Numb to Pain

I used to watch these "Faces of Death" videos that depicted amateur recordings of real-life horrific encounters between humans and anything capable of causing pain and/or fatality. We shouldn't have watched that stuff - creepy footage of people jumping from buildings, being mangled by wild alligators, thrown from vehicles, etc. I'm not even sure why we were interested in such things, especially since it was the real deal.

Pain is an awful reality. Athletes resist it, overcome it, concede careers to it. Lamar Odom experienced it a couple of years back when he lost his infant son to SIDS. Kobe Bryant endured it when he was publicly exposed for infidelity. Andrew Bynum withstood it in two consecutive years when he suffered knee injuries that cut his seasons short. The list of Pain's afflictees is endless and probably renders one truth. No one is numb and no one is exempt. We all hurt in various ways but numbness is the panacea of our age.

It seems like we seek anesthesia rather than remedy - the stuff that dulls the pain but leaves you vulnerable to its return. There are narcotics, alcoholic depressants, co-dependent relationships and a host of other shortcuts we embrace to escape pain. But pain alerts to illness and all illness requires treatment. Man you could write a book about pain and its benefits. But ain't nobody goona buy it (excuse the double negative). Nobody invites pain but it teaches so much. Make no mistake; pain is not to be sought but when it inevitably comes, we do well to note the causes and analyze them to the most minute component.

If you're an athlete prone to ankle sprains there's a reason for your predisposition. Muscular atrophy maybe? I recently discocvered patellar tendonitis complete with a side order of excruciating pain. For two years I medicated just to play hoop. I medicated the day of the Clippers workout and later during semi-pro games. 400, 600 then 800 mg just to suit up and "shoot the J...shoot it." I was clearly not numb to pain, just too stupid to address its source because healing takes a commitment. Anesthesia takes a moment. Once I chose healing, I found out one leg was 40% weaker than its counterpart. The weak leg was 1-inch smaller in circumfrence and my scar tissue around the injured knee became exposed.

I accepted my chicken leg and committed to physical therapy for 10 months. I'm not healed but I'm better and I can play the game without feelin' like a "junkie".