Fullright

Congratulations! 

@coopaloop1234, thanks bud. I am lucky re the surgeon. I know him outside of the doctor patient relationship but he's a "master of the universe medically". Just before they put me under, he asked me how I was doing and I told I was scared. Like the massive egoist that he is, he said, "I'm not...piece of cake". 

Appreciate the ship you run and the kind words.

I really hope I can get back. I think I can get the motion restored but I am concerned about the torquing we do. I am too old and busted up for more surgery. Breaks my heart to watch a game and not being able to feel it as a goaler.  

Update but no BD or SM pics this time.

This coming Monday I get to come out of this Garth Snow size brace as long as I am at home or in the office. My surgeon is overwhelmingly pleased with himself and his work. Been doing motion and flex exercise to get some quad tone back. The atrophy is disgusting. I am weight bearing and can walk with a limp at home. Stairs are out of the question leading with the injured leg. 

I havent ruled out playing again but it will be a very long road if it happens. My surgeon, who knows me and our mind set, says I am ahead of the pace for recovery but he has doubts about motion being what we need to do our job. I am out of shape but I have lost weight so I havent morphed into a fat old man; just an old man.

Since nothing exists unless @coopaloop1234 can see it, here's a pic from today. 

Swelling persists but majorly improved. Still have to ice every day. 

Good to see you suited up, Dean!

On 10/11/2023 at 3:44 AM, WillyGrips13 said:

Would be great if he gets on the right track this year and is more consistent. He clearly has the ability, just hasn’t been consistent enough historically. 

He's always getting bad groins during the season. He's puts out max effort every time and he never complains. The team will be better this year in front of him, at least until the 3 rookie D get tired during their first NHL season. Here's hoping he stays healthy.

Always liked Soros; proof that you dont have to be an NFL linebacker to be a great goalie.

@seagoal: Are we talking about catching a breath? If so, my right knee is on the ice. Just easier with the stick being in my left hand. 

You likely played well. Sounds like you had a good game going having been beaten only once through 2 periods. So focus on that and dump the 3rd from your mind. Sometimes the roof just falls in no matter what you do. Forget the 3rd and get ready for the next one. Short memory.

@MTH: good list of things, especially the last one - goalies have to skate. Better for them and makes them a part of the team. 

7 hours ago, GoalieInTheDesertYT said:

I’m sure some people on this thread still use straps through their pads

Yeah so what?

Have too much time on my hands after the leg injury.

I could never do what you fellas are doing. My two cents and it is worth less than two cents: layoff the dekes during warm ups either before a game or at the start of practice. Starting with a structure or protocol for the warm up phase might help the goalies get a sweat going and get a feel for the puck. 

I really admire you guys for having the kindness to spend your time and effort and sharing your expertise. Here's hoping your seasons are successful!

Had first follow up w Dr. this after. Staples removed and I dont have to wear the compression bandage any more. I can wash the leg now when I shower. I have to sit on a senior citizen shower chair as if I arent already humiliated with how it happened.  At least now I can have both legs in the shower. Till tonight I had to cover the leg w 2 construction garbage bags to keep it dry. Still in the brace but now opened to 30 degrees extension and add another 10 degrees every week till next visit in 4 weeks. Ice and keep the legs locked at 0 degrees when walking or sleeping. Full weight bearing as tolerated. Havent taken the low grade narcotic Trammadol since Tuesday. So progress. Saw the surgical films....pretty gross/cool how I have 5 wires vertically in my thigh and knee cap together with one horizontally tying them all together. 

So here's a pic of the brace and some B&D porn of my knee. Apologies for the disgusting knee.

Good luck! Acquiring a car right now is really a load.

Surgery completed this morning on a same day basis. I cannot take pics at this point to document the wound. I have a compression dressing from my toes to mid thigh over which I have a hinged carbon fiber immobilizer with it locked into straight leg position. Crutches only and cant get it wet. Follow up w Dr is next thursday. I am a little concerned about the wound. He told me going in he'd have to make an incision so to locate the tendon, pull it down, and anchor it in place with three screws. Pain is tolerable but you'll love this: Dr rxed Norco for pain because the general and nerve block in the thigh would wear off. The CVS has Norco on back order and it isnt available. I dont like taking crap because for me it easier to cope with my head clear rather than hazed w narcotics. So I just have to live with it or take a belt of a good Scotch. 

@AdamL, dude I am so sorry about your hip. I didnt have a choice. I tried to negotiate with Dr a way out of the surgery and he said sure I could hobble around with the brace for a year or so and then he'd have to reconstruct my thigh. Hobbling isnt an option for my work and thigh reconstruction is extreme so quad reattachment and meniscus surgery was the only realistic option.

@Chenner29, Oh man! So sorry about that esp at a great moment in your career made worse only by an insurance snafu. Best going forward.

@Wonder35, @WillyGrips13, @RichMan, & @MTH: I dont want to stop; I planned to just go for the year and see how it went with my play. If I was getting blown out, then it is easy. If I was effectively ok, keep going. I still burn for it and, like all of you, probably will till I die. Like I told a neighbor, I've goal longer than anything else in my life. So your counsel about keeping my options open is good advice. Besides, no one would buy my outdated gear except a museum. 

Had the MRI this past saturday and my Dr called yesterday. My quad tendon is ruptured and my medial meniscus is blown. Surgery this Friday.

Swelling is better. 

@RichMan, @seagoal, @Lucky Pucker thanks for your compassion and decency. 

Not sure which is weighing on my mind more: the stupidity of my fall or what it might mean for continuing to play.  All things come to end eventually but seriously? This way? I'll advise about the status of the knee as we move ahead. Might be helpful to a younger person who experiences the same injury but hopefully in a more legitimate, hockey way. 

The last time I wrote, I addressed the nonsense with an overreaching coach who skates in the skate in which I played. That all got resolved favorably but suffice it to say he and I wont be exchanging dinner invitations any time soon.

All that BS aside, I had a fall on 9/6/23 on the public train I take back and forth to the office. When I fell, I had on the work uniform of leather soled dress shoes together with a suit and tie. My right foot went out from underneath me in the aisle on either side of which are seats. As I fell back, my left leg came up and my left knee cap crashed into the metal tube seat frame on the left side of the aisle. The impact dislocated my left knee cap. I am seeing the orthopedic doctor who I trust with my life and just had an MRI today on the knee today. 

Bottom line is I've been confined to the house since 9/6 with a brace and crutches, a knee the size of a basketball, and a hematoma from mid shin to mid thigh. We'll see where things go from here but any of you who have blown a joint know how this works: once the joint get disrupted, big risk of recurrence. Dr says, being 60 yrs old, the earliest I can get back possibly is in the spring of 24. 

I think I might be done. It kills me to say that. My left knee was the only sound and uninjured major joint left till this humiliating fall. I am hoping to avoid surgery and will do the work to get my knee functional for ordinary stuff such as walking. My life as a hockey goalie, however, might be finished. If so, I suppose I should hold onto the blessing of having played since age 8 to age 60 even though there were intervals where I didnt play after age 34. I just never thought it would end this way. Falling on a effing train? This is the first time in my existence where I took an injury outside of hockey. Embarrassed and heart broken but we'll see where things go.

@coopaloop1234: he looks ready to go!

@Hockey34: that's a bad injury; hope he recovers.

coop's advice is spot on.

learning all 4 of your edges is key. usually goalies, contrary to common misperceptions, are very strong skaters; we have to be. most can fly in player skates without all the gear.

take your time and work on your crossovers - resist the public skate temptation to get good going right over left only. learn how to pivot from front to back and vice versa. be patient - it will come. once you get it down, the goalie stuff just comes. 

welcome! lots of really good goalies here; ask questions if you like and you'll get sound answers.

Just wanted to follow up since I was unable to do so when I first saw your post.

Few preliminaries. Are you injured and trying to play through it? Is something off ice such as a personal or family issue crowding your head space? Are you tired of your team and or teammates? If the answer to these is no, take a break. Dont rush it back. If you miss a season, so what? You'll find your way back.

I went through 2 episodes like what you describe. The first was trying to play through injury for 2 years and got cut. At the end of the 2 years, I hated the sport and our position. I felt the hatred way more than the pain from the injuries. But I got fixed surgically and took a year off and gradually worked my way back in. It took another year or so but I rediscovered my passion for the sport and our position. Note that I did so with a different group and team(s). The second episode happened after my last major injury. I got fixed and didnt play again or even watch the game again for 16 years. I felt betrayed by my body and our sport. Again, I was asked to skate and worked my way back into it again which is where I am now. I dont play on a team. I dont care how many shots beat me. I try my hardest but I reached a point emotionally/mentally where it doesnt matter anymore. I play now just to play. 

If you are having a mental health issue, seek help from a counselor or clergy who specializes in this type of help or just vent and ask for experiences here. We all have had them. You will find your way. Take the time you need and focus your attention on what makes you happy such as work, a hobby, or significant other. Our passion and the pressure we put on ourselves to stop everything can be overwhelming. Sometimes stepping away is the best remedy. Catch your breath and dont feel alone; you arent. 

@35RoloSmith41: dont have time at this moment to write you but your courage and honesty tell me you're strong but in a rough spot. My quick 2 cents is please listen to all the posters above. I went through a similar experience and will be happy to share. I think we all have at one time or another. You're not alone.

Thanks fellas. 

Everyone pays their $10 for the skate. I do also just as a matter of kicking in to help cover the cost of the ice. The skate is tantamount to a bag skate. There are no breaks and there is no D to speak off. That doesnt bother me in the least and, in a weird way, I enjoy the pace. 

I kept my mouth shut when "Coach" expressed his "concerns" although I began to get pissed off. I admit that I am old school. I dont like the rotating nonsense of goalies and it is nonsense. My 2 cents is that if a goalie cant handle the 90 mins, he/she should be in the gym. For instance, on the night this came up, the other goalie, who is half my age, morphed into a Port-A-Goalie 50 mins in. He just stood there. I am not as good as I once was - I am a has been or never was, take your pick, - but I give max effort and dont beg off for a blow for a few mins or bitch if guys shoot at me head. The worst part? "Coach" is a D man who is not only an ankle bender, but also has no idea how to close a gap; more a backing in screen. I keep my mouth shut about these things because it doesnt really matter anymore. What really got under my skin was his threat to bring out one of 36 other goalies. I guess I'll just have to see where things go and let it play out. I didnt skate last week and am not tonight. Supposed to be some big "meeting" about the skate's configuration next Friday. Meanwhile, I am set for a Wednesday morning skate at another building next week. 

Thanks for your takes on this matter. I thought all this who plays and doesnt play with how they play stuff was behind me a long time ago but it seems some just have to put their fingerprints on things. Thanks gentlemen. Hope things are good with you all.

Given that we, especially in this thread, have been around for awhile, I could use some advice.

Any of you who have seen my films know I skate in a pretty organized 90 minute "rat" skate with usually the same players, most of which are pretty good. The last few years the skate in particular has become very good with a mix of a few ankle benders, some decent, and some really good players. No one is going to The Show but the skate doesnt suck and is usually the last event for the night at the rink.

So here's my quandry. The fella who organized the skate from the start has been laid low for about 14 months with a neck surgery. One of the ankle benders, who is a youth team certified coach and runs a C level mens league team, has slowly been flexing authority such as when we switch ends and other non-issues. Ok fine, who cares? He and I have gotten along pretty well personally.

But last week he tells me some of the skaters are pissed that I usually dont stay past the end of the skate. No one else has said anything like that to me personally and every one who knows me more than a day knows they can say what's on his or her mind and I'll respectfully consider it. The "coach" seems to be singling me out in that most of the skaters leave at the end of the 90 mins or a few minutes before. Most times, the rink leaves us another 30 mins because the attendant is mopping floors or doing other closing tasks. There's no scrimmage after the skate ends; it's simply 7 or 8 "rats" working on their shots or doing rebound drill which is fine. Sometimes I stay, sometimes I dont depending how tired I am. "Coach" then drops the bomb that instead of 2 goalies, which has always been the custom of the skate, he's going to start bringing out one of 36 other goalies on his "list', a copy of which texted to me, to start a platoon in nets and that "good leaders" need to be adaptable. I didnt engage in an argument about these "issues" but I am seriously thinking about saying "F" it and skate elsewhere which is an option.

Any ideas or counsel about how to handle this situation? Thanks in advance.

13 hours ago, dean42mvg said:

thx !!

 

well, I told him last year that I play hockey, and I'm a goalie ... when he saw me for what he thought was my 6-week evaluation (at 5 weeks) and said that he was amazed at how much progress I had made, only to be further amazed that it was only 5 weeks - he predicted I would be back at the 6-month mark.

 

his guidelines were to just listen to my body, and it will tell me when I am ready

You're welcome. You have a good doctor. Hope your recovery continues.

well done, dean! totally bad a_ _.

Your dr's thoughts about playing net?....not that his/her thoughts matter. :)

Good luck with the move!