The Wonderfully Awful World of Broken Noses

It has only happened to a select few of us. The immediate shock followed by a terrifying realization. That thing in the middle of your face has broken. How do you know? You can literally see the shift of your nose in your peripheral vision. Without a mirror or any type of reflection for that matter, you have confirmed a break in your face.

Compared to ACL or UCL tears, this injury seems minute and trivial. If it's a simple break, the doctor will tell you to wait a few days for the swelling to do down. Then, you go back to the office in a matter of minutes, the doctor breaks it back into place and all goes back to normal, or so we are lead to believe.

Out of all the injuries, why write a post about a broken nose? The answer is simple; two words, cast and mask. As you walk out of the doctor’s office with a newly straightened nose, you are accompanied with a fresh cast literally glued to your face. Not to mention, the black eyes will continue to worsen within the next few days. Get ready for stares wherever you go as well as an endless stream of pity-filled questions from strangers.

Finally, the cast is off and you are cleared back into physical activity. Except, there is a catch. After a nose break and realignment, the bone and cartilage need extra time to fully set in place. A bump or hit to the area risks a re-break, so when returning back to a physical contact sport you need protective gear.

This brings me to the introduction of the mask. We might have noticed them on professional basketball players like Richard Hamilton or Kobe Bryant. However, those specially made transparent mask are not the typical, generic kind given to patients. Instead, the masks we receive include large white foam pieces, massive black adjustable straps, and an overall huge acrylic frame. It traps in the heat and sweat and blocks off part of your vision making playing quite miserable. However, as much as you hate the thing, listen to the doctor’s orders and keep it on when playing. Unfortunately, I refused to use this awful mask and it resulted in 4 more breaks, 4 more casts, and many black eyes.  

This unique recovery proves to be one of the worst and probably the most embarrassing. However, if you are one of the few to have experienced the cast and mask routine, you know the awful journey. Next time you see someone walking on the street with a piece of plastic glued to their face or playing with the unavoidably noticeable mask, understand the pain and try not to stare for too long.