Then and Now

I am occasionally going to post 'Then and Now' blogs. These stories typically come about when I have only one picture of an individual in a cast. But I know the story behind the cast and know what the individual does today.

OLIVIA

This is one of my all time favorite cast picture. I love the setting. The broken leg perched on two pillows. Crutches propped against the desk. The family rogue's gallery on the wall. Water bottle seemingly out of reach. The full leg cast decorated with more drawings than signatures. And the look on 13 year old Olivia's face. A mixture of surprise, disbelief, and enjoyment.

Olivia lives in Florida. When she was 13, Liv, as she is known, took a spill off of a horse and shattered her tibia and fibula. Fortunately, Liv was riding with friends and medics were soon at the accident site. After a horribly painful ambulance ride, Liv had surgery to repair the breaks and was placed in a comfy full leg cast. Six weeks later, Liv was placed in a walking boot.

Today, Liv is in her early 20's and still lives in Florida. She is a staunch vegan and works in a vegan restaurant. Two pictures below show Liv around the time of her high school prom. The bottom left pictures shows a close up of Liv' feet. And in the group photo on the right, Liv is shown last year. She is middle front row.

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JENN

Another of my favorite cast pictures. Jenn is having her cast autographed by former NFL quarterback Randall Cunningham. Mom and dad look proudly on. Jenn doesn't seem fully bought in to being hoisted onto the table by her dad. I guess dad didn't have a golf cap or a football available for Randall to sign. So Jenn's cast was the next best thing. The picture seems to be taken indoors. I suspect it is a political rally of some type.

In August of 1998, 11 year old Jenn was playing basketball in a sixth grade summer league. She lived in a small town in Iowa. During a game. Jenn suffered a severe fracture of her lower right leg. Jenn was rushed by ambulance to St. Luke's Medical Center in Cedar Rapids Iowa.

There, she was heavily drugged and her leg was set manually. Jenn told me that despite ridiculous amounts of drugs, the setting process was he most painful 3 minutes of her life.

Jenn was rewarded with a full leg plaster cast which she wore for 16 long weeks. Just before Christmas of that year, Jenn was placed in a below the knee cast.

Today, Jenn is in her early 30's. Despite achieving a full recovery from the injury, Jenn has a mortal fear of basketball. She has not touched a basketball since that memorable day 20 years ago.

Jenn escaped Iowa by attending college at Arizona State University. She is an industrial designer. So she applies her creative and artistic skills to the design of products and marketing messaging. After college, she moved to Philadelphia and recently returned to Iowa to be near family.