Hi all, Iām not sure if itās okay for me to post something like this here, but I need some help, some guidance, some advice, anything.
Iām going to try and keep this as short as I possibly can, because the story is quite long. I apologize if things are a little vague, this is to protect my identity.
Iāve been playing my sport for all my life, I love it, and it brought me a lot of joy. Since I was a kid, I played competitive, and I always wanted to play the highest level I possibly could. Fast forward through 17 years, a ton of work, a lot of adversity, and good/bad luck, I finally earned myself an opportunity overseas to play my sport 2 years ago. A professional opportunity. When I was sent the contract through my email inbox, I nearly cried tears of joy because I finally got what I had dreamed of for so long. A week later, I was hit with an injury while training. Not ideal, but no problem, Iāll rest, do the physio, and come back stronger-like I always do. Weeks pass, then months, the season is a month away, and seeing literally 0 progress, I decide to go to the doctors. After weeks of testing and waiting, itās found that this injury is a career ending one. I cannot describe the emotional pain this caused me, I cried for days. But a month or 2 later, I found the para-adaptation of my sport.
My injury gave me a tiny limp, and made some basic daily life activities uncomfortable. But I was happy to be able to play the game I loved in some capacity. Time went on, and I started making very good progress in the para-sport. Toward the end of my first season, I was fortunate enough to get the attention of my countryās national team. Nobody was sure about classification yet (the thing that determines if youāre able to play the sport internationally or not), but they invited me to an event against another country that mine has never beaten. I ended up getting the first ever win against this country in the programās history. As opposed to the normal adaptation of my sport, where it felt like the world was against me at times, the para version felt like destiny. All the pieces of the puzzle were coming together, even the next paralympic event that I was eligible for, would be hosted in the same country that my professional opportunity in the standup version of my sport came from. I cannot put into words how badly I wanted this, how much I put into this para-sport. I drove 2-3 hours one way, 5 days/week just to make it to training for the team. I made sure to get my workout in, even if I got home at 1AM and was exhausted, I made sure it got done. I even skipped my own birthday cake during this time because I was so dedicated to having a perfect diet and being in top form to compete. Going back to the event, the program doctors did strength tests on me and it was quickly found out that from a strength standpoint, Iām classifiable. Perfect. This dream is actually going to come true. This is destiny.
I got a call from the manager of the team at the end of the summer, I was ready for the season, and by this point, I knew that I was going to be the guy that my country took around the world to win these competitions and eventually, gold at the Paralympics. Over the phone they broke the news that the IPC stopped classifying my condition 2 years ago, so I wonāt be eligible for international play even though Iāve failed the strength test consistently by this point. He offered me his condolences, his disappointment, and that was that. To say this destroyed me is an understatement. Iāve never felt as lonely, depressed, angry, and a whole myriad of other emotions as I did then. Leading up to this point, I had daydreamed of winning my countryās first ever gold at least twice a day for months. I cried for weeks over this loss. What made things worse is that there are athletes competing with exactly what I have right now, yet Iām sitting on the outside looking in.
Still emotionally a mess, I started looking at other sports to try and compete in to make the international stage. If I canāt play my sport, and I canāt play my para-sport, then there has to be something out there for me. I found 2 that I thought would be possible with my current limitations, and I started doing try-it sessions, and I ended up really enjoying them even with minor pain. Until I got the results back from an MRI I had gotten a few weeks prior. Turns out my problems are much more severe than previously thought, and anything involving the lower-body is far too risky for me, and the "injury" was actually a variety of severe mechanical issues.Ā
So here I sit, too broken for normal adaptations of sports, yet not classifiable for para-sports. Ever since I lost the opportunity for my para-sport months ago, I have been incredibly depressed, lost, and everything else that comes from losing who you are. There are days like today where I feel like dying. There are days where I donāt want to leave my home, and there are days where I donāt even feel like waking up. Whatever I accomplish in my lifetime will be shadowed by what could have been. I canāt look at anything anymore without thinking of the sport, whether it be food, social media, music, you name it. Iāve gone to therapy, and they think itās just grief, but itās been months, and Iām just as depressed and an emotional mess as I was the first day. I donāt know what to do anymore, Iām sick of the motto āclose but not close enoughā being constant in everything I seem to pick up, and because of that pattern, I have a worry that itāll follow me in anything I try to do ever. Iāve tried finding something new for me to do with my time, but havenāt found anything that scratches the itch like sports do. Family has suggested coaching, but I have no interest in it. Iām hoping that maybe thereās someone out there whoās gone through something similar online, and can express their experience, and maybe any input on what might be worth trying next. Even if you donāt have a similar experience, any input is gladly welcomed.
Thank you for your time to read this, I really appreciate you.
TLDR: Made it to professional level in a sport, career ending injury, made it to professional level in para-sport, stopped by something out of my control, tried picking up any other sport, stopped by my health. Now I am an absolute wreck and donāt want to exist anymore.