17 years on ice [figure skating]

◎What did it give me in return? ◎

Almost at the same time as the incident happened, the assistant coach rushed out from the monitoring room, asked how Lu Xi was doing, told him not to move, and called and shouted "Team doctor! Team doctor".

Soon Lu Xi's ankle was carefully fixed and carried onto the stretcher. During this process, Deng Chang and Chen Qi rushed in.

The tense and orderly process, the non-stop pain in the ankle, including the familiar equipment arrangement and the smell of disinfectant in the infirmary... All the scenes have been experienced by Lucy once, just like watching the replay of an old TV series from the first perspective.

But the details were very different, each reminding him that this was a new incident, that he had been injured again.

Soon after the film came out, the doctor walked in with a serious expression, and nodded his chin at Chen Qi.

Chen Qi followed out obediently, Deng Chang wanted to follow, but was stopped, he said a few words to no avail, he could only stay beside Lu Xi, turned his head to look at Lu Xi lying on the bed, his eyes were red.

At this time, Lu Xi was not as desperate as he imagined, he even smiled at Deng Chang.

Having been injured once, he has been able to accept his fate faster than others, and it is nothing more than recovering again.

But Lucy also knew that the injury this time was more serious than the last time, and there was no need to see the doctor's reaction.

The last time he just fell, after this fall, he slipped out, and his injured right foot hit the ice wall hard, which was like crushing the broken bones again.

If it wasn't for the fact that it was already in so much pain that it couldn't hurt any more, this blow would have been enough for him.

-

"Communter fracture...Arrange surgery as soon as possible...Two steel nails..."

Chen Qi was describing his situation to Lu Xi, and Lu Xi listened very carefully, but only these key fields remained in his ears.

After Chen Qi finished speaking, he asked, "When will the operation be done?"

"After a week, wait for your ankle to subside." Chen Qi said.

Lucy nodded: "Does it hurt to hit the nail?"

"It doesn't hurt." Chen Qi said, "I will give you anesthesia."

Lucy nodded again and didn't ask any more questions.

-

A week later, Lucy had an operation. The operation was successful, but even if it was successful, it would take a long recovery period. He moved into the intensive care dormitory again.

This time because of his serious injury, Deng Chang could not accompany him like last time.

The national team hired a professional rehabilitation trainer to take care of Lu Xi's daily diet and daily life. At the same time, he used professional methods to move his ankle joints and exercise the muscle functions of his legs every day, so as to avoid muscle atrophy, deep vein thrombosis or joint adhesion.

These rehabilitation actions are equivalent to forcibly stretching the joints and muscles, and every time it hurts, Lucy is covered in cold sweat.

During this period of time, Lucy was almost numb. He received a lot of care, encouragement and condolences, but to be honest, he was not in the mood to watch at all.

To be honest, in his situation, a promising athlete suddenly suffers a devastating injury. Even if his temper becomes extremely bad, he will throw things and scold people out of anyone who comes, and no one will think that he is wrong.

But Lucy didn't do that at all, he just became very silent and didn't say anything.

The more it was like this, the more distressing it became. The people around Lu Xi took the responsibility of protecting him automatically.

The leader of the general organization tried to see him, but Chen Qi resolutely stopped him outside the ward, saying that Lu Xi's current condition could not see anyone.Chen Qi even bowed and apologized, preferring to be punished and not let anyone in.The leader's secretary's face turned black, but the leader himself was quite reasonable, so he said forget it and let the athlete recover well.

There are only three people left who can get close to Lu Xi, Huang Bin and Gu Qianqian.

and Deng Chang.

At first Deng Chang didn't even dare to see Lu Xi, and watched him silently outside the window, he was afraid that his appearance would make Lu Xi feel more uncomfortable when he thought of skating, and the appearance of wanting to see but not being able to see him was also very distressing.

It wasn't until later that Lu Xi asked: "Where's Deng Chang?" He quickly passed through the corridor and rushed into the door, and from that day on, he came to accompany Lu Xi every day unshakably.

Deng Chang was more careful with Lucy than anyone else. He didn't even wear his usual sportswear and sneakers. He wore T-shirts, jeans, and sneakers that changed every day, and he dressed completely differently from the time of training. He never mentioned training. Instead, during the offseason, he spent a lot of time every day going to nearby corgi cafes and cat cafes, and took a bunch of videos for Lucy.

Seeing Lu Xi smiling and saying, "Let's go for a walk when your feet are healed", Deng Chang showed a relieved expression.

Lu Xi felt in his heart that in a sense, he treated Deng Chang badly.

I talked about drinking coffee that day, and there was nothing else to say after that, but he is really not in the mood to think about those things now. Even if he is in the mood to think about it, he can't afford to think about it in this state of a useless leg and an uncertain future. Children love each other.

I can only say that luckily he just asked Deng Chang to drink coffee that day and didn't say anything else, otherwise he wouldn't be able to face Deng Chang now.

-

One month after the operation, Lucy had a re-examination. The doctor said that he was recovering well. In the X-ray, he saw the two steel nails in his ankle for the first time, which penetrated his broken bone and fixed it. It is said that a The two steel nails can be taken out after a year.

Two and a half months after the operation, Lucy was able to get off the ground with crutches. He was learning to walk for the third time in his life, and he still thought it was amazing.

Ice fans know the news of his injury, but they don't know the specifics of the injury, and because of the injury, many businesses have to be canceled before they sign a contract, but these are not issues that Lucy can focus on now. It's early, I haven't signed a contract yet, so I paid a lot of liquidated damages.

He quietly missed the spring in the intensive care dormitory. In July, four months after the injury, Lucy, who was finally able to walk normally, came to the ice rink again.

-

Lu Xi also experienced it once before learning to skate again. This time, Chen Qi, assistant coaches Cui Xiao, and Deng Chang came to the ice rink together.They helped Lucy put on all the protective gear, tied the skates, and protected him on the ice from left to right.

After four months of not skating, my feet are a bit rusty, but that's ok.Lucy kicked off the ice twice, slid out neatly, and successfully completed both the gourd slide and zigzag slide with both feet on the ground, and then he began to try to push off the ice.

The most basic kicking is to step with the left foot and then with the right foot, just like walking.

Lucy didn't even dare to use his full strength, just skating in small steps like a beginner, but when his right foot landed on the ice with one foot, his body shook twice, and his left foot landed on the ice quickly to keep it balance.

After this step, Lucy stopped, her face pale.

Not only Lu Xi, but everyone around him stopped.

It turns out that what they thought was the end was just the beginning.

-

One month after that, Lucy began extremely painful training. Obviously, the strength test showed that his right foot had returned to the level of an ordinary person. At least he should be able to do basic gliding movements, but he couldn't. It may be because of his psychology. Obstacles, no cause found.

The ice skates as thin as cicada's wings used to be his toy, but now they are something he can't control no matter what.

From July to August, Lucy was barely able to slide, but only able to slide.He knew how big his right foot was compared to before, and he didn't even dare to do some technical moves that required force on one foot.

But still must continue.

Later, Chen Qi couldn't bear to watch it, and Lu Xi didn't want to let Chen Qi watch it. Such a simple action didn't make sense to keep a national team coach by his side.

Even Deng Chang and Lu Xi tried to drive him away, but Deng Chang didn't leave, so Lu Xi let him go.He'd stagger on any one-footed right foot, and he wouldn't have done that when he was four or five years old.

Such a process is extremely painful for an athlete. If you think about the game file being washed twice, you may not be willing to play for the third time, let alone a life that must be done physically.

That day was August 8th, and it was cloudy when he got up in the morning. Lu Xi went to the ice rink, and Deng Chang helped him carry his bag.

Lucy does some very simple skating exercises as usual. He has given up the upcoming 2019-2020 season. According to his current situation, it is impossible to return within three months. He is preparing for the next year.

In fact, the national team also talked to him secretly after the discussion. Even if he retires now, the gold medal he won in the World Championships is enough to spend the rest of his life safely, and the two-bedroom house will be given to him. , plus the previous bonus.

They can't bear to see Lu Xi suffer again. Many young athletes have to retire because of injuries, and ankle comminuted fractures are too sensitive for sports careers. If Lu Xi struggles again, he will not be able to recover. It's even more painful when you decide to retire.

Lucy turned a deaf ear to it.

He was doing a very basic and basic forward step. When he was skating to the third lap, his feet were soft and he knelt on the ground with a "boom".

Lucy is now wearing all the protective gear like a beginner, so it won't hurt if he falls, but he didn't stand up, and the reason why he doesn't want to stand up is not the pain.

Step forward, a very basic footwork that can be learned after practicing figure skating for about a month. Now he can't even do this kind of movement stably.

It is said that professional athletes will be laughed at.

In fact, all the persistence was because Lu Xi still didn't want to give up in his heart, but he fell down again and again and mercilessly laughed at him.

There is only one thought in my head: am I really useless?

-

"Xiaoxi." Deng Chang ran over quickly.He didn't even wear ice skates beside Lucy, and rushed up in thick-soled non-slip boots.He thought that Lu Xi was in pain from a fall, so he supported Lu Xi and asked with concern, "What's the matter? Can you still stand up?"

Lucy lowered his eyes, curled up into a small ball, shook his head, and murmured, "Why?"

From the time of the injury to the present, when he saw the two steel nails on his ankle bone from the X-ray, when he was doing stretching training, the pain was so painful that he was dying, and when he was learning to walk again with crutches, Lucy said: No complaints.

The belief that has sustained him since the injury has been to get through this for a while and just go back to the ice.

But after returning to the ice for a month, he couldn't even do the most basic movements.

He is really going to break down.

-

Lu Xi's voice was a little trembling: "I like skating so much, but Ice doesn't like me at all, does it?"

Bing Mian was silent, Deng Chang whispered, "No."

"No, then what did it give me in return?" Lucy asked with a sob.

"Two nails, eh?"

Deng Chang couldn't answer, his heart felt like a knife was twisting, so he could only hug Lu Xi tighter comfortingly.

Lu Xi closed her eyes in Deng Chang's arms, trembling uncontrollably.

He loved skating so much, he gave it his whole passion and his life, and then what?Just like this now, he is not yet 18 years old, he has two steel nails on his ankle, and he can't even complete the simplest skating?So many athletes are being injured, but how many of them will be injured like him?He has made all the preparations to prevent injuries, but he still can't stop him. What he likes in return is a fate that is harsher than others, right?

There is ice in front of me, and there is also ice in my memory. Countless deserted ice overlaps together, mixed with the constant buzzing of refrigerators day and night. As far as the eye can see, there are endless white and cold memories.

Longing was betrayed, love was betrayed, and intense, heart-piercing pain overwhelmed Lucy.

When he wanted an answer, no piece of ice would answer him.

Lucy covered his face and let out a low sob from his throat.Then in Deng Chang's arms, he gave up all the cover-ups, and the frustration and struggle accumulated for several months turned into a heart-wrenching collapse and crying:

"Well, skating doesn't like me, and I don't like skating anymore! I'm never skating again!"