A few weeks ago,I discussed some of the intangible struggles that athletes face daily. In this article, I’ll share a more physical aspect.
On October 26th, the Rutronik Stars Keltern faced off against Eigner Angles Noerdlingen. Despite sticking around through the first half, they were ultimately undermatched by our size and depth. Shortly after the start of the third quarter, I was put in the game. I was on track to have a record night, with 11 points in the first half, but then the universe had other plans. As I was coming down from what would have been my seventh rebound of the night, I landed on the foot of another player suffering a grade 2 ankle sprain.
I tell you this story to emphasize the following statement: Being an athlete means showing up every day willing to put your bodily health on the line. I’ve been fortunate in my basketball career to have never experienced a season-ending injury, but others are not so lucky. At the professional level, a severely sprained ankle could be the difference between your income and unemployment. A torn ACL could be the difference in a person not being able to support their family. One wrong hit or fall could be the difference in your quality of life.
The physical sacrifice that athletes make on all levels is not appreciated enough, and it’s an immutable part of the job.
In college, it’s very normal for your team’s athletic trainer to accompany you to the hospital, speak on your behalf to the doctor, and support your needs while you’re there. In contrast, Germany and my team specifically don’t have a team-specific athletic trainer, and I don’t speak German. So, while my team traveled to Lithuania to play in the Eurocup this week, I stayed home to take myself to the hospital and get an MRI.
I drove up to the hospital campus greeted by a plethora of buildings. This might have been an easy task to navigate had all the signs not been in German. I had to facetime my teammate, who thankfully had been there before, to guide me through the hospital maze. After what felt like twenty minutes of wandering and hobbling on a bad foot, I came upon the correct building. I walked in and asked the front desk lady if she spoke any English and to my dismay, she did not. I quickly pulled up the name of the doctor I was scheduled to see and she was able to point me in the correct direction. I eventually made it back and into a room where I was then subject to directional finger pointing and being talked around. It’s not like they could explain to me what was happening.
I spent a total of four and a half hours at the hospital that day. The whole time, I couldn’t help but think of the degree of trust that was held between the doctor, staff, and myself. Never have I had to be so vulnerable when it came to communicating on behalf of my personal health. It was not a hard experience, but uncomfortable to say the least. And that is one of the best ways to describe a career as an overseas athlete. Uncomfortable, to say the least.
Until next time, sometimes we simply have to walk through the obstacle because that’s the only way!
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