. That's men and women on the field at the same time. I've always said that if a girl can't handle playing with the guys then she doesn't need to be on the field. As a girl, you have to be able to hang with the guys even if that means taking a hit once in awhile. I've had bruises, some blood, and even sprained ankles in the past 10 years, but never an injury that I can't handle.
A goal keeper is "allowed" to make almost any play necessary inside the goal box as long as it's not a blatant foul. I'm fully prepared for a collision anytime that I step into the goal box to take a shot because I know that the opposing keeper will do anything to protect his goal. This time, I was outside of the goal box. The keeper actually hit me 3-5 feet outside of the box. I saw him coming at the last second so I turned to my side to avoid a front on collision. After the hit, I stood my ground until I realized that I couldn't breathe. At all. I laid on my back on the ground and felt as if I was laying at the bottom of a swimming pool trying to take a breath. It was awful. I honestly thought for a second that I might die. I know that sounds dramatic, but I have never been hit that hard in my life nor have I had every bit of air knocked out of me. I just laid there gasping for air. It probably took me 30-45 seconds (it felt like hours) to get air back into my lungs. I tried not to panic. I appreciate one of my teammates telling me to put my hands above my head. Greg also came over and held my hand and told me to relax. After a few minutes on the ground, I was able to walk off the field. For the record, the keeper never apologized for hitting me that hard.
That kind of unsportsmanship was very uncalled for, and I'm thankful that Greg kept himself from laying that guy out. On the sidelines it felt like my entire ribcage had compressed together. I truly wasn't sure if I had internal issues or not. It was one of the worst feelings ever. After about five minutes, I was starting to feel a little better so we got ready to leave. I was pretty sure that I had a fractured rib because I had fractured that same rib about 7 years ago and the feeling was the exact same. If it was fractured, I knew that there was nothing I could do about it, but I was concerned about my internal organs so we stopped at two urgent care centers on the way to my parents house to pick up the girls. Both of them were closed. So, we picked up the girls, went home, showered, got the girls in bed, and then went to the ER after a friend came over to sit with the girls. I'm so thankful that she was available to come over at a moments notice and that she only lives two streets from us. What a blessing!
The X-Rays didn't show any breaks and my lungs looked good so that made me feel much better. The doctor said that a fracture would not show up on the x-ray, but that I would probably know in a few days if it was fractured because the pain would not let up. So, now I wait. Along with the rib pain, I also feel like I have whip lash. My back and neck are both sore.
Will I keep playing coed soccer? I'm not sure. I want to say yes because I'm very competitive and nothing like this has happened in the last 10 years, but I am getting older and these type of injuries are not as easy to recover from as they used to be. What I do know is that I'm participating in the Gauntlet (4 mile run which includes 30 obstacles) in 11 days so I need to get this rib thing figured out quick. Because life goes on...
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