A Nasty Reminder of Mortality

I fell down while I was playing tennis today. It wasn't an easy fall, nor was it an easy shot that I was attempting when I lost my footing. We were playing doubles at Fort Snelling. Dennis hit a lob over my head about five or six shots into one of our longish rallies. He's a good lobber (lobster??), but I had a chance to hit an overhead smash. I backpedaled rapidly and then did one of those backward leaping overheads that Federer and his ilk do effortlessly. I struck the ball cleanly and saw it cross the net before I realized I was going down. I caught the heel of my shoe just enough to keep my feet from landing where my balance could be saved. I landed hard on my buttocks, taking my whole weight there and on my left hand and wrist. I felt my spine compress and pain sneaked into my consciousness. I stayed down on my backside while the point continued for two or three more exchanges between Bill, and Dennis and Gary across the net. Bill stayed with the point a while before we lost it. I was down on the court for four or five minutes as I assessed the damage and the pain. Most of the pain went away pretty fast - and the area that hurt first hurt less as time passed.

Now as I sit at home on my painful butt, the worst hurt is the wrist, followed by my left gluteus maximus. My spine has gone back to its former length, but still hurts, getting stiff and stiffer. I've used ice on the sore wrist.

I stopped playing after the the fall while I stood and tested the injured body parts while the other three guys played "cut throat" tennis - one against two. After about twenty minutes I opted back in to finish the set. We had been ahead 4-2, 30-40, but we lost the next four games when I returned to play. And we played five games of a second set before we had to give up the court. I played gingerly, but reasonably well, so I have hopes for a quick recovery. But I remain 66 years old, and I'm on the ibu train.