Experience as an Injured Athlete

What is it like to be an injured student athlete?  This is my story.

Head Injury

The first time I was injured was when I was in a 1v1, and my leg was on the ball, trying to gain control, and my foot had slid, and I had fallen backwards. The first thing that hit the ground was my head. It made an impact with the ground, and it bounced another time after that. The impact was so hard that you could hear it across the field. 

Ankle Injury

The second accident I had was at my last soccer game. I had gotten injured while playing. I had gone to clear the ball from the opponent, and when I slid to reach the ball, I twisted and landed on my ankle, which caused me to pull a muscle. Due to safety reasons, I couldn't play anymore. 

Knee injury

The third incident was when I was playing indoors, and I had changed direction too fast, which caused my knee cap to pop out to the side mid-game. The next day, I went to OSMS, where they had told me my meniscus had torn and that I would need surgery. Due to my injury, I can't play any more or else I could probably damage something else.

One lesson I have learned is that you should never push yourself more than you can physically handle. Another lesson I've learned is that when you get injured, sometimes it's best to sit out to not hurt yourself even more, and sometimes you just have to accept defeat.