My Comeback Story: Robert T.

I play on Hartford Athletic, and as a soccer player playing at this level, there’s high demand physically, mentally, and especially athletically. I’m not the strongest guy, and during a training I was pushed off the ball and broke my hand. It felt like a cracking of the knuckles, but after my adrenaline went away it was pretty bad pain… I refused to believe I broke my hand, so I played for a couple of days, including a game before I knew something wasn’t right. I went for X-rays, and they weren’t sent to Dr. Mastella. I met with him. He knew exactly how to fix it but gave me the option for surgery to make it 100% certain full function or let it heal on its own, with possible bumps because my metacarpals broke at an angle. I went for surgery. It was really quick, and he did a fantastic job. I have pure confidence in this man because of his knowledge and kind demeanor. It was hard to be out of doing the sport I love… with my teammates and everything. I missed it a lot, felt unmotivated, and couldn’t play guitar or anything. After the surgery was done, I had to have one more to remove the pins. A couple of weeks after, my physical therapy began, where I had the pleasure of meeting Christine and Kat, two workers at Farmington Hand Center. This was a place where Christine and Kat became more than workers but genuine friends who I laughed with, bonded with, and adored. Being in that environment made me forget a bit that I’m limited. I wasn’t looked down on but encouraged. And like that, my recovery was going through faster than ever. Although it was frustrating because I couldn’t close my hand, play guitar fully, and learning it again was hard because I could play that before with my eyes closed, but not playing for so long was just unmotivating. I spoke my feelings to Christine and Kat, and they were so understanding and encouraging through it all. Only after 2 and a half months I was back to doing the things I love, like guitar, worshipping Jesus, and soccer for Hartford Athletic. It felt amazing, and I couldn’t have done it without these 3 loving and hardworking individuals who all played a role in helping me mentally, physically, and emotionally.