Question: Hello,
Last Thursday (today is Wednesday) I was playing third base in a co-ed softball game. It is very competitive so the softballs coming my way, are usually very fast and hard. One was a bit too extreme and I was hit, full-force, in the lower part of my shin, right above my ankle. I have been hit by a softball quite a few times in my career and so I am pretty used to it and all of the bruises have followed a typical pattern......except for this one. I didn't feel any pain for the first few DAYS. (I iced it for the first 3 days.....did nothing and then used a heating pad last night.) A day and a half ago I began to feel quite a bit of pain and have noticed that the area is warmer to the touch than the rest of my leg. I have never had pain develop 4-5 days after the injury. It concerns me since I have just recovered from being hit in that same exact area just a month or so ago. It wasn't as intense but still, it was recent. I am concerned since my father has Deep Vein Thrombosis (he can't produce Folic Acid.....it is hereditary.) and I have had some very serious injuries from being hit by softballs in this general area on this leg. (I know I sound like a klutz, but this is bound to happen over a 25 year history......both fast-pitch and slow-pitch.) There are two areas within inches of this current injury that, 15 years later, I still have no feeling and there is a lot of calcification (no idea if that is the correct term._ Basically, I am wondering if I have a reason to be concerned and should go see my doctor, or if there is something I can do at home first.
At the same time I noticed this pain in my leg, I began to feel an intense pain in the back (lower right) side of my head. It has increased and I am noticing a little lump. There is absolutely nothing that could have caused this. Honestly, I went to bed with no pain there, and the next morning (while still in bed), I noticed this area was sore. I just thought I slept on it wrong or got my hair caught on the headboard or something during the night. It is now the third night and it not going away. In fact, it is intensifying. I really don't want to sound paranoid but blood clots and stroke run rampant through my family.....on both sides. The immune system in my family is not remotely strong and it is all hereditary. If you knew the amount of cancer, strokes and blood clots running in my family, it might be a wonder that we live past 30, but somehow it happens so I just don't want to ignore the signs of something serious when the symptoms seem to deviate from what I am used to experiencing. Thank you for reading this very long-winded explanation.