SUMMER SPORTS CLASSIC II

Immeasurable Cost of Athletic Glory

From glorious gold medals to ICU drips to chasing life!

The Allure of the Gilded Glory! Photo by Author.

Sports is magic, and sportspeople are, by extension, magical beings. They seem to float slightly above the ground, in the realm of dreams and the impossible. However, they are not the best when it comes to making reasonable and logical decisions regarding their bodies. They also disregard advice aimed at safeguarding their physical frame.

When the mind is captivated by the allure of some distant glory, the body becomes the first sacrifice upon the altar.

Sportspeople are applauded for their heart every time, even limping into legends. The mindful one who rests his injury is erased from the picture and forgotten in the mentions. That’s the world of bravado and guts, albeit at the expense of flesh, ligaments, bones and sometimes even life!

“Tiger Woods won the 2008 US Open without an ACL in his left knee, residual cartilage problems, as well as two stress fractures of his left tibia. How does a golfer get these injuries? Tiger used to “snap” his left knee forward in his drive to generate more torque through impact. After millions of swings, he had all but shredded his leg. This was still Tiger in his prime, though, on a legitimate hunt for Jack Nicklaus’ record 18 Masters victories, so he was going to play.” — The Sportster

Andre Agassi describes the extreme physical and mental toll he suffered for tennis immortality in his autobiography, Open. He endured sciatica, bulging discs, and bone spurs and needed cortisone injections just to step on court.

Andre Agassi Swung Hard and Carried On! Photo by Author

While the rest of us ordinary mortals may not ascend to immortal glory, we strive for at least lower stratosphere glory and a hearty applause. The sentiments are the same, the guts no less, and the disregard for personal safety and health matched in measure.

My husband used to play all kinds of games, from water polo, basketball, volleyball, squash, hockey, tennis, badminton, football and you name it! There is no unaffected part on his body, but now that he has hit the forties, he has mostly restricted himself to golf and games like table tennis.

Yet, when his buddies call him over for a volleyball tournament, he goes and stands in line only to have another player crash onto his feet, causing a bad sprain. And still nursing his sprain, bandaged and limping, he somehow cheers himself to play a golf tournament.

Yes, we are an incorrigible breed! Absolutely bullocks!

In my case, I had a fever as a result of an infected ingrown hair on my right underarm and was on antibiotics. Yet, when a badminton tournament came into the picture, I was enticed to play, nevertheless. It was a small interbranch office tournament, so I thought I could easily breeze through without much damage.

The moment I stepped onto the court, I felt all of sixteen with the adrenaline and excitement cruising through my veins. But soon the cocktail of meds inside, compounded by a throbbing underarm, reminded me that I was no longer in Kansas.

Every time I bent down to pick up the shuttle, the blood rushed to my head, and it took me a few seconds to orient myself. The frequent dizzy spells caused me to lose my first set. I was shocked, with the daylights knocked out of me.

Sitting on the chair with the room spinning around me, my body was the last thing on my mind. I couldn’t digest the loss. I thought a little and decided to breathe and calm my mind, which was going all over the place like a double pendulum refusing to settle down.

The Venue; The State Sports Complex (Multi-sports facility), Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India. Photo by Author.

It was time to step back onto the court. The audience cheered, my daughter and husband among them. I was soaked to the bone until there was no sweat left inside, but I gritted my teeth and spurred myself forward. The mind carried me where the body faltered.

*I was already there on the stage, and there was no looking back! Not now and not ever for *summer lovin’ had me a blast!**

I played with meticulous attention to detail, diligently striving for every point. I employed strategic thinking, focusing on placements that made my opponent chase the shuttle all over the court. I reminded myself of my strengths and played accordingly. I won the second game and decided to keep calm and carry on the same way and won the third set with ease.

My next game was scheduled for the evening, but following some commotion behind the scenes, I was informed that the second game would follow immediately.

They asked me if I was ready to play. I felt the inflamed underarm and instinctively knew that if I didn’t finish my matches quickly, I wouldn’t be able to return in any case. There was no way I could play after the surgery. So, I nodded my head and went along with their plan.

I played all my matches as soon as possible and secured the gold medal and the bragging rights. However, I ended up in the hospital with a burning abscess that screamed for urgent attention.

Long story short, the doctors goofed up with the anaesthesia dosage, and I conked out during the minor surgery and puked while I was unconscious, and the vomit ended up in my lungs, infecting both my lungs and causing aspiration pneumonitis overnight. The next morning, I was wheeled into the ICU with only 70 per cent oxygen saturation (SpO₂). My breath was laboured, and I was nearly whistling it out.

Throughout it all, my expressions didn’t reflect the internal chaos at all. Even the doctors were perplexed!

Batting for Life Again. Photos by Author.

After five days in the ICU and two more days in the ward, when my oxygen levels and X-ray came out clean, they allowed me to head home with oral antibiotics and a nebulisation schedule for another week.

I am okay now, and I believe that it was my yoga routine that helped me escape the jaws of an eventuality. My lungs were able to bounce back because I had kept them in good condition with yogic breathing, and my body was also tuned to handle some stress with regular asanas and stretching.

So, despite my dangerous vital stats, a bad case of trypanophobia and the sterile stillness around me, I was smiling and joking throughout for I was basking in the glory of my gilded applause and perseverance.

Maybe the sportsperson inside me is mental, but I wouldn’t have it any other way!

Red Bull cannot give me wings! Your support, however, can… If you liked my stories, then you can help me sprout some wings and cheer me by reading more here :). Thank you for reading.

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