Elbow Room

Five weeks ago I fractured the radial head in my left elbow during a basketball game. Here is how it happened: 30 seconds into the first quarter, a girl and I were going after a loose ball on the ground. I went down first to get it, and she slammed on top of my arm, bending it in the wrong way. As soon as it happened, I couldn’t feel my arm. It was completely numb! I rolled over and tried to get up, but my coach said to just chill for a second. We walked back over to the bench and I sat down. Still couldn’t feel my arm at this point.

Playing defense

Sitting down, I thought I just banged it and that maybe the pain would go away within a few minutes. A few trainers came up to me and had me do some simple exercises. My fingers were too numb to coil up and any way I moved my arm, I wanted to cry. That wasn’t good! Putting ice on it didn’t help either! I was in so much pain but knew I had to toughen up and get over it. I wanted to play, but my arm was still numb and throbbing in the fourth quarter!

Shooting a foul shot

The ride back to school was painful and long. I called mom, told her nothing was wrong, but to meet me at the emergency room. I still laugh today at how calm I was compared to the anxiousness in my mother’s voice! As soon as I got to my car, I rushed myself over to the emergency room. After a few x-rays, they said they couldn’t tell what was wrong because there was too much swelling. They wrapped me up in a splint and sling and sent me on my way.

The Justin Bieber stickers made everything better!

A few days later, we went to an orthopedic doctor and ran some more x-rays. The results were in: my elbow was broken! This was the first time I had ever broken a bone, so I was scared and bummed that I would be out of basketball for a few weeks. They took the smelly splint off of me and told me to only wear the sling, since there was nothing they could do to protect that bone. My job: to not move it for 3 weeks! Easier said than done! 

After three weeks of literally slinging my left arm around, I went back for more x-rays. It still wasn’t healed! They told me I was going to be out for another 2 weeks! What a drag! Nevertheless, I endured the sedentary days and now am finally fully recovered! This past week I finally got to dress out in my jersey again and play in a Christmas tournament. Now I wear a brace; unfortunately I can’t have a pink one cause it doesn’t match my jersey! I am so happy to be back playing the sport I love! Now all I’ll need is a little more elbow room!

Jurnee Carr