Disaster!

On Monday, I slept for a while and started watching the Lao Cai province Olympics!

Schedule for Lao Cai Olympics
S=morning, C=afternoon, T=evening
Bong do=basketball
Bong da= soccer

After basketball finished, the Bao Thang District No.2 High School invited me (and some other adult spectators) to scrimmage against them. We were destroying them (after all, we were grown men) when I saw a lazy outlet pass. I raced cross court into the backcourt for the steal. I reached out my hand and broke up the pass. I hit the ground and rolled. When I came up, I had no feeling in my right arm. I could move my hand and shoulder, but not my elbow. I figured, maybe a pinched nerve. I continued to play. My arm felt worse and worse. I could no longer straighten it. I took a seat and got a sub. It felt worse and worse. I went inside and took some advil. I did RCE (I don't have ice). It got worse. After a couple hours, I went to the hospital.

They did an X-Ray. They came out. I asked (through a translator)- well? Is it broken?

They replied, " The X-ray is negative. Your arm is not broken."

"Thats great! But why does it hurt so much?"

"The news is negative. Your elbow is fractured."

After a while, I explained, in English, a fracture is a kind of break and negative means that nothing was found, not that the news is negative.

Regardless, my arm hurt. I couldn't shower, shave, change clothes, stand up, walk around, eat, or really do anything. Eventually, after a couple days and a lot of advil, I was able to use my chopsticks lefthanded and even lie down. Fortunately, an elbow heals quickly- meaning I would only be in a sling for 2 weeks, and unable to use my arm fully for 4 (sadly, I would not be able to play sports or lift weights for 12).

"Whats wrong with your arm" -everybody

It looks worse than it felt after the first week or so

Chess competition

Basketball (Lao Cai No,1 the best team against the most rural team)

Weird as it may sound, this was the best possible time for me to break an elbow. I got the week off teaching, then spent the next week in the States (where I got another X-ray to be sure) and then the next week in Da Lat for my mid-year conference. So, by the time I got back to Lao Cai, I was almost back to normal!

So, definitely not optimal, but not the end of the world. Definitely annoying though.

Onward. Always Onward.
Daniel