Allianz Team Blog How Imanol experienced his first serious injury

In this blog post I would like to share with you my experience of the first serious injury of my career.

We started a few months ago, on 12 August, my first Monday at work. And we all know that Monday is hard for everyone, but this Monday was something special for me. It is hard to explain, but I already woke up with the thought that something was going to happen, and so I was prepared for it.

I went to practice, it was a sunny day, and as always my first job was to make everyone smile. Once that was done, I started warming up. During the warm-up I somehow felt incomplete. But I started as always; we played a little game of bump tennis. After we won, I began a drill in a group of three guys. My group was with Gregor and Neaves, and that was the beginning of the end.

I was really focused on the drill, and in one stupid moment I dived for the ball and fell over my arm. In that moment I felt like Adele, because when I started screaming I hit the wildest note of all time. After that I remember the guys forming a circle around me to see what had happened. I still remember Pieter asking me, “Are you okay?”, and I did not answer.

Then I understood that this was the beginning of something serious. I sat down at the side of the court, Pieter brought me an ice pack and I got my water. After that I remember Christophe texting Leona and asking her to pick me up and drive me to the hospital. Those were the longest ten minutes of my life. I felt the hardest pulse in my arm and I tried to bend it, but I noticed that my arm was not strong enough. When Leona arrived, we went to the hospital, and there I met a really nice guy who looked a bit scary; his name is Lu. He told me, “Everything will be fine”, and that was the most honest lie I have heard in my whole life.

After that everything was quite simple, because I remember waiting for the elbow specialist and thinking that I would never play volleyball again. But my brain was already starting to accept the situation and saw it as a long break rather than an injury. Because once you are injured, you are already in the recovery process. I was really surprised by the medical service, because I got an MRI the day after the injury, and that was really impressive. Afterwards I said, okay, let us go home; I already had a cast, and I got my first pizza here in Düren. It was pretty good, because it is nice to get good food in bad situations.

The day after the MRI scan was the hardest mission I have ever completed in my life. I got my hospital gown. It was so cold in there, and Lu (the biggest liar of all time) [irony, editor’s note] told me, “It will be quick”. He put me in the most uncomfortable position I have ever tried in my life for 20 minutes, and it was the longest ever.

I remember lying in the tube and wondering whether it was better to open my eyes or keep them closed, because an MRI is a scary situation with all the noises inside. During the scan I started singing, to myself of course, a song my mother had dedicated to me. It is called “Brindis” by Soledad Pastorutti, and I got a little emotional, because that song really hits me hard.

I remember Lu touching my foot and saying, “That is it, well done, mate.” And I answered, “Finally”. That was damn hard. I got dressed and went to the waiting room in front of the MRI; after a few minutes Lu came to get me to meet the elbow specialist and show him the results. I sat down in front of him and they began to describe what my elbow looked like, and I remember Lu saying, “And your ligament is gone, it is just not there”. I asked how long it would take, and the doctor said, “We will schedule an operation, and after that it will take at least six months until you are back to your best”, and I remember saying to myself in my head, “That is not going to happen, it will not take six months.” And then I started laughing and let out how frustrated I was.

Lu came a little closer, tapped me on the shoulder and looked me in the eyes, and I could see that he felt sorry for me. After I had left the hospital and gone to my car, I screamed in the car, then called my mother and explained the situation to my parents. As always they supported me and asked me what I wanted – whether they should be with me during the operation or whether I wanted to handle the situation on my own. By then I had already made a decision and told them, “I want to do this on my own, and after the operation I want to go home.”

I made my way back to my flat, and as usual all the staff sent me supportive messages, and that was the only thing I listened to on the way home. My brain was completely switched off; my only goal was to get back to my flat safely, and I tried not to break down on the way. After I got home, I got a call from Christophe asking me to meet in the office the next day. I said, “Okay, let us do that”. The next day was a free morning; it was pretty hard to sleep with the cast, and I was just waiting for the time to pass so I could be in the office. When I arrived there at 13:00, Tomas and Christophe were already sitting there to explain an idea for the next few weeks, and I only had one option in my head: booking a flight to Argentina.

After I told them what was going through my mind, they completely understood my point of view. With our feet on the ground we made a plan that included the option of traveling to Argentina after the operation (I was waiting for the doctor’s answer on the expected recovery time). I went back to my flat and called my family and my agent to discuss the plan for the coming weeks. In my head everything was simpler than it was in reality.

It was Thursday (the day of the operation), 8 in the morning. Tomas was at my door, ready to drive to the hospital – a hard feeling, where you never know what to do before you walk into the operating theatre. My only goal was to meet Lu to get the medication and sleep. That is the last thing I remember.

When I woke up, I was in a spooky room with two guys in front of me who were in the same situation as me. After two or three minutes I saw Lu come in, we took a photo (if you want to see it, check Instagram: swd_powervolleys_dueren) and an old lady took me out of the room to my own room. Two hours later I was already aware of the situation and decided to watch the guys’ match. I asked Lu if he could drive me there, and we went to the match.

I remember walking into the BM room and giving everyone a strange handshake, because I had no control over my right arm.

And the rest is history. That is it, thanks for reading 😊. Love you all, thank you.

Imanol Salazar-Tombion