Juan Nicasio Injury and Recovery Update

 Horrifying, appalling, ghastly, dreadful, gruesome.

Those were some of the words used to describe Juan Nicasio’s injury on Friday.

Nicasio, the young pitcher for the Colorado Rockies was on the mound against Ian Desmond of the Washington Nationals, when a line drive off of Desmond’s bat struck Nicasio in the right side of his head.  Nicasio fell face first onto the pitcher’s mound and broke his C1 vertebra.

Saturday morning, Nicasio underwent surgery to stabilize the vertebra, and as of Monday, only three days later, Nicasio is walking.

Though the injury was shocking to see due to the force of the line drive, it was perhaps more improbable than anything else.  The C1 vertebra is the highest vertebra, the one just beneath the skull, the one most unlikely to break.

Surgeons suggest that perhaps the whiplash caused by the force of the hit and subsequent fall could be the cause of the break, but regardless how it happened, Nicasio’s injury is still unusual.

The surgery he underwent involved fusion of the top three vertebra with screws, allowing the neck to be sufficiently secure in holding the weight of his head.

Much of the situation involving the injury is astonishing, but one of the most remarkable things about the entire incident was the reaction time of Rockies trainer Keith Duggar who was at Nicasio’s side in only seven seconds.

Duggar has remained at the side of Nicasio since and did not travel to Cincinnati with the Rockies this week so he could be with Nicasio.

News of Nicasio’s progress had reached and been warmly greeted by Rockies coaches and players before Monday’s game against the Reds.

According to Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post, the team has told Nicasio’s family that they will do everything to support the 24-year-old pitcher.  Also, Spanish-speaking Rockies employees have been working to provide updates to Nicasio’s family, who reside in the Dominican Republic and are yet to access visas.

Both the literal and metaphorical steps taken by Nicasio since his injury have been small, though significant.  That being said, he does have significant strides to take if he hopes to return to the pitching mound ever again.  With such a unique injury, estimates on his return are not easy to be made, though Duggar suggests that the best-case scenario has Nicasio returning for training camp next year.