Metal Memories

Story and photo by Senna James, Shadow Ridge High School Journalism student

Everything happened so fast. Too fast. So fast that the wind was howling. The next thing that happened was almost as if it were in slow motion. There was no room for an immediate stop. The next best idea that came to mind: jump. That’s where everything went wrong. Something caught his foot, spinning too many times to count before landing. The landing was a hard thud onto the solid grass. Snap, that was heard by everyone there. Silence filled the air. He was immobile and confused, attempting to get up from the ground and failing. The kid with the #2 jersey was lying on the field in excruciating pain and unable to move. The kid in the #2 jersey, Daniel Cooper, waited for the ambulance to take the pain away.

Cooper learned that “...sprinting head first into things isn’t always necessary.” He also learned to appreciate things he has taken for granted. Unfortunately, it was learned the hard way when he broke his collarbone during a soccer game.

In eighth grade, Cooper played in a middle school soccer game for Sonoran Heights Elementary School, which resulted in a devastating injury. Cooper attempted to gain possession of the ball by sprinting, as the goalie on the other team did as well. The goalie ended up getting to the ball before Cooper could. Cooper didn’t want to run into the other player so he decided to jump, except his foot got caught on the goalie’s shoulder. Cooper ended up spinning in the air and landing on his collarbone, causing it to snap.

The game ended early due to the fact that Cooper couldn’t move, “It was my most painful experience so far. If I were to put it on a scale, I’d say 10/10,” said Cooper. It took the paramedics 30 minutes to move him into an ambulance where he was rushed to the Banner Thunderbird Medical Center. Luckily the paramedics kept him as distracted as they could on the way to the hospital. “The nurses and doctors at the hospital were very nice,” said Cooper. He stayed the night at the hospital and took many X-rays of his collarbone.

Cooper headed home in a sling and was told that he had an extreme break of the left clavicle. This meant his left collarbone broke off where it connected to his shoulder bone, it shifted up and almost broke through the skin. Doctors instructed him to get surgery in two weeks yet his parents decided to switch doctors because they believed the best thing to do was have surgery right away. They switched to the doctors at the 56 Fighter Wing Orthopedic Surgery Department at Luke Air Force Base. Dr. Barnes, Cooper’s new doctor, told him to have surgery a few days after the break. When that day came Cooper had a metal plate and seven screws bolted into his collarbone to keep it in place, and it would stay there for two years.

For the next six months Cooper would focus on recovering in a sling. The ability to lift items with his left arm was no more and he could barely hold a milk jug. One of the worst parts was not playing soccer. “It sucked missing soccer, I felt like I was letting down my team,” said Cooper.

Not only was Cooper forced to stop club soccer, but also missed around two weeks of school. When “ he was able to go back he stayed cautious and away from large crowds so he wouldn’t be bumped in the shoulder. “I would wait in my class while other people switched from their classes and then I switched after everyone else so I could avoid them,” said Cooper.

As a result of six months of recovery everything was almost normal. Cooper was back in club soccer however not everything was the same. His doctor had given him a pretty serious warning, “Basically he warned me, he said there is a slight chance that if the ball hit my shoulder the right way with the right amount of speed then the plate could pop off my bone,” said Cooper.

In addition, it would also be painful to get hit by the ball in the left shoulder. From eighth grade to sophomore year Cooper would have panic attacks during soccer games if he was knocked down or landed on his shoulder. The first time he was knocked down was the worst. “I landed on my shoulder and then the moment when I broke my bone replayed in my head. I freaked out and I thought it was broken again, I was overwhelmed,” said Cooper.

Fortunately after two years of healing and having a metal plate in his shoulder, Cooper would receive surgery to have the metal plate removed on May 16, 2019, sophomore year. “I was excited to be back to normal, as normal as I could be since it happened. The plate got annoying after a while,” said Cooper. He would now not have to deal with the nerves reconnecting, the plate sticking out in his shoulder and the metal plate becoming hot or cold in certain weather. The metal plate was so close to Cooper’s skin that the temperature of it was different from the rest of his body. “During fire drills every time I had to go outside, and since I live in Arizona, my left shoulder would get hotter than the rest of my body,” said Cooper. Cooper would have to recover from the successful surgery but not for as long as last time. His doctor let him keep the metal plate and his friend, Jordan Brumskill, had suggested making it into a necklace. He now wears it as a reminder. “It is a reminder of the whole experience. It reminds me that I have people who care about me and that I am not invincible,” said Cooper. He wears the necklace as much as he can because it is special to him. The metal plate may be out and Cooper’s shoulder and his collarbone may be [The plate] is a reminder healed, yet it still left a mark. of the whole experience. Cooper’s nerves are still slowly reconnecting, and he is left It reminds me that I have with a scar on his shoulder. “- Daniel Cooper people who care about me, and that I am not invincible. Yet this wasn’t the only thing the injury left behind, as his perspective had changed. “I am a lot more careful about what I do whether it is on the field or off the field. I don’t always run head first while playing now, and I am more cautious,” said Cooper. All of his memories, reminders, and his new perspective is what makes his necklace meaningful. He still runs as fast as he can. He still puts forth his best efforts. However the next time he wouldn’t be on the ground in agony. He learned from that. Instead of doing unnecessary things, he worked the hardest towards what counted. He is still the kid with the #2 jersey who was once laying in a field with a broken collarbone. Except now he’s a senior playing for the boy’s varsity soccer team at Shadow Ridge High School and is a starter for his club team. He is like this now because he survived through the surgery, six months of recovering, the struggles with a metal plate for two years, more surgery, more recovering and the aftermath of the injury. And he ended up with a new perspective on what he cares about.