Daniel Theis is currently supposed to make his first NBA playoffs with the Boston Celtics – but due to a knee injury he can only watch at the moment. In his SPOX column, the German international talks about his rehabilitation and the emotions that accompany his injury.
If you want to contact Theis directly, you can still use the hashtag #AskTheis on Twitter or Facebook.
Hey, guys,
Unfortunately, the bad luck of our Celtics didn’t spare me either this season.
Diagnosis: torn meniscus and no weight on the knee for 5-6 weeks. Of course, that was a huge shock for me and a huge disappointment, because you worked all season towards the playoffs and fought for them – and then you have to deal with the fact that you won’t be playing in the current season.
The evening the injury happened felt really shitty because I didn’t know how badly I had hurt myself and could not get an MRI until the next morning. The next day I had the certainty that my meniscus was almost completely torn horizontally. At first I didn’t really know how to react either. Even when I called my wife and told her the MRI result, I still couldn’t believe it myself. Unfortunately, surgery was unavoidable for optimal healing. That’s why I decided together with our team doc that the operation should take place as soon as possible. In such days everything always fits together – a blizzard came up and I could only have an operation four days after the injury.
Luckily, the surgery itself went very well. The meniscus was sutured completely and there were no further complications. But after that I had to get used to life with crutches. Not so easy when the bedroom is on the first floor and you have to “jump” up and down stairs every day. That’s why I had a bed put from the hospital into the living room to make the initial period after the operation a little easier for me.
The most important thing during rehab is PATIENCE. And unfortunately I don’t have it! For the first 2-3 weeks I was allowed to do almost nothing, apart from the treatment of our physio and a few exercises to maintain the muscles. It was not allowed to get any weight on the leg. Since week 3 I have been doing upper body strength training and since week 4 I can load my knee with 50 percent body weight, which is a giant step and a huge relief. At the moment I’m in week 5, I’m now allowed to carry 75 percent body weight and have only one crutch left. The aim is to be able to walk without crutches again from week 6. Keep your fingers crossed!
There was one thing I was really happy about – and that was that I was allowed to drive myself despite the injury and was therefore able to drive to my rehab every day myself and was not also dependent on help here. Besides, my luck was in the misfortune that beside my wife and daughter since my injury always someone was visiting us and I was therefore never alone to fall into a mental hole. First my brother was visiting with his girlfriend, then my two nieces and then my mother-in-law. I was really glad that my wife was helped a lot because I was only allowed to lie down for a while.
It wasn’t easy for me to just not be able to train and play overnight. That’s why I always supported the boys from the cabin and bank as best I could, but unfortunately I couldn’t do more. And of course I’m having another hard time with the playoffs, because I would have loved to play myself, but that’s what has made our team stand out all season: “Next man up”. Every time someone failed, someone else stood in for the person. They all fight endlessly, play defense and just enjoy being on the field.
In the playoffs everything is now possible. I will support my team as best I can from the bank and I believe in the guys. I’m happy and can’t wait to be back on the field with everyone and to give everything. Until then, I just have to learn to be a little more patient! My goal: #comebackstronger.
Yours Daniel