“Strength shows not only
in the ability to persist,
but in the ability
to start over.” 
F. Scott Fitzgerald

It happened in a split second yesterday morning. As Brendan elevated to slam-dunk the basketball, it snapped — his patellar tendon. Ruptured. The staff at 24 Hour Fitness called for an ambulance, which took Brendan to Regional Medical Center in San José where he will undergo surgery today. 

Brendan’s mindset is amazingly positive at this point. He has always been aware of the risk involved in basketball. He’s been fortunate to have played for so many years without a major injury — until now. This one is debilitating. 

I sent Brendan a text last night with the words of Kobe Bryant, who also suffered a significant leg injury in his playing days. His words are inspirational:

“Be sad. Be mad. Be frustrated. Scream. Cry. Sulk. When you wake up you will think it was just a nightmare only to realize it’s all too real. You will be angry and wish for the day back, the game back, THAT play back. But reality gives nothing back and nor should you. Time to move on and focus on doing everything in your power to prepare for surgery, ask all the questions to be sure you understand fully the procedure so that you may visualize it in your subconscious while being operated on and better the chance of it’s success. Then focus on the recovery process day by day by day. 

“It’s a long journey, but if you focus on the mini milestones along the way you will find beauty in the struggle of doing simple things that, prior to this injury, were taken for granted. This will also mean that when you return you will have a new perspective. You will be so appreciative of being able to stand, walk, run that you will train harder than you ever have. You see the belief within you grow with each mini milestone and you will come back a better player for it. Best of luck to you on this journey, my brother.”

“This, too, shall pass,” a common phrase which can be traced back to 13th century Persia, is also something to consider at this point in time. Stuff happens. We can paralyze ourselves and get stuck in asking the question “Why?”, or we can acknowledge that there is no answer to that question and focus, rather, on the question, “Where do I go from here?”

Brendan is strong. He’s passionate about the game of basketball. He has so much to offer younger players on the fundamentals of the game. This is a setback, for sure, but he’ll overcome this injury. I am confident that this experience is going to make Brendan even stronger, both physically and mentally.