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Retirement due to injury
Fellow umpires,
Since 1999, I have been a poster on this board. The information I have received from this board has far than exceeded by any input I have provided. To say that this site has greatly improved my ability to umpire would be an understatement. It is with great sadness that I have to announce that as as result of a medical condition I have been through, I will have to retire from umpiring.
On June 28th, just about 8 hours before a scheduled Jr. Legion game, I began to experience extreme pain in my left leg and within an hour or so my right leg began to hurt as well. After two trips to the ER and 5 different medical tests, I was diagnosed with a badly herniated (ruptured) disc in my back at the T11/T12 level. This came as a complete shock as I had no back pain (and still have not to this day) and had never had a back injury. I had been experiencing quadriceps pain on and off for a year or so but was told that was most likely a result of a congential hip defect that I was scheduled for surgery in August 2010. Needless to say the hip surgery was postponed.
While the surgery was relatively routine, the effect of the herniation was not. The herniated disc compressed my spinal cord and I was left unable to walk but with feeling and some movement in my legs. After 2 days in a hospital, I was sent to a rehab hospital that had a spinal cord injury program. I stayed there for 29 days and after 3.5 weeks I began to walk using a walker.
Since discharging to my home, I have regained quite a bit of movement and strength and today I can walk moderate distances with a cane and short distances without assistance. I still use a wheelchair a fair bit to get around the house and in public because I am slow. I am able to drive with assistive devices and I am confident with more time and continued therapy, I will be able to regain additional function. I am experiencing muscle tightness (spasticity) that is common with spinal cord injury patients and am working through therapy and drug intervention to correct it. It may require an additional surgery to treat it down the road. I will also most likely have to have the hip surgery down the road as well.
Many of my colleagues have urged me not to hang it up until I see where I wind up in my recovery. I know they are thinking that I might just get back to a point where I can work again. I hope so but I just can't risk going behind the plate after having a spinal cord injury and I refuse to be a bases only umpire.
Obviously this is not how I saw my career as an umpire ending. I began umpiring at age 18 and was two months shy of my 38th birthday when I had my surgery. With a couple of inactive years I had still umpired 18 years and was looking forward to working until I was in my early 50's when I thought I would likely hang it up. Due to family commitments, I was planning to work a reduced schedule in 2011.
Because I was injured during the season, I wasn't able to unload my uniforms and equipment from my truck. My stepsister did that while I was in the hospital. I have not opened my equipment bag to clean my plate gear for the last time. I cannot bring myself to do it right now. I know that tears will be shed. Last night, my wife was sorting some laundry that had been lingering for awhile and put my cleaned uniform from my last game on the dresser. I shed tears when I realized what it was.
I will conclude by saying that I will truly miss umpiring. It has been a tremendously rewarding part of my life. I will miss my fellow umpires the most. I will only ask that you never take being an umpire and a participant in the great game of baseball for granted.
Best regards,
Lawrence Dorsey
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