If you are going to be dumb you had better be tough!

Talking with a patient recently reminded me of this-the patient’s father had instilled this idea in his head and it reminded me of some of my own experiences.At one point in my life I was an avid rollerblader. I was all about the speed and distance. I had a hopped up pair of Roces, which were the top of the line rollerblades for that time. I had added special bearings, wheels etc. in search of more speed. I was a fairly skilled rider with no fear of crashing. Yep this is where dumb and tough appear.It was an April morning and I was roller blading a path that went along Long View Lake outside of Kansas City. Approaching a blind turn at sun up at a high rate of speed, which I had done countless times before, I yelled “anyone there?” No answer as I got even closer I yelled again, again no answer. I rounded the corner to find a biker stopped with the entire path blocked and this left me with two options 1) hit the bike and biker, 2) up into the brush on the side of the trail. I chose option two, which quickly exaggerated another not so wise decision-I was helmetless. Upon coming to a stop I quickly became aware that pain was setting in. The short version of the injuries-typical road rash and bruises, scraped up head and face accented with embedded sticks and leaves.I realized at this point I was about six miles from my car, by myself as the biker did not stick around to see if I was okay. So I gathered myself the best I could and began the journey back to the car. The pace was slow and arduous.Besides damage to my pride I was going to be fine-short term, but as we both know we are an accumulation of all of our life’s events. I was in my 20’s and certainly tough enough. But thinking about the pain reminded me of another phrase - “stupid hurts!” Truer words have rarely been spoken.Obviously not every injury or condition is the result of continued lapses in judgment. People are often embarrassed about how injuries occur. Sometimes they even side step the truth about the mechanism. The mechanism of injury often changes the approach to treatment.At various points in my life I have been reminded that “Stupid Hurts!” Let’s not compound a problem by not disclosing the mechanism of injury.