Rough news, keep your chins up!!
tequila posted:... The process is different for everyone and there are things to be learned from all journeys. I'm hoping that updates to my son's might help others who may experience any similarity of ups and downs.
Sorry to hear that current status is rough, Tequila. Hoping for the best for him. Love the perspective above.
Hoping for the best for both of you. Sorry to hear it’s rough right now. I know as a parent, not being able to fix things, is really hard.
tequila,
Does your son have HA D3s that are actively recruiting him and had already seen him play? If so, reach out to them and let them know the situation. They may still want him. While my son lost all HA D1 interest after he was injured and had TJ surgery every single HA D3 still wanted him.
Best of luck to your son and keep us updated.
Handcontrol posted:I feel your pain. Going through a similar experince with my 2019 MIF. Broke his wrist during sophommore HS season and missed entire travel season rising Junior year. Son had not yet showcased as we were "waiting for something to show". Came back with a moster Highschool season this past year led conference in batting average and extra basehits. Had some nice success at WWBA and WIlson tournament. Was planning on doing a couple top showcases but then hurt tendon in his wrist sliding, completely unrelated to last years break and out 6 weeks. Had a few D1's wanting one last look and hes' been out last 4 weeks with at least 2 more to go, and currently playing football with a cast. It looks like D1 options are not likley with his timeline. The positives is he has been offered a spot at many very good D3 baseball schools, but that's not what he wants. At this point it looks like Juco is his preferred rout "betting on himself" as he wants the D1 experience.
Best of luck to your son, it's a long lonely road back from injury.
Tequila...hope everything works out well for your son. Fingers cross.
Hand Control - Does he want to play baseball or football? Is he a football prospect? I would think that nursing a wrist injury and playing football don't really match up well? If my son was getting D1 interest and was rehabbing a wrist injury, the order of priorities would be 1) Rehab 2) get in front of those D1 baseball coaches asap when healthy 3) Telling the football coach he'll be back when priorities #1 and 2 are accomplished.
Just my opinion
1st&3rd posted:tequila,
Does your son have HA D3s that are actively recruiting him and had already seen him play? If so, reach out to them and let them know the situation. They may still want him. While my son lost all HA D1 interest after he was injured and had TJ surgery every single HA D3 still wanted him.
Best of luck to your son and keep us updated.
Hi 1st&3rd,
He doesn't have any HA D3s actively recruiting him that have seen him play in person. We live in a relatively small metro area, and he wants to go out of the region, so the schools he's interested in from an academic and geographic perspective would have never gotten to see him play around here. His summer team (B-team / big-name org) connections are regional for the most part, and they never have played in the big name tournaments other than a couple of the "national championships" put on by Premier Baseball each summer, so that hasn't been a very fruitful avenue. Hindsight being 20/20, I'd have helped him do this a little differently if we'd known what we were doing when the process all began. The stud team goes to all that stuff but he's not been with that squad, other than filling in a couple of times when they needed a catcher. No animosity there; we've been realistic about his talent for quite some time now and think it's pretty solidly in the lower-D2/D3/NAIA space if he wants actual playing time.
We thought we had it all set up beautifully for the summer, with some tournaments, a HF event that had multiple schools of interest, and a couple of other showcases/camps that were slightly more targeted, and then the plan went to hell in a hand-basket with the injury in his last couple of games in the HS season. So, long story short, he currently has one NAIA HC that has seen him and wants to start the recruiting process but would like to get him to a camp so the rest of his staff can participate, a handful of HA D3s that are expecting him at event X in the fall, and a regional D2 that has seen him at a camp that is still on the radar that have expressed interest but not started the recruiting process. He had initiated communication with all the coaches that were going to be at the original HF event, and had good dialog going with several, so he had to inform those of his injury and rescheduled plans, which was met positively for those who responded.
We'll see where it goes and I'll post out here as the process moves along. Thanks for the comments!
GaryMe posted:Handcontrol posted:I feel your pain. Going through a similar experince with my 2019 MIF. Broke his wrist during sophommore HS season and missed entire travel season rising Junior year. Son had not yet showcased as we were "waiting for something to show". Came back with a moster Highschool season this past year led conference in batting average and extra basehits. Had some nice success at WWBA and WIlson tournament. Was planning on doing a couple top showcases but then hurt tendon in his wrist sliding, completely unrelated to last years break and out 6 weeks. Had a few D1's wanting one last look and hes' been out last 4 weeks with at least 2 more to go, and currently playing football with a cast. It looks like D1 options are not likley with his timeline. The positives is he has been offered a spot at many very good D3 baseball schools, but that's not what he wants. At this point it looks like Juco is his preferred rout "betting on himself" as he wants the D1 experience.
Best of luck to your son, it's a long lonely road back from injury.
Tequila...hope everything works out well for your son. Fingers cross.
Hand Control - Does he want to play baseball or football? Is he a football prospect? I would think that nursing a wrist injury and playing football don't really match up well? If my son was getting D1 interest and was rehabbing a wrist injury, the order of priorities would be 1) Rehab 2) get in front of those D1 baseball coaches asap when healthy 3) Telling the football coach he'll be back when priorities #1 and 2 are accomplished.
Just my opinion
Garyme - He could be a FB prospect, he missed last FB seasson with broken scaphoid in wrist. likewise he's a very good wrestler that's gotten unsolicited college interest. All that said he absolutely wants to play basbeall at the highest level possible. I agree he needs to focus on getting healthy and showcasing baseball as soon as possible. The reality is with his current injury the specialist said he can play football with the cast padded and no further harm to wrist. Swinging a bat full speed because it's his ECU tendon will take the longest to get to. Probably at least 5 weeks to get to that point. He has communicated with his FB coach that when at footbal he is 100% commited to the team, but may need to miss a game or two for baseball showcase/visit becasue that's his college focus. Coach was very understanding and agreed to this which based on what i had heard was not likely to be his response. It's definitely been harder for him to train baseball enough being a 3 sport athlete in a large school/state, partially why he's very open to Juco. He's 5'11 165lbs 6.9 60, 86 infield, 88 exit velo and physically still growing. He's a good all arouind athlete with his best tool being his bat, he catches alot of barrels against good pitching. Feedback we've gotten from some respected folks and verigfied by calls from rc's is he's currently if healthy a regional mid major D1 prospect. If he goes Juco for a year with his continued physical maturity, focused only on baseball, lifting, and eating he likely will have his pick of schools potential power 5 money. Of course being healthy is most important.
Lo siento mucho. Espero que tengas una botella de Patrón cerca.
I hope this is a message of encouragement for those dealing with injury. My 2019 son who was a catcher/ pitcher/outfielder was primarily used as a catcher through his 9th grade year.
Beginning fall of his 9th grade year he began complaining of “tightness” in his knee and difficulty running, particularly after catching. But he could play with it. By the middle of his 10th grade basketball season, it was so bad that we stopped him and got an MRI that showed a 2.5 cm OCD lesion in his right (push off) lateral femoral condyle.
It required 2 surgeries. The first was a micro fracture performed in January of his sophomore year. It wiped out his entire sophomore season. And, he was put on a registry for a matching donor knee for a graft procedure with no way to predict when that graft would be available. He would never catch again and if he had any baseball future, it lied in pitching.
He pushed himself trying get back in about 5 months and salvage his rising junior summer - typically the most important for elite pitchers (typically a 9-12 month recovery). But he could only manage 8 innings in his rising junior summer before having to shut it down from pain and stiffness in his knee. He received no interest despite being contacted by several P5 schools the summer before.
He continued his rehab and we made arrangements for him to do several camps in the fall and posted several 30-40s videos of him doing bullpens throughout his fall rehab, all the time we new a second surgery could happen anytime on few days notice.
Despite what some may claim, the short videos do work. We posted them to YouTube and sent them to schools he was interested in from the Ivy League to the SEC. Every school we sent a video watched them (YouTube and google can track this for you and tell you where and when the video was watched). Many watched them multiple times, and he got phone calls from schools in all P5 conferences, no offers, just intent to follow through the summer. He also got calls from schools we didn’t contacr that told him they had seen them and were very interested.
With no surgery happening, he attended 5 fall camps. His knee feeling some better, he stood out at some, not so much at others. Got invited to an in-state mid major 3 hours away for an unofficial visit (after they saw a bullpen video). There was no offer.
In January he went to a camp at an in-state school, with a very successful D1 baseball program and one of his favorites. He did very well, and was asked to stay after camp to meet with the coaches. No offer, but again expressed interest and intent to follow.
After being at camps and talking with various HCs, PCs, and RCs at SEC, ACC, B10, PAC, Ivy schools, etc. he said, “This is where I want to be. This is where I want to play and go to school.”
We made arrangements for our whole family to go back for their opening series and he let the coaching staff know we were coming. They asked us to come a couple hours early so we could talk and they could give our son a tour of all the facilities. By this time, his junior season of HS had started. In his first outing he went five full innings gave up 0hits, 1walk and 12Ks. PC said he was coming to his next outing and he went 4 1/3 with 1hit, 2 walks, and 8Ks. The next day, the HC called and made an offer.
We went back the the following day and accepted. Told the HC and PC about his knee. Response was very positive.
He went on to have a very strong HS and Summer Season. He touched 96 a couple of times, sat 90-93 in a of his outings and managed to gain attention from pro scouts.
A donor match was just found, and he had his second surgery this past Tuesday. As a 6’4” 195lb RHP, he has been told that he is likely a top 10 round pick if he is healthy and makes himself known to be interested in signing.
College has always been his top priority, and I have always preached that he is one injury away from baseball being over. Retrospectively, he says that the injury was very helpful. He thinks he is truly going to the best situation academically and baseball wise.
He thinks that he would have likely gone to a P5 school if he didn’t have time to vet several of the schools. Instead he had time to grow and mature before making that decision.
My first advice for those of you dealing with injury is no different than others. Your sons need to heal first. But then, I would say think about recruitment differently.
While I focused on getting him healthy, it was really my wife that encouraged my son the best. She told him that where he attended school would be his decision, not a coach’s decision. He could hardly play, was depressed, his future seemed uncertain and he was ready to accept anything if it meant an opportunity to play in college, My wife stepped in and reminded him that he was worth much more than what he does on a baseball field, so she expected him to make decisions about his future accordingly.
He came out of surgery Tuesday and while still a little loopy said, “Dad we made it, I’ll get a chance to play my last HS season without pain, and I’m going to a great college with a great baseball program.”
There is always hope, but it doesn’t hurt to make your own luck.
Congratulations. Great story. Thank you for sharing it.
@tequila Thank you for posting your journey and best wishes for continued healing and strength. In your OP you mentioned something about "Vandy catchers rehab document", my 2021 catchers has had some arm tightness lately and I was wondering if you could share that document either here or PM me? I just want to be ahead of the game if his tightness turns out to be more.
Thank you
Coach_TV posted:@tequila Thank you for posting your journey and best wishes for continued healing and strength. In your OP you mentioned something about "Vandy catchers rehab document", my 2021 catchers has had some arm tightness lately and I was wondering if you could share that document either here or PM me? I just want to be ahead of the game if his tightness turns out to be more.
Thank you
Sure thing coach_tv. Here ya go:
https://www.vumc.org/sports-me...eball%20Catching.pdf
Good luck!
Latest update - the follow-up MRI Arthrogram came back showing a labral tear in addition to still present bursal fraying, etc. Since he hasn't been throwing until recently, I have to believe this was missed on the first MRI either by the reading or the scan itself. A shame for the time lost trying to rehab it but it does no good to cry over spilled milk.
The boy is not ready to be done with baseball so we elected the surgical route, which is scheduled for next Wednesday. After that, the road to recovery begins and hopefully a snowball's chance at a recruiting miracle in the spring. Thanks again to everyone here who has been so supportive of my son's situation. Regardless of the outcome, this has by far been the best tool we've found in the journey.
Sorry but not surprised to hear that. Best of luck to Tequila Jr. during his rehab.
tequila posted:Latest update - the follow-up MRI Arthrogram came back showing a labral tear in addition to still present bursal fraying, etc. Since he hasn't been throwing until recently, I have to believe this was missed on the first MRI either by the reading or the scan itself. A shame for the time lost trying to rehab it but it does no good to cry over spilled milk.
The boy is not ready to be done with baseball so we elected the surgical route, which is scheduled for next Wednesday. After that, the road to recovery begins and hopefully a snowball's chance at a recruiting miracle in the spring. Thanks again to everyone here who has been so supportive of my son's situation. Regardless of the outcome, this has by far been the best tool we've found in the journey.
Good luck to your son Tequila!
tequila posted:Latest update - the follow-up MRI Arthrogram came back showing a labral tear in addition to still present bursal fraying, etc. Since he hasn't been throwing until recently, I have to believe this was missed on the first MRI either by the reading or the scan itself. A shame for the time lost trying to rehab it but it does no good to cry over spilled milk.
The boy is not ready to be done with baseball so we elected the surgical route, which is scheduled for next Wednesday. After that, the road to recovery begins and hopefully a snowball's chance at a recruiting miracle in the spring. Thanks again to everyone here who has been so supportive of my son's situation. Regardless of the outcome, this has by far been the best tool we've found in the journey.
My son has this same injury in his non throwing arm. He was originally diagnosed back in Dec '17. We opted for PT & therapy to get him through the season and the summer showcase circuit. After about 4.5 months, he was back to playing and swinging with almost no ill effects. He does have some minor issues and still cannot do certain activities like pull ups or any over head weight activity.
We are scheduled for an appointment TODAY to discuss surgery with the doc. We want him all healed up and 100% ready to go for college. This may mean he will miss his Sr. year in HS, but at this point he is only concerned about being 100% ready for college ball.
SoCal OG posted:My son has this same injury in his non throwing arm. He was originally diagnosed back in Dec '17. We opted for PT & therapy to get him through the season and the summer showcase circuit. After about 4.5 months, he was back to playing and swinging with almost no ill effects. He does have some minor issues and still cannot do certain activities like pull ups or any over head weight activity.
We are scheduled for an appointment TODAY to discuss surgery with the doc. We want him all healed up and 100% ready to go for college. This may mean he will miss his Sr. year in HS, but at this point he is only concerned about being 100% ready for college ball.
I wish you guys luck on all that. What my son wouldn't give for his injury to be in his non-throwing arm!
Tequila, I'm going home and having a shot of tequila for you. D@mm!t, was really hoping this was not going to be the case.
These words will probably ring hollow right now but when the time is right... still, make absolutely sure he does all PT and everything to fully heal. I know, somewhere, you said he is not willing to sit a year and try to play again but if he finds himself fully healthy at some point early in his college days, ya never know. Even more important... he's an athlete. He will most likely want to stay active and somewhat competitive into adulthood with one sport/activity or another (or six or ten), even in later years. He will be regretful if he cut his healing process short and left himself any less physically capable than he could have been. I have those regrets. Don't let him be me in his 50's.
I hope the surgery goes well !!
cabbagedad posted:Tequila, I'm going home and having a shot of tequila for you. D@mm!t, was really hoping this was not going to be the case.
Thanks cabbage! I'm breaking out the tequila myself tonight. If anyone needs any recommendations along those lines I'm happy to oblige. It's a bit of a passion of mine believe it or not! 
That stinks. Sorry to hear the bad news. Hoping for a great surgical outcome and that he's back to 100% after rehab.
With son's surgery tomorrow, I felt like it might be helpful to others if I chronicled the process. I toyed with the idea of starting a new topic for this but decided just to change the name of this one to include the word "labrum" so that all of the information regarding his particular case will be in the same spot.
I found a good thread from some years ago outlining a similar case but the OP stopped posting after a while so we don't really know how everything turned out for the player. https://community.hsbaseballwe...rs-and-labrum-repair
I also found this article, which is eerily similar to my son's situation (including the date of August 27th when the kid had his surgery) so we're using this as inspiration in the process. Based on a little searching, it appears that he went on to play at a juco but I couldn't find much past his first season. https://www.standard.net/sport...f9-804b979a99e7.html
I'll update post-op tomorrow and try to keep up with it as regularly as possible after that. Depending upon what is found when they get in the shoulder (and about 100 other factors) we're cautiously optimistic that he can be ready to go by the start of his spring HS season.
Thanks to all for the support. ¡Salud!
Best wishes tomorrow.
Good luck tomorrow!!!!⚾️⚾️⚾️
tequila posted:With son's surgery tomorrow, I felt like it might be helpful to others if I chronicled the process. I toyed with the idea of starting a new topic for this but decided just to change the name of this one to include the word "labrum" so that all of the information regarding his particular case will be in the same spot.
I found a good thread from some years ago outlining a similar case but the OP stopped posting after a while so we don't really know how everything turned out for the player. https://community.hsbaseballwe...rs-and-labrum-repair
I also found this article, which is eerily similar to my son's situation (including the date of August 27th when the kid had his surgery) so we're using this as inspiration in the process. Based on a little searching, it appears that he went on to play at a juco but I couldn't find much past his first season. https://www.standard.net/sport...f9-804b979a99e7.html
I'll update post-op tomorrow and try to keep up with it as regularly as possible after that. Depending upon what is found when they get in the shoulder (and about 100 other factors) we're cautiously optimistic that he can be ready to go by the start of his spring HS season.
Thanks to all for the support. ¡Salud!
Tequila,
I'm a little late to the party on this but thanks for chronicling your experience. I wish the best to your son. Just keep hope..the academic D3's continue to recruit late and if he can get into the school without coach's help he has a chance to walk on as well! I'm very much looking forward to comparing notes as we have also decided on the surgery option for my son. Just to recap for anyone looking for labrum experiences, I'll add our as well. I briefly mentioned it an earlier thread.
Son is a 2019 who was diagnosed with a torn labrum in his non throwing arm in Dec '17.
MRI conclusion was:
1) tearing of the inferior and posterior labrum from approximately 6:00 to 9:00
2) synovitis within the axillary recess
3) mild tendinopathy of the supraspinatus and infraspinatus tendons.
The ortho felt with the location of the tear and being his non throwing arm he may be able to rehab without surgery. We opted for the non surgery route in an attempt to get through his Jr. HS season and hopefully the summer showcase circuit. With PT he was able to get back on the field (about 4 months) and only miss 3 games of his Jr. season. He was also able to participate in the showcases we had scheduled.
Fast forward to today. His shoulder still feels ok and he could probably continue without surgery, however, there are still activities that give him trouble. He can't sleep with his arm above his head, absolutely no overhead weight exercises (including pull ups), when surfing the paddling motion really gives him trouble and lastly..this is a little hard to explain. You know when you raise your arm above your head and without looking you know or can feel where your hand is? When he does this he says his hand disappears, he loses the feeling of where it is in space. Which you can imagine is a little concerning trying to catch a ball above your head!
We want him to be 100% healthy and ready to go for college ball so we're scheduling his surgery for the first week in October. Doc says recovery should be 4 months, maybe 5. We opted for October because he has multiple official visits scheduled in Sept. and he doesn't want to show up in a sling. I should also mention that since revealing his injury all his D1 prospects lost interest. Which initially was really disappointing, however, in truth he is a borderline D1 prospect. Maybe he could work his way in by Jr or Sr year if he was lucky on a D1 roster, but he has a very strong chance to come in as a starter and be an impact player on a D3 roster. He also has very high academics so he is going to have a chance at going to an amazing academic school and play out his last 4 years of baseball.
I'll try to update after his surgery and his progress in rehab. Hopefully, this gives some hope to any others who are in a similar situation. When I first heard "torn labrum" I thought his playing days were done...but now we're looking forward to watching his last 4 years in college!
All the very best to your son + the family Tequila. Praying for a fast + full recovery for him!!
Surgery went well and we've got him home. They ended up having to put in two anchors as the tear was more than expected, based on the arthrogram read. The only real snag on our part is we underestimated the pain he would be in. I haven't seen tears in the kid's eyes in probably a decade, until the journey from the car to the couch this evening. It had to have been excruciating. With already very short hindsight, I would have insisted on a block in the shoulder area. I think they would have done it had I simply asked. I think a lot of it also has to do with the disorientation and discomfort from coming off the meds but it was so hard for me to experience that, after having not seen him like that since he was a child, that I nearly cried as well. We've got him settled and have our marching orders so the real work now begins. Thanks again for all the support.
Good luck to your son...we all know that it could be our kid just as easily. Recommend tequila and oxycontin for the pain. The combo is beautiful.
GaryMe posted:Good luck to your son...we all know that it could be our kid just as easily. Recommend tequila and oxycontin for the pain. The combo is beautiful.
Thanks GaryMe! Is that prescription for him or for me? 
Both, perhaps. Seriously though, be careful with the pain meds. Many a HS athlete coming off injury have started a nasty habit because it helps them get back quicker working through the pain. I hate seeing kids in pain, I can only imagine how you feel.
Totally with you. Plan to have him use only as necessary, trying to stick to acetaminophen and ibuprofen as much as possible. I don't expect more than sparing use over about 2-3 days at most but we'll see. Again, should have asked for the block and we wouldn't be having this conversation most-likely. That's my takeaway for any folks that might view this thread in the future.
Thanks for the update Tequila. Wishing your son a fast recovery.
You've given me something to think about for my sons surgery for sure. I'm no Dr. but I'm guessing the extreme pain is from the anchors. From what we know right now, my son will not require anchors (fingers crossed). Again best of luck to you.
SoCal OG posted:Thanks for the update Tequila. Wishing your son a fast recovery.
You've given me something to think about for my sons surgery for sure. I'm no Dr. but I'm guessing the extreme pain is from the anchors. From what we know right now, my son will not require anchors (fingers crossed). Again best of luck to you.
Hi SoCal OG, I don't think the pain is from the anchors so much as from the [aggressive] moving around of muscles, tendons, and various tissues to do the things that need to be done. The protocol of your son's surgeon vs the procedure to be done will determine whether they typically do a block. Ours was on the edge, but fell to the side of not, so we didn't really question it. I would do it differently had I to do it over again, in that respect. Hope that helps and best of luck to you guys!
Glad surgery went well, that he is back home + can start recuperating! Hope that he can follow the protocol, then return to form in the spring. He is gonna need you now more than ever, stay strong for both him + you.
Tequila, I am so sorry for what you and your son are going through. Sending lots of prayers your way for a speedy recovery.
Every individual's situation is unique in some respects, and it is this thought that makes me hopeful for those mentioned here and other pitchers who suffer a torn labrum; but, full recovery from it even when rehabilitated as conscientiously and well as possible is a dicey prospect. I know because it ended my son's playing career.
In his case, it occurred while he was beginning his third minor league season. One of the most vivid memories I have of the time comes from our visit to the surgeon's office the morning following his procedure.
After telling us how pleased he was with the procedure and its results, I asked him the obvious question, "So, with proper rehabilitation, what's the prospect of his pitching again?" The physician, who was his professional organization's chief orthopedic surgeon, paused for a moment and replied, "The human shoulder was never intended to throw a baseball off of an elevated mound."
Needless to say, I found his reply a good bit less than satisfying and not exactly what I wanted to hear. Little did I know that it foreshadowed a difficult and painstaking, nine-month rehabilitation program at the team's training facility in Arizona; only to find at the beginning of Spring Training that his shoulder still couldn't take the stress of competitive pitching.
Ultimately, it ended well because it opened the door to another chapter in his career; but, it was an unwelcome episode at the time he was working through it.
Prepster posted:Every individual's situation is unique in some respects, and it is this thought that makes me hopeful for those mentioned here and other pitchers who suffer a torn labrum; but, full recovery from it even when rehabilitated as conscientiously and well as possible is a dicey prospect. I know because it ended my son's playing career.
In his case, it occurred while he was beginning his third minor league season. One of the most vivid memories I have of the time comes from our visit to the surgeon's office the morning following his procedure.
After telling us how pleased he was with the procedure and its results, I asked him the obvious question, "So, with proper rehabilitation, what's the prospect of his pitching again?" The physician, who was his professional organization's chief orthopedic surgeon, paused for a moment and replied, "The human shoulder was never intended to throw a baseball off of an elevated mound."
Needless to say, I found his reply a good bit less than satisfying and not exactly what I wanted to hear. Little did I know that it foreshadowed a difficult and painstaking, nine-month rehabilitation program at the team's training facility in Arizona; only to find at the beginning of Spring Training that his shoulder still couldn't take the stress of competitive pitching.
Ultimately, it ended well because it opened the door to another chapter in his career; but, it was an unwelcome episode at the time he was working through it.
Thanks for that, Prepster. We got essentially the same message from the surgeon yesterday morning before the decision to go forward with the operation was made. There is a significant chance that my son will not make it back to baseball at the level he wants to be, or pain free. There is also a fair likelihood that it will recur if the motion that caused it continues. The surgeon was very clear about this. After this message, he left the room for us to chat about it and make a decision. My son felt that having the chance to make it back, at least for a few more years maybe, was good enough for him. He wants to feel that he did everything he could so that there are no regrets later. Only time will tell.
Terribly sorry to hear and thanks for sharing your experience especially in such a difficult time. I hope you can find some comfort here and wish your boy a speedy recovery. Hang in there and keep the faith.
tequila posted:Prepster posted:Every individual's situation is unique in some respects, and it is this thought that makes me hopeful for those mentioned here and other pitchers who suffer a torn labrum; but, full recovery from it even when rehabilitated as conscientiously and well as possible is a dicey prospect. I know because it ended my son's playing career.
In his case, it occurred while he was beginning his third minor league season. One of the most vivid memories I have of the time comes from our visit to the surgeon's office the morning following his procedure.
After telling us how pleased he was with the procedure and its results, I asked him the obvious question, "So, with proper rehabilitation, what's the prospect of his pitching again?" The physician, who was his professional organization's chief orthopedic surgeon, paused for a moment and replied, "The human shoulder was never intended to throw a baseball off of an elevated mound."
Needless to say, I found his reply a good bit less than satisfying and not exactly what I wanted to hear. Little did I know that it foreshadowed a difficult and painstaking, nine-month rehabilitation program at the team's training facility in Arizona; only to find at the beginning of Spring Training that his shoulder still couldn't take the stress of competitive pitching.
Ultimately, it ended well because it opened the door to another chapter in his career; but, it was an unwelcome episode at the time he was working through it.
Thanks for that, Prepster. We got essentially the same message from the surgeon yesterday morning before the decision to go forward with the operation was made. There is a significant chance that my son will not make it back to baseball at the level he wants to be, or pain free. There is also a fair likelihood that it will recur if the motion that caused it continues. The surgeon was very clear about this. After this message, he left the room for us to chat about it and make a decision. My son felt that having the chance to make it back, at least for a few more years maybe, was good enough for him. He wants to feel that he did everything he could so that there are no regrets later. Only time will tell.
You're so welcome, Tequila. I've always felt that honesty takes precedence over all else when facing challenging situations like your son's.
It sounds like he's going into the situation with best possible attitude and resolve; both of which will serve him well in recovery. Here's wishing him the very best!
One week post-op update:
The first couple of days were pretty rough from a pain perspective but a week out and he's got little to no pain at all. Taking the dressings off the shoulder was pretty special because of the heavy duty tape they use but we were able to do that and he's pretty much got showering down now (thank goodness). He's learning to be left handed so that's a challenge but kids are amazingly adaptable. One thing I'd advise to any who may have to go through this is to make sure you have thorough communication with their teachers, counselor, and attendance administration during the process. They've been very flexible with us as far as make-up work, etc. and it's easy to forget that it might take a right-handed kid longer to do something when they essentially can't use their right hand.
He has a two-week post-op visit with the surgeon next Monday and that will hopefully result in removed sutures and the start of PT. With the pain now gone, and the routine sort of set, I can see the thoughts of "how is this all going to work out" creeping up in his mind and evident in his statements and actions. He sent his first email last night to a coach that he's had a significant amount of dialog with, and outlined the situation. He expressed to the coach that he intended to apply to the school, regardless of recruiting status, because he felt it was a fit in all other ways but that he hoped that he would still have an opportunity to try to be a part of their program. I've mentioned that my son's targets are primarily D3 schools and we're hoping that it's still realistic that he could find a spot to have a chance to play at one of these. I was hoping to have a response from this coach before posting here so that I could provide some insight into the mind of one of these guys at this stage in their recruiting process, and given my son's injury timing, but I think he's at the ABCA this week so we're not expecting a prompt reply, though he is usually very responsive. I think my son would be fine even if it was bad news because he just wants to know the reality of the situation directly from the horse's mouth so to speak.
There are a lot of unknowns at this time:
1. Will the labrum reattach?
2. Will he come back without pain?
3. If 1 & 2 are yes, when will that be? The estimate is four months but there are a lot of factors in play.
4. If 1 & 2 are yes, will recovery time permit him starting his spring season?
5. If 1 & 2 are yes, will any of his target school coaches still have interest/availability at that time?
6. If 1 & 2 are yes, will any other schools have interest/availability at that time?
7. What safety schools might need to be considered given this course deviation i.e. not the schools that baseball might have helped him get admitted to that he otherwise might not have? An example of this would be Middlebury. It is very unlikely that he'd get admitted with his current GPA and test scores alone. This one is a bit of a bummer because he really liked everything about it, though it was a long shot even with baseball.
I hope I'm not just using up board real estate with these posts and I truly hope that some nugget of information might help someone else along the way. The most important things for us currently are positivity and planning. For those who find benefit, I'll post again in a couple of weeks. There should be more insight once PT starts. Thanks and take care!
Great report! It sounds like your son has a terrific head on his shoulders. Intent upon persevering, but level-headed and realistic enough to know that he has to explore options given the uncertainty of the rehabilitation he faces.
I'm assuming that his physical therapist is experienced in working with baseball shoulders. Once PT begins, it's as important that he not do more than his physical therapist expects as it is that he not do less than expected. This is not the sort of injury that benefits from extra work.
I'm sure that Ispeak for many of us when I say that we're all pulling really hard for a successful recovery!