By way of background....On Thursday morning we received a call from either the MTC Medical Center or the BYU Student Health Center (I missed the first part of the call when the woman identified herself). A woman was calling to verify our health insurance since Cory had been in there for x-rays on both of his ankles. The only information she gave us was that there were no fractures and he is now in a wheelchair so he can stay off both of his feet. She also indicated that he was scheduled to see an orthopedist on Monday to determine the extent of his injuries and whether this would cause a delay in his scheduled departure for the mission field on Wednesday 2/10/10.
The day we got the call was also Cory's P-day so we anticipated getting more information from him via email later in the day. However, no email came and we did not get any more details from him until his letters arrived today (Saturday 2/6/10).
So with that background, here is Cory's side of events as taken from letters he wrote to family members....
Dear Mom and Dad,
So you got the call yesterday pertaining to my injury, sorry about that. It's highly possible that I might get delayed from leaving the MTC which is a bummer but oh well life goes on. Well I guess I should tell y'all what happened with my new injury and I have pictures of my feet like a day or so after the accident and my feet are huge! You will see soon. OK so it was Tuesday and I had gym at 1:10 and I had an appointment to see Dr. Sampson (he is basically my doctor here now) at 2:00 to check up on my left foot from my previous injury. Being as smart as I am I was thinking to myself "well I can walk and run on it so my foot is healed and I can play in gym today". So I was heading over to the gym but before I went into the gym I went to the medical clinic to turn in my crutches (The medical clinic & gym are right next to each other which is way nice). OK so gym starts and I decided to play an easy sport where I don't have to run much so I played 4 square but about half way through gym I noticed a lot of the Elders in my district were playing a basketball game and I noticed they were playing 3 vs. 2 so I decided to join in to make it 3 vs. 3. I was doing very well this game, I had about 3 blocks, a couple of steals, some amazing assists and I only missed a shot every so often. Then I got the ball and I was facing the right side of the rim and basically I had a clear way to drive to the hoop and put up a really easy layup. So I drove the lane, put up a shot and I watched it go in but when I came down I felt something pop and it felt like my legs gave out and I was just laying on the ground and I could feel both of my feet swell up. And three medical people in the gym came over and took off both of my shoes and I looked at my left foot and it looked like a tennis ball was in my ankle. OK to make a long story short I got x-rays for both of my ankles. They were were also fearful that I possibly fractured or broke something in my left foot but no worried there. I have a doctor's appointment today (Friday 2/6/10) at 11:20 and hopefully he will tell me if I will get delayed or not. I also see an orthopedic on Monday at 10:55.
I love y'all and miss y'all too.
Love,
Elder "Gimp" Barton
Here's more information from a letter to Deanna ....
Forget how I hurt myself because I have a new injury and you can ask Mom & Dad about that. But I hurt myself earlier by trying to jump on a table but it was iced over so I slipped so yeah. No my previous injury had nothing to do with sports but my current one does. Oh and I am in a wheelchair now. I'll try to send pictures of both of my ankles because they are huge! I am trying to take pictures of everyone and everything. (I can't take pictures in the cafeteria, its against the rules). I did hear that they are building a temple in Payson how cool is that! I did hear about the death of the missionaries. Actually Elder Hinckley of the Seventy talked about that and how we need to be safe.
As Cory and I were packing his gym clothes I do remember talking to him about how basketball was eventually banned in my mission because so many Elders were getting injured. My little precaution I guess as a mother. I pray that he will heal quickly and that no news on Monday is good news. We were told we would not get a call if everything is fine. Please keep him in your prayers as well.
Should I worry if he rides a bike in the mission field?........just wondering.
