Where's Nate?

living large in the four-oh-eight. wicked large.

3.01.2008

one-armed bandit.

I, for one, am glad to have February in the rearview mirror. More specifically, the second half of February. Here's why...

I've been playing third base for the Google men's softball team since the fall. A few weeks ago I picked up a grounder in fair territory behind the bag and turned to whip the ball to first base. It was the last out of the game and the wind had really picked up, so I tried to put a little extra mustard on the throw. I heard a pop and saw the ball fly in a strange direction. We got the guy out and won the game, but that was the last of the good news.

I wasn't in any pain but my teammates looked very concerned and rushed me off the field. Long story short, our center fielder drove me to the ER, where I met up with Paige.

As it turned out, I broke my humerus in two places. That's right. I broke my arm firing the ball across the infield. Holy crap. (It's a rare injury, but not unprecedented. Former Reds pitcher Tom Browning suffered a similar injury while on a big league mound).

Instead of waiting for the bone to set itself, I opted for surgery. After all, with a baby coming in a few weeks, I'll probably need my right arm. A metal plate insert and nine screws later, I now have a crazy bionic arm. I'm still not able to lift anything, but I'm regaining more and more motion every day. And my left hand dexterity is vastly improving.

So there it is. Nothing funny or quirky. Just a crazy arm injury three weeks before the birth of my little girl. I couldn't have planned it any better than that. More updates coming soon.