Introduction:
Even when you are out of the hospital, you still need to take things slow. On your first day back to sports, you need to go and talk to your coach and explain what happened. You don't have to go into detail but just say that you had surgery, and will need to take things slow and easy for a bit. Your coach needs to understand that your health is very important and that you need to do this because it is the safest and best way to get you back to 100%. If your coach does not listen or does not want to help, you have to go talk to someone with authority--like your parents, the Athletic Director, maybe another coach or teacher. You should not have to be forced to do something that you do not feel comfortable doing and are not allowed to do.
My personal story:
I have two stories from my life about sports. Both these stories have to do with crew/rowing. When I was in high school, I had been having surgeries off and on for my J-pouch throughout the year, and no one really knew exactly why I had to keep having surgery. Then, after one visit with my doctors at the Mayo Clinic, a sports doctor connected the problems I was having to weightlifting. Therefore, my doctors and I decided that I needed to stop lifting weights, forever. At first, I thought this was the end of the world. But it wasn't. I did some research and I realized there are a lot of exercises and things I could do with my body weight to still build muscle, so I was ok with the doctors' restrictions. That occurred over 10 years ago, and I have been regularly working out ever since with minimal problems.
During this conversation, we decided, for the time being, I could keep rowing crew, as long as I did not lift weights. Upon my return to my high school, I pulled my coach aside to speak with him about my new restrictions. To my surprise, my coach would not let me participate if I could not lift weights. I called my parents and doctors and we cleared it all up with the coach again. However, at the next practice, he kicked me out again after he had said I could come back. We went through the whole process again, cleared it all up and I went back to practice, and, once again, I was kicked out. Finally, my parents and doctors had had enough. My parents and I connected with the Athletic Director and told him the full story. The AD then called the Head of Schools and they were all furious and outraged that this was happening. Eventually, I had a meeting with the AD, the head crew coach, and two other crew coaches and we came up with a plan for me to do some body weight workouts that another coach gave me. We had finally solved this mess and I was able to return back to crew. But, unfortunately, later I was eventually forced to stop crew because of another stomach surgery.
Moral of the story:
First, you can always go talk to someone if a coach or anyone is treating you unfairly due to your health issue. A teacher, coach or anyone else should not treat you differently just because of your illness. If this ever happens, you must go talk to another adult because that is not fair-- your health issue is out of your control.
Another moral of the story is that your health is the most important thing. No matter what, you should put your health first. You have to look at the big picture. In the long run, your health will always be with you. Your sports career will end at some point, so there is no reason to risk your overall health for a couple of years of a sport or any activity. Your overall goal should always be to get the highest quality of life for yourself, so putting your health at risk will not only endanger your future health but it could make your illness worse. Even though I had to stop rowing crew, I was able to play more tennis, golf, and other sports with friends and making amazing memories in the process.
Reminder:
If you can, get a note from your doctors about your health restrictions before you leave the hospital. This way, your coaches and everyone else will know what you can and cannot do following your surgery.
Even when you are out of the hospital, you still need to take things slow. On your first day back to sports, you need to go and talk to your coach and explain what happened. You don't have to go into detail but just say that you had surgery, and will need to take things slow and easy for a bit. Your coach needs to understand that your health is very important and that you need to do this because it is the safest and best way to get you back to 100%. If your coach does not listen or does not want to help, you have to go talk to someone with authority--like your parents, the Athletic Director, maybe another coach or teacher. You should not have to be forced to do something that you do not feel comfortable doing and are not allowed to do.
My personal story:
I have two stories from my life about sports. Both these stories have to do with crew/rowing. When I was in high school, I had been having surgeries off and on for my J-pouch throughout the year, and no one really knew exactly why I had to keep having surgery. Then, after one visit with my doctors at the Mayo Clinic, a sports doctor connected the problems I was having to weightlifting. Therefore, my doctors and I decided that I needed to stop lifting weights, forever. At first, I thought this was the end of the world. But it wasn't. I did some research and I realized there are a lot of exercises and things I could do with my body weight to still build muscle, so I was ok with the doctors' restrictions. That occurred over 10 years ago, and I have been regularly working out ever since with minimal problems.
During this conversation, we decided, for the time being, I could keep rowing crew, as long as I did not lift weights. Upon my return to my high school, I pulled my coach aside to speak with him about my new restrictions. To my surprise, my coach would not let me participate if I could not lift weights. I called my parents and doctors and we cleared it all up with the coach again. However, at the next practice, he kicked me out again after he had said I could come back. We went through the whole process again, cleared it all up and I went back to practice, and, once again, I was kicked out. Finally, my parents and doctors had had enough. My parents and I connected with the Athletic Director and told him the full story. The AD then called the Head of Schools and they were all furious and outraged that this was happening. Eventually, I had a meeting with the AD, the head crew coach, and two other crew coaches and we came up with a plan for me to do some body weight workouts that another coach gave me. We had finally solved this mess and I was able to return back to crew. But, unfortunately, later I was eventually forced to stop crew because of another stomach surgery.
Moral of the story:
First, you can always go talk to someone if a coach or anyone is treating you unfairly due to your health issue. A teacher, coach or anyone else should not treat you differently just because of your illness. If this ever happens, you must go talk to another adult because that is not fair-- your health issue is out of your control.
Another moral of the story is that your health is the most important thing. No matter what, you should put your health first. You have to look at the big picture. In the long run, your health will always be with you. Your sports career will end at some point, so there is no reason to risk your overall health for a couple of years of a sport or any activity. Your overall goal should always be to get the highest quality of life for yourself, so putting your health at risk will not only endanger your future health but it could make your illness worse. Even though I had to stop rowing crew, I was able to play more tennis, golf, and other sports with friends and making amazing memories in the process.
Reminder:
If you can, get a note from your doctors about your health restrictions before you leave the hospital. This way, your coaches and everyone else will know what you can and cannot do following your surgery.