I injured myself playing basketball one September day last year– banged my knee and shoulder that afternoon. I could barely walk the rest of the weekend and for the next few months the knee just didn’t feel right. I could walk okay but many times I felt it was just about to buckle out on me, especially walking the stairs. As far as my shoulder, I had trouble just picking up Allison.

So I saw 2 different orthopedic surgeons. The first one in Los Gatos didn’t do jack! He simply felt the knee and the shoulder and tell me he didn’t find anything wrong and suggested me to rest up. After a few months and not getting any better, I went to see other surgeon. X-ray proved no structural damage of the shoulder or the knee. The doc did said my left knee plate is a bit looser than the other. He gave me a knee brace & gave me the green for light running.

So this past Saturday, I ventured back to the gym in Mountain View with my friend Allen and played some hoops with the rest of our gym buddies. It was the first time I played basketball in 8 months. I was rusty needless to say but was moving well. Of course I was huffing & puffing every minute but I still have a solid feel for the game so confidence was still there.

The sad truth is that you injure more readily and the body takes longer healing itself as you get older. Hoops are especially tough on joints. I was pretty resilient when I was younger. This is especially true considering I’m the dasher and slasher type. Except for one horrendous ankle injury in high school (I’ll save the disgusting graphic details of that evennt for another day), I’ve been fairly free of major injuries. Knock on wood…

I’m glad to be back playing again. It’s a game I love. I realized the other day that this represented the longest hiatus for me since I started playing ball in 6th grade!