Luke Clausen’s left arm will be in a sling for a couple more weeks, at least, and sneezing still causes him a good deal of pain, a result of five broken ribs that are slowly on the mend.
Little by little, though, he’s feeling better as he recovers from injuries suffered when he fell from an elevated loft in a friend’s garage last month while retrieving some tackle prior to the Grand Lake Elite Series.
When reached Thursday afternoon, Clausen was in a familiar place – on the water. It’s the second time he’s been out with a friend for a day of fishing only to have to sit and watch and shoot the bull. Doctor’s orders.
“Everything is hard when you can’t do anything,” Clausen said. “I had a guy doing my yardwork for me. Sitting and watching that is painful. I’m anxious to get out and do something.
“In the beginning I was so helpless. It’s like my wife gained a second infant. She had to do everything. It was like three weeks before I could dress myself. Now, it’s the other extreme – she’s telling me to take it easy – but I’m sick of not being able to do anything.”
He’s scheduled to see his doctor early next month, at which point he could begin some light rehab work.
“I definitely feel better than I did,” he said. “When it started, I was like a human house cat. I must’ve slept 18 hours a day. It was hard to move without being in some sort of pain.”
The extent of damage to his left shoulder won’t be known until his arm is out of a sling and he can undergo an MRI to assess any ligament problems. He also has chip fractures in his left hand that will heal over time.
After the fall and realizing the extent of his injuries, Clausen withdrew from the rest of the 2018 Elite Series season. He’ll receive a medical exemption to return to competition in 2019. Despite missing the last three tournaments, he’s still ahead of seven other anglers in the Angler of the Year points standings who’ve competed in all four events this season.
He said he’s kept up with the Elite Series and FLW Tour developments from home, but admitted it’s frustrating to have to watch it all unfold on a computer screen.
“It’s like watching a bad wreck – it’s hard to not watch,” he said. “I wish I was there. It makes it hard.”
