The Tuesday before last, I woke up with a searing pain in my left leg that felt like a hot, jagged scalpel was being dragged from the bottom of my mid-thigh, across the inside of my knee, down my calf and to my ankle. As it turns out, I ended up in the ER with a potentially life-threatening illness. Here’s what happened…
Watch on EP303 of The New Wave Podcast on YouTube:
After the week I’ve had, I’m grateful to be alive.
I sat bolt upright in bed in a confused daze and tried to get out of bed gently so that I wouldn’t wake Sara, but it was all I could do to help from shrieking. What in God’s name was going on, I wondered?
I slithered out of bed and butt-scooted down the stairs using my one good leg to flip on the light before fish-flopping onto the recliner to investigate — only to find that my leg had nearly doubled in size from the knee down.
Flaming, angry and red…it was scorching to the touch. I viscerally remember the feeling of shock looking at my limb, which was nearly unrecognizable due to the massive inflammation. I felt the internal pressure about to pop my knee joint like a balloon and I started to pour sweat. All the blood in my body seemed to have pooled in my lower leg, making standing, sitting or even breathing excruciating. My upper body felt cold and slightly feverish, which seemed like a nervous system response to a shocking injury.
I began to run through the possible scenarios of what could have caused this. I’ve been running and training very hard recently, and my first instinct was that I’d torn something significant in my knee — thus my body was reacting overnight to an injury I was now becoming aware of. I’ve had a few weird, painful injuries before that have popped up without warning and disappeared just as quickly. So despite the pain, I wasn’t overly concerned.
Even for a man with the middle name “Colossus,” this was a dangerous misread of the situation.
I stayed off the leg, icing and elevating it over the next 48 hrs. Critically, I was also taking a small amount of NSAIDs (Ibuprofen). I prefer to take pain meds as infrequently as possible because my instinct tells me it’s better to know what’s happening in the body than to mask the symptoms, even if they’re uncomfortable.
Usually, your pain is trying to tell you something important. For instance, a splitting headache might mean you are dehydrated — the pain reliever will take care of the symptom, but not the cause. I also know many OTC medications are hard on your stomach, liver and kidneys when used frequently. Still, the pain in my leg was so severe I was happy anti-inflammatories existed in this moment.
By Friday, things had not significantly improved. I was using a walker to get around the house. That was definitely a first! I felt more like my grandmother with every hobbled step. Since I was treating this an an overuse injury from heavy training, I figured that while I was waiting for the leg to heal, I might as well get some chiropractic care — so I went to my local chiro for treatment on my right leg and lower back, which had both taken a beating from lopsided walking.
At the appointment, the seriousness of the doctor’s expression did not give me relief.
“That looks bad. Really bad. I’ll give you some support for your lower back…but that’s not normal. You need to see an ortho immediately.”
Within a few hours, I was at orthopedic urgent care. But it was a short visit. Every nurse in the facility looked at my leg and did a double take — it was not instilling confidence! Alarm bells were beginning to go off. The doctor took one look at the leg:
“No. Oh no. That…that’s not an orthopedic issue. That’s either a blood clot or an infection. You need to go to the ER immediately. This cannot wait over the weekend.”
Back in the car, headed to the ER (mom driving the whole time, by the way). By this time I’m in a wheelchair and just happy to be pushed because I’m so painfully exhausted. They help me onto the bed and start taking tests over the next few hours.
When it’s all said and done, it turned out to be a gnarly staph infection in my leg most likely caused by — you guessed it — jiu jitsu.
This type of infection can be deadly if it spreads through your bloodstream and it can become resistant to antibiotics as well (MRSA). It’s an infection that feels like a shattered bone, can easily kill you and you can pass it to others. True nightmare fuel.
The really scary part is that the anti-inflammatories I was on lowered the fever just enough to where it wasn’t perceptible — which threw off my natural instincts that this was more than a physical injury. If I’d waited over the weekend, it’s possible the infection could have spread into my bloodstream and the consequences could have been dire.
The doctors started me on IV antibiotics and kept me overnight. Saturday morning, I was not recovered. I still couldn’t even stand up to pee. But my labs were good enough to discharge me. I was able to wheel myself out of the hospital by the grace of God.
Monday, we moved from my mom’s house in New Jersey to our new place in New York and I had to watch as others moved around me, completely unable to help. As someone who prides themselves on being able to carry the brunt of all physical labor, I felt helpless and useless at times. Yesterday (Tuesday) was the first day I didn’t need to use a walker. I even noticed three new stretch marks on my knee. Talk about personal growth.
The lessons are many.
First: Humility and gratitude. You can do everything right and still lose it all. However, the physical state in which you come to meet a battle for your life can determine the outcome of the battle. You don’t rise to meet challenges, you fall to the level of your preparation. Just another reason to maintain your health to the best of your ability at all times so that if anything does happen, you’re in prime condition to fight!
Second: men, listen to the women around you. Both my mom and my wife told me that this looked serious. I told them not to worry. After all, I’m a strong and experienced athlete. What could possibly happen to me? I was wrong and would have suffered less if I’d gone in sooner.
Third: beware of the confirmation bias of AI. I described my symptoms to ChatGPT and uploaded pictures along with my suspicions of the cause (physical injury). It told me what I wanted to hear, gave me solutions for relieving the symptoms based on my description and confirmed what I already thought was wrong. It’s like talking to a closed loop — no new information was introduced. Yet two human doctors immediately looked at my leg and knew something was very, very wrong within seconds. We are not ready to live in a world where AI makes critical life, health or money decisions for us. It lacks nuance and depth. A brilliant idiot.
Fourth: if you train combat sports, make sure the environment you train in has very high standards for the cleanliness of the gym and the hygiene of the members. I was a visiting member at a high level gym in New Jersey when this happened — despite the fact that I was wearing full protective coverings (rash guard) up to my wrist and down to my ankles. I noticed several signs that the cleanliness of the gym was not up to par, but I was only passing through for a few weeks and didn’t want to be “that guy.” In the future, I will be. I’ll never train at a gym that doesn’t meet my standards: showers in house, consistently clean mats, well-maintained locker rooms, proper shoe / bathroom protocol.
Fifth: I was touched that professor Michael Chapman and so many members of my Impact Jiu Jitsu family in Beaverton took the time to reach out to me and check in. Not all gym cultures are created equally. So much love for this team. I look forward to returning if and when our travels take us back to Oregon.
I’m lucky to still be here. I’ll be off the mats for a few weeks until I’m fully healed. This is the type of injury that can make you think twice about going back, because it’s so unpredictable. But this is part of the game and I love jiu jitsu too much. I will be careful, but refuse to live in fear.
On the plus side…
On the plus side, this experience is giving me more depth for two books I’m in the process of helping to write and publish for phenomenal clients via my publishing company New Wave Press:
1.) The Healing Way by my friend Dr. Brett Jones features protocols for creating mental images to support the body in healing physical injuries using research-backed methodology. I’m currently utilizing these processes to see myself fully healed. This book is slated to be released Q1 2025.
2.) The incredible healing journey of my friend Jay Knight, who got Covid in 2021 and was one of just a handful of people in his hospital wing to survive after going on the ventilator. His story of faith and family isn’t just gripping — it provides a blueprint for laying the foundations in your life necessary to overcoming tremendous, deadly challenges. This will also be out in 2025.
This was my first time staying overnight in the hospital since I was an infant in the NICU in 1988 — and I won’t take the experience for granted. The energy will be used to help tell stories with even more authenticity and depth.
God bless.
PS: I had an event scheduled for last week, but because of the whole ordeal, I was physically unable to do it. As I’m on the mend now, I’m going to schedule it again for 2 weeks from now. Sorry for anyone who signed up. Here are the details.
If you’re an expert, industry leader or professional who wants to stand out by writing a powerful book, I’m hosting a free workshop that you’re not going to want to miss!
Free Live Event: The Hidden Power of Publishing
How Attract “Forever” Customers, 3-5x Your Revenue and Expand Your Influence With A Bestselling Book
Wednesday, October 9th @ 8pm EST
Here’s What You’ll Learn:
- The 5 core elements a book needs to create genuine authority and credibility in your industry.
- The secret method for using your book like a “business card on steroids” that 3-5x’s your revenue.
- How to leverage a book to create high-ticket offers, partnership opportunities and other priceless relationships.
- A high-level overview of the publishing process from concept to launch.
If you’re a professional, entrepreneur or expert who is ready to become a bestselling author, I highly recommend you RSVP. I’ll send out a replay to those who can’t make it.
Much love,
D
PS — Books are incredible tools that the majority of business owners and professionals overlook (or procrastinate on forever!) because the thought of writing it overwhelming. But think about all the possibilities that could begin to open up if you finally published that book you’ve been thinking about for months (or years…)
