Eeeekkkk…Ambulance…and broken bones for a B-day!?

So I had all these plans of putting up a well thought out blog posting ahead of my 33rd Birthday.  I was going to talk about being older, wiser, having used life’s experiences to change your perspective on things and generally continuing to grow towards a better life despite whatever hardships 32 years of age had to bring my way.

….Well…After heading to the gym…This is still going to be a blog entry about that.  During one of the final training rounds of the day I was defending a takedown when the balance of my opponent combined with the angle of my knee caused us to buckle over my supporting leg.  Hearing the collective ‘UGH’ from the training group, I knew it was bad….Looking towards the end of my knee I quickly noticed it was dislocated, if not broken.

“HELP”…”Somebody…Help” <panic voice>

“Don’t worry Ray, Paramedics are on their way.”

“My Knee …Look at my Knee!!!” <panic voice>

“It’s okay, here put some ice on it.”

“Are they here yet ?!”<panic voice>

“They Just pulled up.”

That Knee doesn’t look healthy

….Thats not exactly how the script went, but it was pretty close to how the situation happened.  The paramedics then showed up and lifted me by stretcher and took me to the hospital where the doctor helped put my knee joints back in line.  Upon X-ray it showed a broken Femur and judging by the CT Scan the DR said the MCL & Meniscus  is more than likely torn, and only an MRI would reveal the extend of the ACL injury. .  Yesterday thanks to Juliano Prado, Dr. Frank Giacobetti and Dr. Kessler I got in for an MRI on my knee.  The MRI is needed to be certain exactly what the extent of the injury would be and what operation procedures need to be completed to recover.

…For now the Dr. prescribed me some pain medicines and crutches, while the leg is being immobilized in a cast. During my last visit he was also nice enough to alleviate some of the pressure by drawing the blood from the contusion.

I don’t know what it is about my Birthday and Freak medical accidents, but I can tell you this routine is getting old.

As dramatic as the injury is, I am blessed to be in a position where I am surrounded by people who love me.  It’s interesting to discover that it doesn’t matter if you are in a Buddhist, Muslim, or Christian country there are people in this world who like angels are willing to  help during your darkest hours of need.

Immediately after the injury Juliano Prado reached out to Dr Kessleer and his team of associates to get me paired up with Dr Frank Giacobetti of Skylar orthopedics for surgery.  The MRI was just completed and we are hopeful to have surgery scheduled soon.

Juliano Prado and Rafael Jackal Justino @OCFIGHTDOCS

The support Juliano has shown really is something I will remember my entire life.  My mom and several other have been very positive in prayer and thought, while Cris and her brother Rafael have went out of their way to make themselves available to lend a helping hand. This injury is going to take sometime to heal, and I am lucky to know that I have the support of those around me to reach my goals.

It appears this will be yet another Christmas in crutches, however part of me is glad I’m at least able to wear shorts.

More news to come on the injury, recovery, rehab, etc…It is my goal to make this a quality blog for anyone going through a knee injury.  As someone who just moved back to the USA, I am experiencing Obama Care and other medical procedural changes for the first time and am interested to see how this experience would relate to any of the emergencies I’ve had abroad…until then I just wanted to thank everyone for their good vibes and positive energy, your prayers are appreciated and I look forward to rehabbing this injury and continuing to pursue more goals!