When I was 16, I begged my parents to let me drive up to Lake Tahoe with my friends for a weekend of snowboarding and winter fun. Usually, I would be extra cautious and choose sledding or a game of monopoly over an "extreme" winter sport but for some reason I was feeling daring. I signed up for a beginners snowboarding class. We learned how to clasp our board to our feet, how to maneuver the board on flat snow, and then we learned how to get off the ski lift... I hopped on the bench with my instructor by my side and awaited the dreaded end of the lift. “Turn your body sideways, bend your knees and gently slide off” said the instructor. I turned my body sideways, I bent my knees, and slid off… Slid off straight into a trashcan and toppled sideways off the track and underneath the other bench lifts, hitting my head on ice and landing on my wrist at a terribly wrong angle. I self diagnosed that it was broken. I started crying, more from fear rather than pain. I advised my instructor that I needed an ambulance and a cast pronto. Before I knew it I was strapped down, and being sledded to the ER.
Since I was under 18, I needed parent authorization to receive an X Ray and of course… because I assured my parents that “everything will be fine, I’m an adult, I’m careful” I couldn’t just call them and tell them that fifteen minutes into snowboarding, I broke my arm. I decided to suck it up and deal with it (this being my new daring self). We left the ER and went back to our room. I cut up a cereal box, got a towel and tape and made my own arm cast. We still had two days on our trip and I paid for a weekends worth of snowboarding rentals so I just couldn’t let it go to waste. The next morning I strapped on my board and insured my arm cast was tight. My arm stretched out in front of me, my pants pulled up high, I slid down the so called hill, inch by inch. People would yell and make fun of me from the sidelines… little did they know I was tougher than all of them put together. My arm was broken and I was still snowboarding in a homemade cast.
Two days and a four hour car ride later, I returned home and unwrapped my arm. I told my dad I think I should go to the doctor, my arm feels “funny”. We got to the hospital and I received an XRay
“You’re arm looks perfectly fine.”
“Wait WHAT?”
“Just a small bruise that’s all"
.......
Ya I'm real tough....
