tonight, i felt the most physical pain that i can recall ever having. and that makes me feel very blessed.

it was another uyensday night of volleyball. playing had already begun when rafa and i arrived. and with the low number of females present, i was asked to play on a team with players who had never come before. it was okay, getting into the groove. but the fellas were young. and not experienced. anyhow, a load of people came so that we had to set up the second net and reconfigure teams.

by the third game on the losers' court, our team didn't need to be reminded that we hadn't gone anywhere. but the other team kept pushing our buttons. and we upped our level of playing. we put on our game face and were determined to regain some dignity. we were charged and play went well.

it was exciting and peter, one of the new guys, and i were at the net. we had a little run-in earlier, a near-collision with legs in the air but it was okay and we played on.

on the particular play in question, he was in the center and i was on the right side. i had either gone up for a hit or a block and peter had come up to. but on my descent, my right foot found one of his and my ankle spun out of control, rolling to the side on an already weakened ankle. i fell to the floor, wincing in pain as the tears streamed out of my eyes. i was worried that i really messed up my ankle this time. and the shock and pain left me unable to do much but cry. the humdrum of playing had quieted and i heard voices talking about what they should do with me. they asked me to lie on my back and i did. they started asking me questions and i answered. with gary's training, they got it right: leave my shoe on, get me off the court, and rest my ankle. wendy held my hand and rafa supported my ankle. i moved over to the stage because it was closest. someone had retrieved ice and we were trying to figure out what it should rest on. shaun helped to get me on stage. sihad let me use his backpack for elevation.

i could move my toes. and i could walk with some pain when my ankle moved forward and back.

i have to wait another hour before taking more ibuprofen to reduce any swelling. i have an icepack around my elelvated ankle.

i am very fortunate. that it wasn't more serious. and for all the support i had around me.

let's hope my mom doesn't see me limping tomorrow! she warned me not to go. but did i listen?