Tommy John....

bballph07 you have a pm

bballhp07 - My son is in the exact same situation as you are! He is 18 years old & just found out last Thursday that he has to have Tommy John surgery, and he is supposed to report to school on August 15th! We have a consulation scheduled with the surgeon for August 8th, don't know when surgery will be scheduled yet! I also have a lot of questions like "How soon after surgery is it possible to return to classes?" Can anybody help me out with this?

momof5,

You also have a pm

bballhp07 and momof5,
I have some idea of what rz1 might have said. You should pay very close attention to his wisdom as his son was just drafted after facing and having TJ heading into his draft year.
I know a little about surgery myself, and here is what I would recommend:
1.) Your son's arm is so much more important than whether he plays in the Spring. In fact, if he needs TJ, he is not playing in the Spring of 2008. It would be much more important to realize it now and move forward.
2.) Make sure you get a 2nd opinion unless your son has already seen one of the foremost in the field like Dr Andrews, Kerlan Jobe, etc.
3.) Have the surgery done by a physician who has done 100's and who does them on pitchers and who has a positive reputation of success.
4.) Stand behind your son every minute of his rehab. It will be painful, long and lonely. There will be days he wonders why and you need to help him on those.
5.) Make sure your son has a great rehab plan with the best PT you can find and that he follows it precisely. This isn't a race. Recovery is about a 16 month procedure no matter what your read, hear or are told.
Don't be bashful about asking questions. rz1 and his son handled their situation about as well as it can be done. They have a track record that worked so well for Ryan, and nothing came easy. You have a great resource. Use it whenever you can.
Good luck to your sons and best wishes for a complete recovery and return to baseball.

quote:

I also have a lot of questions like "How soon after surgery is it possible to return to classes?" Can anybody help me out with this?

Well, I can help you out with this question...at least with how it pertained to my son....surgery was on a Thursday in Birmingham...he was back in class on Monday in Pennsylvania. Feel free to PM if you have any questions that I might be able to help you out with.

aside from the surgery i'm going to ask the obvious question. do their college coaches know about this? if they do and still are behind them it will really help with the rehab. using school resources and still being on or in the team enviornment is a great help for a player. my son had tj a year ago. was released before he had it, it is very difficult rehabing alone so to speak. but things are working out well for him. his arm is as good as new.
every day life comes back very quick, the baseball end takes some time.i would echo infield dad make sure the doctor has done this on pitchers many ,many times. this will make all of you feel more comfortable.

i am not a NOT a doctor, but TJ surgery hits close to home and maybe this will help. we used Dr James Andrews out of birmingham alabama. i believe you can find out more about him on the internet. my son had a triple loop performed. used a tendon on the pitching arm. surgery went well...very well. the hardest part was rehab. to be honest, it took three years for complete recovery and that was pure h*** for everyone in the family. was it worth it..you betcha. he's a senior at usa and for the moment the future looks pretty good thanks to the surgery AND a great rehab.

Thanks everybody for your responses, they were very helpful. I was concerned about him maybe missing too many classes in school. I was hoping he could have the surgery on a Thursday morning & be back on class on Monday. Looks like that could be a possibility. My son's college coach knows that he was having some elbow problems and he has called to check on him regularly. We just found out last Thursday and are waiting to get more information from the surgeon today before we call the coach.
Once again you guys are great thanks for all the info!!

You've been given a lot of very good information. As another parent who's son has gone through this, last September 27th was his surgery date, it does take time but if you get the right surgeon and PT, he'll be fine. He'll be able to get back to classes right away. One thing I'd very strongly suggest you consider is gray-shirting. My son did this with the support of his juco coaches and it worked out very well. By taking less than 12 units per semester, its as if your son isn't even in college yet, from a 5 years to play 4 standpoint. He'll be able to get some units out of the way, will save a red-shirt year should it be needed later and will have more time to take care of his physical therapy.

One additional thing I'd highly recommend is to look into renting a "Game Ready" icing machine or something similar. My son's surgeon prescribed it for him, and it really helped with his recovery. This machine pumps refrigerated water through a sleeve that you wrap around you elbow, and it periodically compresses the area to help move excess fluid buildup out of the area. We rented one for a couple weeks and it sure seemed to help.

RZ1 is a great resource about TJ surgery, but if you ever need someone else for your son to speak with before his surgery, PM me and I'll have my son talk with yours. Mine found it helpful to talk to some players who'd gone through the procedure before he underwent his own. That relieved a lot of anxiety and gave him a realistic expectation of what was ahead. It's been pretty smooth sailing for him, and knowing what to expect helped with that.

Geez, I thought we were cutting it close with my son's TJ surgery yesterday and classes starting on August 27, I think. But surgery on a Thursday and back in class on Monday. Wow!!!! I am totally impressed!!!!!

pb
i take it everything went well yesterday? a new member of the smiley face club.

bballhp07 and momof5
My kid was out for a week before he went back to class. I believe they wanted to get the leg healed some, so he could get around easier. The hardest part in class was writing of course, being left handed he doesn't have the best writing to start with so that was a task.
My son is in month 5. He has started ,lets call it tossing and all is going as scheduled.
Infielddad makes all great points as does RZ1. Since my kid is in the process, I can only give what he has experienced to this point.
One of the specialist that comes to check progress, mentioned a lot of the time when this surgery doesnt take well, their isn't full dedication in rehab.In additon, She also said they re-injure their arm by doing something outside of baseball, Motorcycle, skateboarding, Surfing and so on. I gave mine the speech, it wasn't really necessary but it made me feel better.

20dad.. Your sons college released him before his surgery? It would be nice to know what school that was.

I have to say my kid has total support from his school. During the season his head coach would check pretty much daily on the progress. Kept him in the mix of the team where allowed. Since he is rehabing anyway he is knocking out some credits at summer school too. He has great P.T's and Facilities to rehab at. I really am surprised with the level of care he is receiving, I am not so sure other schools would do the same.
RZ1 sounds like all is going well, thats great.

Good Luck

Here's a little motivation for the guys heading into, and/or still recovering from tj surgery.

lcloach asks

quote:

RZ1 sounds like all is going well, thats great.

Last Mondays Staten Island paper had this article

quote:

The three-run cushion was icing on the cake for Yankee starter Ryan Zink, who was absolutely on top of his game. The 6-foot-4 right-hander out of the University of Illinois-Chicago threw six sharp innings of shutout ball and won his fourth game of the young season despite having undergone Tommy John surgery just 16 months ago .

"Everything feels good," Zink said. "When you feel healthy, it does a lot for your confidence."

"If Zink doesn't throw the way he did this afternoon -- we lose that game," said Yankee skipper Mike Gillespie.

lclcoach
he was released from the twins.
rz
aside from being a yankee,lol. it's great to see ryan coming back as stong as he did. hard work wins every time.

Thanks for all the info...Yes my coach does know and he is being very accomdating, and is willing to work through it all.

bballlhp07 - keep us updated how things are going for you. When is your surgery scheduled?

Lcldad, Have your son go to the school's resource center and ask them to provide him with a note taker to help him, since he's "handicapped". My son's juco provided him with a student to do all of his writing for a couple weeks while his arm was immobalized. He thought it was really cool, the guys on the baseball team just thought it was out there (but they were really just jealous since his note taker was quite cute). I think he tried to milk it as long as he could, but once he was in a range of motion brace that allowed him some movement, his note taker went back to more important duties than baby-sitting a ballplayer.

rz1, sounds like Ryan's just getting stronger and stronger as the summer wears on. Good job Ryan.

06catcherdad

He was offered the note taker, but he declined for some dumb reason.

RZ1 That is really cool.