milehighnerds.com

The kind of break she didn’t want

Posted by guyincognito on January 2, 2010

By guyincognito

The toughest derby girl can’t avoid the occasional on-track scratches and bruises but Green Barrettes blocker/pivot Crystallion took her autumn injury to the next level.
Last September she broke her arm at a weekly scrimmage. Crystallion was attempting to cut to the inside of the track around corner two in order to t-bone fellow Denver Roller Doll Primal Rage.
“I did it, but she stayed up and hit me back with a sweet shoulder block that knocked me backwards,” she said. “I thought I fell on my back, but it turns out that I put my arms out and pretty much put all of my body weight onto my left wrist which fractured it.”
Crystallion’s broken arm cost her two visits to two different emergency rooms, since the first refused reset her arm/wrist. During the combined 13.5 hours ordeal she continued to spread Denver Roller Dolls word to the ER staff.
“I think I handed out about 20 to 30 flyers — the staff at both hospitals thought it was humorous — a few said they would try to make it,” she said.
Now that her bones are mostly healed Crystallion loves doing the simple things in life like being able to take a shower without a bag around her arm or putting on a bra by herself.
“Even just trying to shuffle cards or cut up veggies was so hard, I really appreciate my wrist and realize that pretty much everything was taken for granted,” she said. “However, having a cast on your arm is a good conversation starter and I was always able to steer the conversation onto derby and then do a little flyering or promo for the league.”
It’s been several weeks since she took the cast off but Crystallion faces prospect of a surgery to help improve her range of motion, which includes a procedure putting a pin in her wrist.