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..a little scared about my future


Amando Crespo

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After 2 moths in a medical prescription dry stockade,,, For a working accident (https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151573950086182&set=vb.732531181&type=2&theater )...

I´m in "fear" mode and scared about my future like steadicam op.

No problems for normal life..But plenty of troubles to fly big weight....

I had lateral and back ligaments breakage, muscular (quadriceps ) damage...

I am scared...

 

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Wow...so sorry to hear! Just take it slow! We all love our jobs (for many it is a passion) but it is a job, and a strenuous one at that! Take your time (I'm sure you are) and try to heal right. No matter how cool steadicam is it isn't worth not being vertical when we are older.

 

Best wishes buddy

rb

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Sorry to hear that Amando! Hang in there my friend!

 

I know how you feel. March 21 I injured my right knee on a Cirque du Soleil shoot. The doctor originally told me it was "just a sprain" and then nearly 60 days later he tells me I have a torn ACL and frayed meniscus. His opinion was I didn't need an ACL repair because "he was a paratrooper in the war and they jumped without them". Even after showing him a shot of me running backwards and sideways he didn't "get it".

 

Needless to say I'm seeing a new doctor tomorrow!

 

The thought of not operating for a four month recovery and rehab has been a bummer but on the other hand as an athlete I know I can rehab back into better shape and condition than I was before. Maybe I'll finally get my 10,000 iPhone photos organized in Lightroom and take my Spanish language studies up a few levels.

 

Meanwhile, try to see another doctor who specializes in sports medicine and even get the opinion of a physio-therapist / kineseologist for a proper rehab program. Having started yoga in January and still continuing has been a huge help for me.

 

These are lessons for all of us to make sure production has you covered with Workers Comp and to make them respect our bodies as athletes not just a human camera platform.

 

Get well and keep us updated.

 

Robert

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Hey Amando,

Sorry to hear about your injury. Stay positive and do the rehab. You WILL get better and you will be able to operate again.

Its just a matter of time and patience.

I broke 3 ribs and my collarbone playing rugby, and was told my my surgeon, after I showed him the Steadicam vest, that I should never put it on again.

In 4 months I was operating and playing Rugby again.

Dont worry ... worry is your worst enemy.

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Amando my brother! Sorry to hear of your injury. What looks like a simple stumble has devastating results to our bodies. Robert brings up a very important point, I never would have considered seeing a sports specialist, but they of all doctors would get how much we put our bodies through.

 

I started tending goal last year on a 30+ soccer team and have had a few bumps that just didn't heal right and the old body just aint what it use to be... but we do heal!

 

Take care our yourselves (yes, all of your personas) and eat right.

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Amando!

 

I come from a long line of men who do a great job "ignoring" the pain until it becomes unbearable. If you've slowed down to give yourself a rest, you're already ahead of the game.

 

Now, I recommend you treat the injury with respect, but also as the challenge it presents. Nobody climbed a mountain or overcame adversity without confronting the fear of the situation, and they did it by respecting the challenge and doing things right.

 

Give it time to heal, and once you're healed, give it a wide berth: be careful, don't dive in head first. But don't let it frighten you, or else you'll panic as you start to return, and then you get sloppy, and then you exacerbate the injury or create new ones.

 

I think you would probably know by now if you were "finished". If you're healing, and you have some strength left, then your body will survive.

 

Respect, not fear.

 

You got this.

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Right there with you, I tore my ACL last year in a biking accident and had it replaced in September. I had originally been shooting for a return to steadicam 6 to 8 months from the surgery but my recovery has gone a bit slower than expected. The thought of retiring my rig had crossed my mind a few times as the rehab dragged on, but as I get stronger and more confident in the stability of my knee those worries are starting to fade. There is still fear in the back of my mind that once I am ready, I could still reinjure myself and have to go through this process all over again which would just suck, but everyone I have talked to with similar injuries have said that I will know when I am ready. Hopfully I will know soon, and you too brother. Goold luck!

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I'm sorry to hear about your troubles Amando. I had 13 months of rehab after a bone crushing Motor Cycle accident in the late 90's. Both my Fibula and Tibia were shattered by a car making an illegal and unchecked U turn from an outside lane. Although I eventually won in the courts and and got my career back on track I spent a lot of time in misery, both physical and mental. On many occasion I resigned to selling the rig just so I could feel like I was moving forwards again and getting prepared for another career. But I stuck to the dream and kept working hard on getting better and stronger, and eventually I was back in the rig and more excited than ever to be doing what I loved. I still have a reminder every time I go through airport security as I've got some large hardware in the leg but otherwise it never bothers me. I expect that perhaps some related pains will flair up as I get older but so far I been blessed with 15 years since the accident and hopefully I've got at least 15 more to go!!

 

All the best in your recovery,

 

IB

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Amando, very sorry to hear about your injury brother.

 

A little over 10 years ago now I suffered a big set back in my life, I went to the cinema to see a film with a friend, 10 minutes after we left I woke up upside down in the passenger seat of his car, my upper left femur broken clean through in 4 places, my right lower leg crushed badly to the point where it developed compartment syndrome and I almost lost that leg below the knee, several fractured ribs, a concussion so heavy I lost almost a weeks worth of time and was barely coherent until a few days after that.

Before my injuries I was proud of my physical prowess taking part in many extreme sports and martial arts, but this was a devastating blow to me, I suffered from extreme anxiety as a passenger in cars for nearly 4 years afterwards and 2-3 years of painful recovery later I finally managed to walk again unaided and without the use of prescription strength pain killers....

Now I have been operating Steadicam for nearly 4 years, working with Jimmy Jibs and heavy equipment all the time and living a happy life.

 

Patience, determination and a healthy dose of anger will get you back where you need to be.

 

I say anger because anger is a more useful emotion than self-pity my friend and I wasted energy on pity for myself before I got angry and determined to take back my life and make it something I enjoyed again.

 

I wish you the best of luck with you recovery, get angry, get determined and take back what is yours.

 

James

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