Kyle Long’s injury timeline shows us the Professional Athletic Freak

On Thursday, new broke that K.C. Chiefs offensive lineman Kyle Long had suffered a lower leg injury—perhaps a fractured kneecap—which means he likely will miss training camp. This is not a great situation for the vet given that there is going to be serious competition along the line. Veach and Co. spent the offseason guaranteeing that Patrick Mahomes would never see another defensive player within 10 yards of him, and Long was part of that rebuild.

For some of you that follow Arrowhead Addict closely, you may have heard that I broke my knee earlier this year. When I heard that Long fractured his, my first reaction was akin to PTSD. I remembered falling down the stairs, feeling the pop and searing pain. It was not a fun memory to put it mildly. I then immediately worried that he, like me, had torn tendons. Luckily, it sounds like the worst was avoided. Still, he has a broken knee. Being in the midst of recovery from a similar (albeit slightly worse—fight me on this) injury, I can confidently say that Long and all other athletes like him are freaks.

Long doesn’t need surgery to repair the fracture—his will heal on his own—so his recovery timeline is seriously shortened as opposed to mine. I required surgery to repair the torn tendons and then spent eight weeks in an immobilized brace, unable to put weight on the leg and unable to bend. I then spent the next four weeks being able to weight bear, but still, no bending. Then, I was able to take the brace off and bend only when sitting for six weeks. Add that all together, and I finally was able to walk without a brace four months post-surgery. I’m still struggling through physical therapy just to get my leg to bend and regain strength that was lost.

Kyle Long’s recovery timeline gives us a glimpse at the Professional Athletic Freak.

All that being said, even though Long’s recovery timeline is much shorter than mine, I cannot believe how much of an athletic freak he and other similar athletes are for how quickly they recover from serious injury. He is talking about playing professional football at an elite level for a Super Bowl caliber team mere months after suffering the injury! Think about that. The athletes that are able to recover that quickly have something different about them. They take injuries that sideline most people for long periods of time—even years—and turn around so quickly.

I think it is for two reasons. First, I think athletes are just so physically fit that their bodies allow them to recover faster. They don’t require as much babying (and trust me when I say I required and still require quite a bit of babying). My poor husband wins Husband of the Year and it isn’t even close. Athletes obviously have great rehab specialists around them which contributes to their rehabilitation, but their bodies are just better equipped to handle major injuries.

The second reason I believe they turn around so quickly is because they handle the mental side of recovery so well. Recovering from a serious injury is tough on the psyche. For me, being stuck in my house—in two rooms (the kitchen and dining room), unable to sleep in my own bed, unable to get fresh air—was taxing. I struggled. I think athletes have a better handle on the mental recovery than an average joe. Keeping the mental struggle in check certainly helps the physical recovery.

Let’s flash back to that day in Denver when we all collectively had small coronaries as we watched our quarterback’s kneecap on the side of his leg. Mahomes was back four weeks later. Four weeks later. I cannot fathom the physical recovery and mental strength that requires. Professional athletes are not like the rest of us. I sit here in my chair just hoping I can bend my leg beyond 100 degrees and I am almost 5 months post-op.

I have no doubt that Long will be back fighting for a roster spot and the chance to protect Mahomes. This is clearly going to be a tough uphill battle for him. He was coming out of retirement so his body was not in “football shape.” Long certainly could have used the ramp up to regular football. However, I have no doubt that with his history, he will be able to recover and compete. After all, he, like so many other professional athletes, is simply built differently.

P.S. If Kyle Long happens to read this and wants to hang out sometime and commiserate over our injuries, hit me up.