It is not until a person has lost something that they realize how important it truly was in their life.

Well, that is why this blog is taking me so long to write, because I will be pecking at the keyboard for the next half hour or hour trying to get this down. But honestly, having my thumb in a cast makes everyday things seem difficult. Besides the obvious of not being able to throw a football, I didn’t realize how important my right hand was. Like trying to eat dinner, get my cell phone out of my pocket, and, of course, the worst, wiping my butt. I know that is gross, but honestly, it sucks. Also, trying to take notes in meetings is next to impossible. Lucky for me, or unlucky depending on how you look at it, I will only have this cast on for about a month.

The injury came about last Thursday. It was the final period of the day and I was running the two-minute drill. It was literally going to be my last throw of the day and we had a walkthrough the following day before the game (Saturday, home to Cleveland). I dropped back to throw, as I normally do, and was waiting for my wide receiver to break in on the route he was running. I stepped up in the pocket to avoid the rush and get the ball off. Well, one of our offensive linemen (who will remain nameless) was sliding back off of one block to help another guy in protection. I didn’t feel him, because I was just getting ready to throw the ball. I released the ball and my thumb went directly into his back. I tried to stop the motion but it was too late and my thumb went straight back. I was so focused on trying to complete the pass that I didn’t sense the guy coming over. I immediately knew something was wrong. I had hit a helmet before with my hand or thumb, but never to this extent. I went directly off the field and had it X-rayed in our training room within five minutes. There was no fracture, which was positive, but I had to go see our team doctor.

It turned out that our team doctor and a hand specialist were at the same hospital doing surgery that day, so I went directly there.

The result was me in a cast for a month, or so they tell me. I had it wrapped by the hand specialist and he said I strained my radial collateral ligament, which wouldn’t have been a big deal if it wasn’t on my throwing hand. Actually, he said I was fortunate, because usually you can get a “Gamekeeper’s Thumb” (Ed. Note: An injury to the ulnar collateral ligament, aka “Skier’s Thumb”) as it is called, which could be career threatening. He told me they would reevaluate it in a couple of weeks and go from there.

So now I just have to hope I am a fast healer, because there is nothing I can really do for it. I was disappointed to not be able to play these final two preseason games, because I was getting more and more comfortable, but I will continue to get better in other ways over the course of the next few weeks. I will not be put on IR, which I am extremely happy about, and now I will just try and get healthy as soon as possible.

Thanks to all the fans who read these blogs, I love the opportunity to share stories with you that you wouldn’t hear anywhere else. If there are any questions ask away…

Drew Stanton is a quarterback with the Detroit Lions. His playerpress.com blog runs regularly at www.drewstanton5.com.