Josh Moser
Writing 340
8/27/08

Diagnostic Essay: Illness or Injury

Snap. At the blink of any eye what I had spent eighteen years of my life training for was lost. My childhood dream was shattered just two weeks after I had made it into college, as my bone turned into brittle fragments of calcium against two hundred and fifty pounds of body mass. Utter shock and pain consumed my body at first, followed by feelings of discontent and disbelief. As I laid in the hospital bed motionless from the chest up, I knew that I must find a new direction and understand that my body will never be the same. Now, I have no reason to think what could have been, but only a chance to put my best foot forward on my new path and remember the life changing day that my collar bone snapped and ended my collegiate athletic career.
It was only the second day of practice and school was over a month away. I was a young freshmen, still yet to experience my first class and first college party. All I could think about at the time was living in the moment and soaking up the notion that I had accomplished my goal of playing basketball in college. There I was defending our starting point guard trying to earn respect and prove that I belonged on his team and on the collegiate level. It was nearing the end of the game, and I was holding my own, until it all literally, came crashing down.
He moved left, and I moved left. I was matching him inch for inch and then, smack! My shoulder collided with the chest of another player and I found myself flat on my back, unable to move. My arm went numb and I could not push myself up. It felt like I had run into a brick wall. I remember yelling for help and then being placed on a backboard. This unfortunately would be the last time I would be able to use a backboard competitively, and it wasn’t even the one attached to the basket.
Forty pounds lighter I began my ascend back from the depths of my injury. Physical therapy became my only athletic outlet. At the beginning I struggled both mentally and physically. Why did this have to happen to me, I kept asking myself. Partial paralysis even crossed my mind.
Two more months passed by and I had made good progress. I was still short of my playing weight, but I had full range of motion in my upper body. I needed a fresh new start and I found it at the University of Southern California.
Since coming to USC, my basketball shoes have been traded for loafers, and my playing field has now become the newsroom. The basketball that I once held in my hand is now a microphone, as I am actively pursuing a career in broadcasting sports journalism. Yes, I would go back in a second to continue playing, but if it had not been for my tumultuous fall, I would not be in the position that I am in today. I strongly believe that things happen for a reason and see this incident as a stepping stone, that has forced me into the next chapter of my life.