At the end of my Freshman year basketball season I started noticing that i was having a lot of pain on the back of my heel, where my Achilles is. I really did not think anything of it, just thought that it was another pain and strain from playing basketball six days a week for two and a half hours a day. But come to find out it wasn't. At the beginning of my Sophomore year I started having more and more pain everyday playing basketball......It got to the point that I couldn't wear my shoe anymore without having pain. I would be at the trainers every single day getting treatment for my Achilles. They would have to wrap it in special padding every practice and every game. I would have to ice it before and after every activity i did just to keep the swelling down so that i could walk the next day. I played my whole sophomore year like this. Everyday having to take Advil and inflammatory pain medication just so i could keep playing. After basketball was over, i went to my podiatrists to see what she could do about it and what it was. From all the strain and pulling on my Achilles i developed what was called a bone spur. It is when your Achilles is being pulled away from the bone and extra bone grows where it is being pulled away. So in essence i had this huge extra bone growing out of my foot which was causing it to swell and give me pain. She said that she would go in and cut my Achilles and then scrap off the extra bone and then reattach my Achilles. I would then be in a cast for a month then a walking boat and physical therapy then onto walking regular again, it would take at least 6 months for me to walk normal again. When i told my mom this she was stunned. I was convinced that i had to have this surgery. But my mom thought that i needed another doctors opinion. So we went to an orthopedic surgeon that we have known through years, he said that he could do the surgery without having to cut my Achilles, or anything like that and i would be on crutches then in a walking boot and be heeled in about 6 weeks. He as a doctor could not believe that she would actually try and cut the Achilles, he thought that was crazy and knew that if she did it wrong i might not be able to walk again. So i scheduled my surgery with Dr. Mark. When i finally had the surgery, it was about 6 weeks till i would walk regularly and with out much pain. He had went in a chiseled off my extra bone. Still to this day i have pain every morning and have to ice it after all my activities. I probably would not be able to be back on another basketball team and be up to my full potential anymore due to this surgery and the pain it has caused.