10/25 AJ Week 3 - RISK - found here: https://oscraps.com/community/threads/october-aj-week-3-risk.42988/

"Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans". Proverbs 16:3

I’m not a risk-taker, per se, so when my son, Michael, invited me try my hand at playpickle ball with him that fateful day in October 2023, I was glad to try it! I was curious about this new game everyone was talking about…..the “old people’s tennis”! I grew up playing baseball with the kids in the neighborhood and later played on a church softball team in my earlier adult years. I had tried playing tennis with my girlfriend and did more chasing after the ball than anything, but we were having fun getting our exercise. I hadn’t done any kind of sports in quite a while, but I could play around with the grandkids. And since pickleball was for “old people” I figured I could handle it! I’ve always been pretty coordinated…….until Saturday, October 21, 2023.

Michael, Mark and I got up and got dressed and went to a facility where we would play on a basketball type of court. I wasn’t on the court 5 minutes when I went for a ball with my arm, but my feet were not moving with me! So I fell to the floor. I had the paddle in my right hand, so I caught myself with my left hand. SNAP! I knew immediately that I had broken my wrist! But, the thing that was hurting most was my lower back. So I asked one of the guys playing in the other courts to bring me a folding chair to prop my legs on the seat while Michael called 911 for an ambulance. Later I would learn that I had the wrong shoes on for playing on an inside court. My Skecher tennis shoes were too “sticky” for the court. Even later, upon visiting the orthopedic doctor at home and more x-rays were done, I would discover I had a fractured disk and a slightly bulging disk in my lower back. Did it happen when I fell, probably, since my back was hurting more than my wrist, but I don’t know for certain. But the hospital did not find the back injuries.

The orthopedic doctor asked me if I had ever had a bone density test done (DEXA). When I told him that I never had, he said with my broken wrist, and my fractured disk, and my age being 68 that I should have one done. That is when it was discovered that I had severe osteoporosis.

So, if I had not fallen, I would not have had a reason to go to the orthopedic doctor and I would not have had the DEXA scan. And, somewhere down the road of life, I could have broken a hip or something worse.

"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" – Wayne Gretzky
Well, I know one shot I wish I had NOT missed! ;) And, I could’ve stayed home in comfort with Jessica and missed all of the excitement, but what fun would that have been?! ;)
Thank You, Lord, for not allowing something worse to happen that day!