🚨 Broken Foot + 🔩 Surgery Required: An Annual Sequel – Joshua Tree Edition
*INJURY DETAILS*
On Dec. 20, 2020, I fractured my right calcaneus, which is the heel bone. My doctor told me this injury is pretty bad, but not horrendous. He said it’s comparable in terms of severity and recovery with my left foot (see video linked below). However, this time, there was no risk of osteonecrosis. The surgical procedure I had is described as a “right calcaneus open reduction internal fixation.” When you look at my side-by-side x-rays (4:09), you can see a crack along the bottom of the heel bone. The internal corner of the calcaneus also pushed up; compare it to that area of the bone in my left foot. Expediting and finalizing my surgery date was a logistical nightmare. Waiting 11 days in total was awful… But I was grateful when I had surgery on Dec. 31.
The surgery went well as pertains to my foot. However, I experienced terrible scleral/corneal abrasion from when they removed the tape from my left eye. It was so bad that I was unable to use my eyes after surgery due to the excruciating pain and had to keep them completely shut for 7+ hours. As for my right foot, I now have one large plate and ten screws holding things together. My doctor instructed me to not bear any weight on my right foot for 10-12 weeks. The total recovery time is at least a few months.
In some ways, this experience was more upsetting for me than when I broke my left foot the year before. So strange. Maybe because the initial pain was much greater? (I believe when my last injury occurred and I saw my crooked foot, my adrenaline was so high that it masked the pain and my body went into survival mode.) When I fell off Psyche, my immediate reaction was shock and panic. It was similar to what I experienced during my first injury, but I was NOT calm this time. In fact, I FREAKED OUT and started hyperventilating. I had an existential crisis and asked Bryan dumb questions like, “Why do I even climb?”, “Did I deserve this to happen to me?”, and “Why am I even attempting Psyche?” The devastation of realizing I’d be out of climbing for several months controlled my thoughts. I think that knowing/not knowing what to expect had a complicated effect on me. Since my foot was still aligned, I was unsure of the severity; although, the pain was so extreme that it literally made me dizzy and physically weak… That is the main reason why I made the decision to have Bryan go get help for me. It’s baffling to me to go through an event like this a second time and have a worse reaction, but that was my reality.
🆕 During the next few months, I’ll be posting send videos that were recorded in my last month of climbing in 2020 (pre-injury).
*SPECIAL THANKS TO…*
• Matthew Cavallero, my surgeon—who also operated on my left foot—at RISSER Orthopaedic Group (+ his administrative assistant, Marina)
• Medical staff at Methodist Hospital – Arcadia
• Bryan Hayes (video/photo credits)
• Cole Gibson (+ Steph)
Check out his YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/c/GiantRock
• San Bernardino County Fire Department
• Joshua Tree Search and Rescue (JOSAR) team and JTNP rangers
• Special shoutout to a rad JOSAR chick named Sierra. I hope to see her in the park again one day (non-rescue)!
• The emergency room nurses and medical personnel at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs
• My mom, who took care of me for two weeks, pre- and post-op
• My Swenson family
• Adam Gill
Check out his YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/channel/UC4a-7AqxCrXnAwPjvoKKehA
• Amber Elder
• Bryan Cardenas
• Dimitrius Fritz
• You, for watching!
I’m grateful for anyone/everyone who’s reached out/helped me during these stressful and painful 2 weeks (+3 months to come). Thank you for the support and any words of encouragement. 💞
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*HOW THIS INJURY COULD HAVE BEEN PREVENTED*
• By not attempting Psyche.
• Thicker crash pads.
• The tri-fold hinge my foot landed on has a velcro strip that is helpful to cover the seam and hold the two sections firmly together. (I usually only use this feature for non-flat landings.)
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* 2021 GOALS*
• Climb more lowballs!
Comment if you have any recommendations for me.
• Recover in time to climb in Joshua Tree at least ONCE before this season ends and it gets too hot… Even if I’m just climbing V0’s!
• MAYBE top rope some tall boulders?! Only if I can find my cute pink harness though.
• Watch Reel Rock while NOT in a boot or cast, recovering from a broken foot. 😂 …Which I’ve done for 2 years in a row now.
👍 Feel free to hit the “LIKE” button if you enjoyed this video edit I put together and are also sad for me. 😢
👎 Or press the “DISLIKE” button if you’re a hater!
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Music: Ice Tea
Musician: Not The King. 👑
Video made with InShot (for Android).
📺 Click this link to watch my injury video about my LEFT foot:
▶️ WATCH MORE on my Joshua Tree playlist:
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📧 ashswen@yahoo.com