AlienALX
Well-known member
So come on we've all known each other a while now, but there is obviously lots we don't know.
So as I type this I am 17.5 stone. I am pretty badly over weight.
However, when I was a child I was a good dancer. In fact, that would be a massive understatement. I was the best dancer in my school, ran the school's Breakdance crew and we used to put on shows/displays for other schools etc. In fact what with my athletics (I used to run long distance) I was set to be a fantastic dancer.
And then one day I went to a local paddling pool*. It was me, my brother and my (at the time) best friend Lee. We got there OK, had a great water fight etc. Then as we were coming home something went wrong. My brother and Lee crossed the road but I found myself frozen in fear. I didn't look and just ran for it. I was hit full on by a car doing about 40 MPH.
I spent three months in hospital. I broke my left femur, right arm, right leg (below the knee) small fracture to my skull and etc. I was in a really bad way. Even after all of these years I still remember lying on the bed in A&E and saying "I am tired. So tired. I want to sleep" and them freaking out and yelling at me trying to keep me awake. I am pretty sure that had I gone to sleep I would have died. I think it was my body's way of saying "Look mate, you're f****d just let go".
The biggest issue was my femur. These days they would just pin you all up and send you home. But this was 1981 and there were no pins. The only way to repair a broken femur then was to basically strap a load of weights to my lower leg, pull on the bone until it separated, then guide the bone back in, slowly, and release the weight. They called it traction. This took about 10 weeks. 10 weeks of lying in a bed (literally chained to it) and then months of rehab, learning how to walk again and ETC. My left leg is now longer than my right (I'm not joking either).
I did dance a lot after that, but never as gracefully. I'd done my body too much damage for it to become my career.
* for the people in the USA or Aus who may not know what a paddling pool is.. It's a swimming pool sized pool but it's only about 12" deep. They are outdoor (or were, they don't exist any more, thanks health and safety !)
So as I type this I am 17.5 stone. I am pretty badly over weight.
However, when I was a child I was a good dancer. In fact, that would be a massive understatement. I was the best dancer in my school, ran the school's Breakdance crew and we used to put on shows/displays for other schools etc. In fact what with my athletics (I used to run long distance) I was set to be a fantastic dancer.
And then one day I went to a local paddling pool*. It was me, my brother and my (at the time) best friend Lee. We got there OK, had a great water fight etc. Then as we were coming home something went wrong. My brother and Lee crossed the road but I found myself frozen in fear. I didn't look and just ran for it. I was hit full on by a car doing about 40 MPH.
I spent three months in hospital. I broke my left femur, right arm, right leg (below the knee) small fracture to my skull and etc. I was in a really bad way. Even after all of these years I still remember lying on the bed in A&E and saying "I am tired. So tired. I want to sleep" and them freaking out and yelling at me trying to keep me awake. I am pretty sure that had I gone to sleep I would have died. I think it was my body's way of saying "Look mate, you're f****d just let go".
The biggest issue was my femur. These days they would just pin you all up and send you home. But this was 1981 and there were no pins. The only way to repair a broken femur then was to basically strap a load of weights to my lower leg, pull on the bone until it separated, then guide the bone back in, slowly, and release the weight. They called it traction. This took about 10 weeks. 10 weeks of lying in a bed (literally chained to it) and then months of rehab, learning how to walk again and ETC. My left leg is now longer than my right (I'm not joking either).
I did dance a lot after that, but never as gracefully. I'd done my body too much damage for it to become my career.
* for the people in the USA or Aus who may not know what a paddling pool is.. It's a swimming pool sized pool but it's only about 12" deep. They are outdoor (or were, they don't exist any more, thanks health and safety !)