A Cruel Ending...

{Photo by Romain Robini...and no, Shaun was not jumping off his knee, he came all the way from the floor}

     Wheww.... well, we have had a whirlwind of a last two days, starting on Friday night. The team had a home game so their focus was avenging their first loss of the season last weekend. While I am happy to say they did that, I am not happy to say that what happened 20 seconds from the end of the game changed our weekend drastically, or the next 4-6 months for that matter. Shaun, as with all the players, had a great game and they were looking to close the game out when with 20 seconds to go, he collapsed in a heap on the floor mostly untouched. Shaun being Shaun, he tried to get back up and walk but clearly something was wrong. In his head, he knew it.... He had snapped his achilles tendon. Later, he would say it was not painful, just a weird feeling, like someone had kicked him from behind. But there was no one behind him. Terrible turn of events for a team that has unreal potential and for Shaun who is having a great start to the season..finished with 26 on Friday and is shooting lights out. The last 20 seconds seemed like 15 minutes as I searched for an answer since Shaun was whisked back into the locker room. When I saw one of the players call me over during the the game, I knew it wasn't good but never thought it was as serious as this. But when I saw Shaun's face, I knew. No words were needed, just an understanding. The rest of the evening was a blur as we spoke to the sponsors and speculated as to what his injury was (we didn't have confirmation until saturday afternoon). In the meantime, we learned that the best facility/surgeon for achilles sports injuries was in Monaco and scheduled a consultation for saturday afternoon.
Our consultation in Monaco went well. It was what we thought (torn achilles) and they could schedule surgery to repair the tendon right then. Fortunate in that he hadn't eaten nor drank anything since the night before, Shaun was prepped for surgery and whisked away..almost before we could comprehend what was happening. In hindsight, that was for the better. Our friends/teammates Lesly and his wife Marina helped us through the paperwork, the tricky translation, kept me occupied during the surgery and stayed with us from noon to 9 pm. They were life savers. I could only hope that we can help others at some point to return the favor of all the people who have helped us along the way. The facility was overlooking the harbor in Monaco which rivaled many upscale hotels. The surgeon, anesthesiologist and nurses all were great, total wise-asses like us so we knew we were in good hands. They joked after the surgery that Shaun still had 10 fingers and 10 toes and they needed to change his name to Britney since they performed a sex change. But in all seriousness, everything went great. They even took a camera pic of the surgery when his leg was open to show us after. Although he had the choice to stay, we returned home to a new life ahead of Shaun being bed-ridden for the next 3 weeks, not being able to walk for 6 weeks and out of basketball for 4-6 months. It sucks but those are the facts. Being a day in, I am happy to say that Shaun has been completely pain-free and he has adapted to life of being 'waited on' nicely...almost too nicely and too quickly though I might add. He has a long road to recovery but if there is anyone that is capable, it is Shaun. It sure is a character tester but Shaun has kept his cool demeanor and smile all through-out so with fear of sounding like a 'lifetime' movie quote, 'he is ready for the challenge'. But if there was a silver lining to all this, it is the unbelievable support we have received from all the players. We had multiple offers to go with us to Monaco and many more offered food and stopped by the house. This team has some special chemistry, I tell ya', something that doesn't come around often.

{Being prepped}

{One last pic before sending him off}

{Lesly waiting and enjoying the view}

{Post surgery, enjoying some much needed KFC}

{View overlooking the port of Monaco}