Missing it by a foot
Freak accident sidelines Wimberly for 3-6 months
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PUEBLO, Colo. (May 13, 2009) - Anything can happen when it comes to professional bull riding.
But McKennon Wimberly never thought he’d miss three to six months of the Built Ford Tough Series after hooking a spur on a step behind the chutes.
That’s precisely what happened this past weekend in Des Moines, Iowa, when the cowboy from Cool, Texas, jumped out of the way of Chad Berger. He said it was “a freak deal,” but the 20-year-old will undergo surgery Wednesday afternoon in Dallas to insert a rod in his lower left leg.
After barely avoiding several cuts and battling his way up to 18th in the world standings, Wimberly said he’s sickened by the prospect of sitting out. On the upside, he’s already won $49,616.21 this year, so – provided he’s healthy to return by then – he’s most likely earned himself a spot in the upcoming 2009 PBR World Finals in Las Vegas.
In the meantime, after back-to-back appointments with doctors, Wimberly candidly spoke with www.pbrnow.com about his injury, the facts behind his decision to have it surgically repaired and his plan to return to competition sometime in August.
Question: First off, how are you? I was told that (Dr.) Tandy (Freeman) said he’s never seen a break like this before.
McKennon Wimberly: Shoot, I’m all right. I’m going in for surgery (Wednesday). Tandy referred me to another doctor that I think is kind of a specialist on ankles and legs and stuff. We’re going to put a rod in that will go from my knee down to my ankle through my tibia and put some screws in to get it all put back together. What made it weird is that it was a clean break across, kind of at an angle, but there was a break that goes up the front that doesn’t come out. The bone is at a really sharp point so that when I bend my foot back it hits a nerve in my ankle, which is what was making Tandy think that I had pulled some ligaments and stuff in there, because it was making my foot tingle and making my ankle hurt, but it was that sharp point of the bone hitting a nerve. It’s weird looking. I was looking at the X-rays and it’s a different kind of break, but it was a different kind of accident too.
Q: Yeah, that’s for sure. Explain to me how exactly it happened.
MW: (laughs) Yeah, it wasn’t the stairs with the handrail. It was ladder part that is closer to the loading alley for the bulls. I was sitting on that and Chad Berger was coming down real fast – he was coming from the other side and he had to flank a bull on this side – and he was trying to go past me, but he was about to fall off one side and I was about to fall off the other ‘cause I was sitting down. So when I stood up, I just tried to jump out of the way, and when I jumped there was a clear place for me to land, but my foot was sitting on one step and my spur hung up under the one above it, so my body went forward, but my foot stayed flat. Then I hit the ground with my other foot … just my tip toe because I was pretty high up. Then I backed up and kind of took my spur out and fell on down and, I mean, a lot of people saw it and it was funny. It was stupid. And Guilherme (Marchi) and those guys were laughing, and I said, “No, I broke my leg, guys.” I felt it pop. I heard it pop and I said, “I broke my leg.” Guilherme kind of laughed and I said, “No, I’m serious.” Then he realized my foot had hung in that stair, so he picked me up and carried me over there. I said, “Well, you didn’t have to carry me and make me look like a little kid.” (laughing) I said, “You could have just helped me over there.” He was like, “Buddy, you broke your leg.” (laughing) He carried me back to Sports Medicine and we tried to tape it up and we iced it down, because Tandy looked at it and he thought it was just some strained muscles and ligaments. I stood up and I couldn’t put any weight on it. I’m not one for not getting on my bull. I like riding bulls way too much, so I don’t let pain stop me, but I couldn’t walk on it, and I tried just squeezing with my other leg to see if I’d be able to just get a hold, ‘cause I don’t care about running away, but I couldn’t squeeze and I said, “Nah, I can’t ride.” Then they had to do it to me twice when I made the short go and they came back and asked me and I said, “Oh man, you had to do that to me twice.”
Q: No one is going to doubt that you couldn’t ride, and something tells me that if anyone has a high tolerance for pain it would be a former Golden Gloves boxer.
MW: (laughing) Yeah.
Q: It’s crazy to think that the email I got said you could be out anywhere from three to six months.
MW: Yeah, the doctor I talked to today said that it should be closer to three with the surgery. If I would put a cast on it and just let it go it was going to be a couple months longer, but I decided to go ahead and get the rod in. They said I can do movement quicker and put weight on it quicker and be back to riding sooner. With the cast it was going to deteriorate my leg worse, so I wouldn’t have near as much muscle because I wouldn’t get to do movement very quick. And then he said usually when you have a cast, it takes you twice as long as you have it on to build the muscle back up to where it was. He said doing it this way I’ll be able to do everything quicker and get back to riding sooner, and it’ll reduce the risk of breaking that leg again.
Q: So do you keep the rod in there, permanently?
MW: Yes, sir. The only problem that he said we might have is with the screws. Because that bone is so close to the skin if the screws start bothering me then they might go back in and take the screws out after it’s completely healed and the rod is completely healed into the bone. He said then they might go back in and take the screws out, but he said if they don’t bother me and there’s no problem with them, then they’ll just leave them in.
Q: That night, Leah (Garcia) said she went back to the Sports Medicine room and that you were sick to your stomach about what had happened.
MW: It sucks, but I guess everything happens for a reason. We don’t always know what the reason is or anything like that, but I guess it happens for a reason. I had a really good bull, too, is the worst part about it, or that’s what I thought. He caught my eye the first time I saw him buck, and kind of asking guys about him before I even knew I had him drawn, and the guy that owns him actually called me this week and asked me how I was doing. He said he was looking forward to me getting on the bull. He said, “Yeah, he usually bucks ‘em off or they win the bull riding.” When I saw Tandy he said, “Would you rather be a guy who was a wuss last week and gets to ride in Pueblo or would you rather be a guy who has a really weird fracture and is going to be out for awhile?” I said, “I’d rather have been a wuss last week, but I know I’m the other guy.” When people ask me what happened when I’m walking around on crutches with a boot on, I say, “Oh, bull riding is a rough sport.” (laughing) I don’t get into the details. But, yeah, it’s a bad deal and it still makes me sick to my stomach thinking about it, ‘cause I’m riding so good and I’m drawing good and, shoot, everything has been going my way. I guess what a guy has to do is just keep faith and stay strong. I can keep doing upper body workouts. I’m going to be stronger when I come back and hopefully be riding better, and still drawing good. Hopefully make the best of it.
Q: There’s never a good time to get hurt, but if it’s going to happen then there’s no better time than right now.
MW: Oh, for sure, way better now. Yeah, if you’re going to fall off the stairs do it when you’re going to have some time off. (laughing). That’s the way I’m looking at. It was a freak deal, but if it was going to happen I’m just glad it happened now, where I’ve got a break and some time to heal up and come back strong.
—by Keith Ryan Cartwright
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May 19, 2009