Ric Drasin - Injuries

Injuries

As a professional wrestler, Ric Drasin sustained many injuries. However, his three most serious injuries did not occur until 2000 and 2001, and the first and third of these injuries were unrelated to wrestling.

In 2000, Drasin was working with a table saw in his garage and had an accident that amputated his middle, ring, and little fingers from his right hand. Drasin's son Shane obtained medical attention for him, and doctors were able to reattach his middle and ring fingers, but the tip and middle section of his little finger could not be saved. Drasin returned to the gym the next day, using the heel of his hand for some exercises and straps around his wrists for others. He has stated that he never took pain medication for this injury. Using a glove to protect his hand, Drasin soon returned to professional wrestling.

In 2001, Drasin sustained two other serious injuries, both to his legs. The first happened while wrestling in an AWF match against “Cincinnati Red” (Scott Davis) in Huntington Beach, California. Drasin did not realize he had been seriously injured and continued wrestling for seven more minutes, until the bout ended with Drasin the victor. Davis had fallen on Drasin's leg, bending Drasin's foot to his hip, which ruptured the quadriceps tendons in Drasin's right thigh.

Initially, the injury was misdiagnosed by a chiropractor, who thought the injury was less serious than it actually was. Four days later, Drasin fell at home, and his left leg sustained an identical injury. An orthopedic surgeon diagnosed his condition as ruptured quadriceps and informed Drasin that he needed immediate surgery on both legs or he would never walk again. Surgery left him in leg braces and a wheelchair for six weeks. Only one week into recovery, Drasin convinced his wife and daughter to drive him to his regular gym, Gold's Gym in North Hollywood. He trained his upper body from his wheelchair and then from a walker until the leg braces were removed.

After the leg braces were removed, he began training his legs again, but within 24 hours a staph infection blew out his right knee. Drasin got through the life-threatening ordeal with antibiotics and a drain that remained in place for eight weeks. Even this didn't keep him out of the gym, and he credits his workouts with speeding up the healing process. He was soon on a cane and only a year later was doing full leg workouts.