DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Tailgate Forum Alex Smith's comeback: Inside the fight to save the QB's leg and life

Too long to copy/paste, but worth the read. I had no idea what he has gone through the 17+ months.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/29112995/alex-smith-comeback-fight-save-qb-leg-life

Wow!

I had no idea he was that far gone. I kinda, sorta, remember the leg break, but that's it.

A very fortunate recovery.

This injury is from 2018. This story is from July 2019 where he had shed the leg brace and was back to throwing the football.

Redskins QB Alex Smith sheds bulky brace on injured right leg

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nf...leg/1736758001/

ESPN is airing a special on his injury and recovery. Here is an interview with Alex about his injury.

I hope he makes it back.

I remember watching Joe Theisman’s injury on MNF like it was yesterday, when LT fell on it.... broke in seven places, IIRC, he never played another down.

They kept playing that replay over and over. What really stuck in my mind was the look in Lawrence Taylor's eyes when he was frantically waving for help.

Yep. He was upset, knew the seriousness of it.
Theisman’s screaming and the sound of bones breaking will do that.

Man, that Theisman injury was horrific, but I didn't have to see it 'til the news broadcast that night. I watched Napoleon Kaufman live - and thought I might throw up lol.

Gordon Hayward's gruesome injury against the Cavs on opening night 2018 had the same effect... Talk about letting the air out of an electric crowd.

Alex Smith has been through hell and back. I hope we can celebrate his return to the field on some some day soon.

17 surgeries in a year and a half ... dang

Fantastic news... he's come a long way

I wish I hadn't even looked at that.

What he went through has been the death bell for many an NFL career (as well as threatening their very lives). The fact he's even where he is now (much less when he's inevitably going to step back onto an NFL field), is a testament to both him and the people behind him.

It also speaks volumes for the Healthcare professionals that treated him and got him through rehab.

What more does he have to prove?

He's had a solid career, and he's coming off of a truly horrific injury that could have cost him his legs several times over. Why chance it? He has made over #170 million in his career. He shouldn't need the money. If he does return to the Skins, he should pray they never play him, because that team is a disaster.

Also, and this isn't a slam, but how much has his football rehab already taken away from his kids? He's 36, and coming off of a career threatening, and possibly life altering injury. If I knew him I would tell him that it's probably time to go be the best dad in the world.

I think teaching your children how to overcome extreme adversity to follow your passion may be one of the greatest things you could ever teach them.

So what does he teach them if he does return to the field, and suffers another serious injury? There is a point where "passion" becomes selfishness.

You seem to be projecting something that you nor I have any idea whether it will happen or not.

I don't operate on coulda, shoulda, woulda without any evidence to base it on. It seems that you feel a man should not teach his children to fight for their dreams based on some imaginary scenario. We simply disagree on that.

Dude has spent what? the last 20+ years being a football player... at some point he'll need to retire from being a football player but everything he's known for most of his life is football. more power to him if he wants to rehab back and try to play again. I think it's an incredible example for his family.

Also, I'll be curious to see at what level he plays for Washington. Will he start again? be a back up? who knows... just the fact that he gets back on the field again is incredible and I'm sure he'll write a book about it once he hangs up the cleats.

I think the lesson would depend on what he did if it happened. "Never give up" isn't a terrible lesson. "You're going to face adversity, you decide how you respond to it" is another potential "lesson."

Where else is he going to be paid millions of dollars that he can use to support his family?

Is he supposed to sit in a padded room for the rest of his days because something could possibly happen? Bad things can happen to anyone anywhere.

I fail to see where his passion is harming anyone. I don't see the selfish angle.

It's wild to even think he could play with his leg looking like this...

Unreal

I guess maybe I'm just not used to perseverance, dedication and persistence being portrayed as a bad thing. We certainly agree here.

David Chao, MD: Alex Smith is Back, But With Major Limitations

by David Chao, MD about 22 hours ago


The fact that Alex Smith is back onto the football practice field on an active roster means he should be given the “Comeback Player of the Year” award based on that alone.

The gruesome injury (not for the squeamish) that could still cost Smith his career, nearly ended with an amputation to save his life. So while I join in the parade of congratulators I also brought the rain clouds with me.

The unfortunate reality is that there is no way Smith can be even close to the same Alex Smith that he established himself as over the course of his 13-year career. Expectations that he is going to carry this momentum back to being that player is simply not possible. He – and we – will have to learn what the new version of Alex Smith will be, due to the limitations with his leg.

Although I don’t know him personally, I root for the fellow San Diegan. I remember watching him and Reggie Bush in the same backfield while both played at the local Helix High. In some ways I feel like Ebenezer Scrooge delivering this report, but I feel compelled to give a dose of reality while we celebrate.

This video from his wife clearly shows the residual effects of the injury, infection and 17 surgeries.

As he comes down his front steps he favors his right leg and limps. His next 6-7 steps clearly show the hiking gait and foot drop as he needs to lift his knee higher to clear the droop of his foot – since there is no real ankle control to lift it. One can see the foot “flop” but also note there are steps where the foot dorsiflexes (goes up) indicating calf weakness as well. The black “sock” is a typical compression sleeve but also likely worn to hid the inevitable ugly multiple scars.

The fracture wasn’t the issue, as the break was not dissimilar to that of Joe Theismann in 1985 who didn’t have the same complications. The fact that there was a puncture thru the skin that introduced a piece of sock and other bacteria into Smith’s body, combined with the early attempt for fracture fixation allowed the infection to spread. Images from the ESPN production (Project 11, and it is excellent) documented the details for the world to see. It clearly shows that Smith with exposed bone across almost the entire length of his tibia with extensive muscle loss.

He will return to play with an ankle foot orthosis (AFO) and this will affect his mobility. Others have done it before. Dan Marino tore his Achilles in 1993 and suffered complications. Upon return he needed to play in an AFO to support his push off and altered the way he lined up with an exaggerated asymmetric stance to help him get out from under center more quickly. The Hall of Fame QB did play and have success for six more seasons.

Even with the AFO, Smith will have mobility, just less than before as evidenced from the video below. In fact, I would still pick the Washington quarterback over my friend (and patient) Philip Rivers in any foot race, agility drill or in escaping defenders. Indeed Smith is shown in practice today using the AFO and thus much more mobile than his wife’s post from his home driveway without it.

This is the best story to come out of the Washington football club in years.

As much as I say Smith will not be the same, I do believe he will make the 53-man roster. His attitude, knowledge and veteran guile will allow him to be a contributor even if it is just as a positive veteran presence. He reportedly has guaranteed $17 million salary if he makes the squad or not so it makes sense to have him.

To be clear, it is safe for Smith to play with a brace. The fracture is healed. The leg is what it is.

Furthermore, Washington will not be endangering Smith for public relations sake.

Does Smith risk injury by being less elusive? Possibly. However, that is the same for any QB across the league and I assume he will adapt to his limitations and be able to protect himself.

Smith is said to get starter reps and will battle for the No. 1 job. If that happens — and I doubt that it does — it would mean a complete reset for Washington moving on from last year’s first round draft pick, Dwayne Haskins. New head coach Ron Rivera and offensive coordinator Scott Turner are familiar with newly acquired signal caller, Kyle Allen, who knows the offensive system and that may be the real challenger to start.

For Smith to even be at this point is not only a literal medical marvel it is also a testament to who he is as a man. This is the Comeback Player of the Year, and perhaps the feel good story we can finally celebrate from a dismal 2020.

Written by David Chao, MD

David Chao, MD -- known digitally as ProFootballDoc -- is an expert contributor for Outkick. Chao spent 17 seasons as the team doctor for the San Diego Chargers (1997-2013) and is part of the medical team at OASIS in San Diego where he treats and specializes in orthopedic sports injuries, working with high-profile professional athletes from the NFL, NBA, and MLB

https://www.outkick.com/alex-smith-is-back-but-will-never-be-the-same-player/

9 for 17 for 37 yards. Who cares, he played again. Unfreakingbeleivable.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=401220269

A portrait in courage and perseverance.

I was actually scared for the dude. So was his wife. And probably hundreds of thousands of other viewers. But, he held up. Remarkable.

That's awesome.

Also (for those that don't know), those external frames are downright medieval. Those pins (with the green'ish tops) are going through his skin and into his femur/tibia.

Alex Smith sucked yesterday!

Too crappy a game for a MNF, SNF game. Was that Charlie Frye in a red uniform?

The Eagles Qb was terrible too, what a 4th quarter, that really was a bad shoe to put forward for the NFL.

Two teams that acted like they'd lost 10+ games looking like they're fighting not to win a game with post season implications.

For the nighttime game, and the Quarterbacsks?

Geesh they looked worse than unknown prospects might have.

I’ve had a few patients over the years with various external fixation. As a nurse I see a lot. Seeing these up close and in person... it’s kinda surreal. There’s a really Clive Barker’s Hellraiser quality to them. I’ve taken care of deep wounds, and a ton of surgical incisions. But external fixation crosses some weird emotional/psychological (?) boundary. Seeing the pins cross through the skin... it’s weird. Pin care is nothing that shocks me or squicks me out or whatnot (I’ve seen things I can’t unsee) but it’s definitely the type of visual that you ‘feel’. If that makes sense.

I used to work for a company that makes an alternative to external frames (in some specific situations), so I'm quite biased. I was really invested in never seeing those things ever again.

There are certain ways those are used that turn your stomach, but overall... the device was invented by a Russian doc in Siberia like 60+ years ago, and the treatment really hasn't changed all that much since.

should have been unanimous