Basketball and My Close Call
My name is Angela Capelli. I am 9 years old and I go to Ingalton
Elementary School. Although I really like art class and geography,
recess is the most fun. My friends and I race out the side door
at the sound of the bell to play games. Our favorite game is basketball
- that is, when we can get the ball before the boys do!
I hurt my back on a Wednesday. It was really no different than
any other day, except it had gotten very cold outside by afternoon
recess. Dummy me; I had forgotten to bring my sweat pants to school.
All I could think about was my new pleated blue skirt!
At the cost of missing out on a game of basketball, I just dashed
outside with everyone else toward the hoops. I've always been
a good runner and my friends depend on me saving the basketball
court. It was really cold and everyone else seemed to be lagging
along. "Hurry up!"
We weren't very far into our game when I reached upward to catch
the ball and felt something in my back pull. "Ouch!"
I yelled as the ball dropped from my reach. Cathy and Marta, my
two best friends, ran over to see what was wrong. I tried to pretend
that everything was okay. My mom and I had plans to go to the
art store after school and I sure didn't want to miss that!
Later that afternoon in class, I noticed getting up from my desk
really hurt. Sharp pain below my waist traveled into my butt.
What was wrong? I'd never felt like this before. Eventually Mrs.
Armstrong noticed me squirming at my desk. I knew it - she was
going to send me to the school nurse. Shoot!
Well, by the time I got to the nurse's office the pain was pretty
constant, but bearable. Maybe I should have come here sooner.
Oh well, I'm here now. "Well Angela, what seems to be the
problem?" Miss Warman asked. So I tell her my tale of woe.
She explains these types of back injuries are very common and
gives me an ice pack wrapped in a towel and helps position it
onto my low back. While we are talking, she calls my mom and suggests
a quick trip to the doctor ... just in case. Well, there goes
my trip to the art store.
Sometimes when stuff like this happens my mom gets hyper, but
whatever Nurse Warman told her must have calmed her down. Thank
goodness. Mom tells me that my regular doctor can't see me, but
his associate can. Fortunately the trip in the car was short because
the bumpy road made sitting a little uncomfortable. I wonder if
I broke my back? Um, guess not, Mom is too calm.
Dr. Finch is a woman! I've never had a woman doctor before. "So
Angela, how did you hurt your back?" I explain how well our
game of basketball was going until I missed the catch and felt
the pain pull in my back. Through the gown she gently touched
different parts of my back asking if this or that hurt.
When we located the exact area, which was just below my waist
where my butt starts she asked if my legs felt funny - like numbness
or weak. "No", I said. Dr. Finch said that was good.
Then she looked at my back and felt the entire spine from my neck
all the way down. Next, she watched as she told me stand up, walk,
bend forward, backward, and from side to side. "Angela, you
seem to have a little difficulty bending there, does that hurt
when you move?" Well, it sure did, and I let her know. Back
sitting on the examining table, Dr. Finch tapped by kneecaps and
watched my legs jerk forward. She even measured my legs!
"Well Angela, I don't think this is serious. You have strained
your back, which means when you quickly reached upward you pulled
a muscle. This type of back injury is very common. I see people
just about everyday with a backache." I looked over at my
mom who seemed to be just taking this all in - with a familiar
look on her face.
Well, when mom and I got home, I changed into my warm flannel
PJ's and crawled into bed. The doctor said for the first 24 hours
to use an ice pack wrapped in a towel every 3 or 4 hours for 20
minutes at a time. Dr. Finch said this would help stop swelling
and inflammation. Mom gave me some Tylenol for the pain, which
helped a lot.
The next day I felt sore and stiff. Mom decided I should stay
home that day, Thursday. Fortunately I didn't have to stay in
bed. Later that afternoon, Mom got out the heating pad with the
bright red cover. The heat felt good and was relaxing. Dr. Finch
had given me some special exercises to gently stretch the pulled
muscle, which I tried after the heating pad treatment.
Dr. Finch said the stretching was a therapeutic type of exercise.
Exercise would help the blood to move in and around the pulled
muscle and help it heal faster. I noticed the stretching helped
to keep me from feeling so stiff. Although I still took Tylenol
for another day or two, I was feeling pretty good by Monday.
Dr. Finch called me Monday after school. I've never had a doctor
call me before! She wanted to find out how I was doing and to
give me a few "tips" so I don't get hurt again. Why
do adults call advice tips? They have a language all their own
for sure! Anyway, Dr. Finch said to get my body warm before running
and jumping like I do when playing basketball. She told me warm
muscles are more stretchy and less apt to sprain or pull. Walking
at a quickened pace to the basketball court is a good way to begin
to warm up. Of course, a pair of sweatpants helps too!
This is fictional story.