I'd had a really bad car accident years ago, and basically, the ligaments in the back of my neck were ripped, and I'd never addressed that.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I got hurt when I was 19. They thought I broke my neck. I couldn't move my hands or feet, and I had a very bad experience.
I broke my neck, it's a classic neck break from chin to chest. If I had been alone, I would probably be dead.
I've broken my wrist, dislocated toes and shoulders, gotten stitches, you name it. However, the worst was a severely bruised femur. I got body checked into an open gate while playing hockey. The doctor couldn't believe I didn't shatter my femur.
But I was losing so much bone density that I would have been in grave danger. And I mean grave danger. If I had let it go just a few more years I could have broken my hip or spine just picking up my granddaughter.
I really feel that if it wasn't for the accident, I'd still be fighting. I would have handled some of these fighters. I would have made sure that the doctors would have declared me physically sound; and after that, I would have trained.
Broke my femur on a cruise with my wife in Italy. I'd walked back to my cabin after dinner with half a plate of spaghetti when I leaned in to open the door. Turns out it was already open, so I fell flat on my face like something from the Keystone Kops.
I had to have shoulder reconstruction.
I had fractures in my spine that had to be repaired that came as a big surprise; nobody warned me that I might get some really severe, threatening fractures. It was painful, and I lost two inches of height, bang!
My injuries are more due to attrition than accidents. I have a couple of herniated discs in my neck, and that more than anything else - I had a flare-up last December, and I had actually made the decision to retire before that, but that just cemented the choice. I was flat on my back.
I could have been a professional footballer and trialled with Blackburn Rovers. But I snapped my cruciate ligaments, an injury that has dogged me ever since.