In 8th grade, New York’s Damon Watson was a rising tennis star, on the court five times a week, dreaming every day of becoming a tennis pro if not, someday, a professional athlete.
His dreams, however, came crashing down way too early when his shoulder became so painful that he could not raise his arm high enough to serve the tennis ball. It hurt like crazy, but his doctors could NOT find the source of his pain.
And he, his family and an intrepid team of physicians and nurses began the long, tortuous journey to find the pain, understand the problem and treat it.
This is a story about the process and the professionals who, along with their patients and their families, persevere and make it through to the other side.
What’s wrong with Damon’s shoulder?
Damon’s dad, Wade Watson, told OTW that the initial diagnosis they received was Little League Shoulder, an overuse injury that affects the growth plate and causes pain and inflammation at the shoulder.
“They thought the growth plate hadn’t hardened to the shoulder,” he said.
Nope. Wrong diagnosis. Which, itself, is not unusual for young athlete cases like this.
And that set Damon and his father on a long odyssey of doctor’s appointments, MRIs and different types of treatment including bone stimulation, platelet-rich plasma injections and physical therapy.
Through it all, Damon’s pain remained as strong as ever, even after rest and physical therapy.
And, no tennis. Damon had been playing since he was four and a half years of age. It was an understatement to say he was super passionate about it.
This is the crucible of sports injuries which many athletes find themselves in. Do you give up? Or do you find the inner strength to continue despite let down after let down?
As a player, Damon was highly competitive. So, as a patient, he persevered and, in order to get back on the tennis court, he adjusted. He taught himself how to play left-handed and even taught at a tennis camp.
And, in a dramatic move, he put a Plan B in action.
Damon directed his energy into his academics and became really interested in math, physics and anatomy. He even got accepted to the prestigious Beacon School in New York City.
His dad explained, “Damon has a super high IQ and his pediatrician saw him going into medicine. He was obsessed with his rehabilitation, and even interned with and shadowed a doctor. It was the silver lining of the injury.”
Watson said he took Damon to five doctors before being referred to James Gladstone, M.D., chief of orthopedics sports medicine for the Mount Sinai Health System and associate professor of orthopedic surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
He described it as a very frustrating process going from one doctor’s appointment to the next, from one diagnosis to another, and then of course, there was the expense of it all.
