When I was younger, I had aspirations of getting into the X-Games for freestyle bmx and dirt jumping. Those dreams ended when I broke my leg doing something ve

When I was younger, I had aspirations of getting into the X-Games for freestyle bmx and dirt jumping. Those dreams ended when I broke my leg doing something very mundane. I was grinding down a box with a decline which was about 3.5 feet off the ground. I had lost my balance, and instead of putting my right foot down on top of the box, I put my left foot down, 3.5 feet, onto the sloping decline. After recovering from my fall, I twisted my foot 180 degrees back into the "normal" position. Not thinking clearly at the time, I didn't even realize what had just happened. I got up, walked over to my bike and got back on, only to fall off within a few moments. At that moment, I felt my leg (which still was in my shin guard) and I felt it wobble/seasaw up and down in the middle. Right then, I knew something was wrong. I broke my tibia, fibula and ankle all in one go. After surgery, I ended up with 2 pins in my ankle, a plate and 5 screws in my tibia and was on crutches for 4 months (these were removed a year after). To this day haven't ridden BMX, though I can ride mountain bikes and snowboard better than I had before. I cringe with agony anytime I see someone take a gnarly spill, remembering the pain I had once experienced.