Update: I (15M) broke my neck while skating. Parents (38F and 37F) are hesitant to let me skate again.

A 15-year-old Reddit user (15M) shares an update on his decision to stop skateboarding after a severe neck injury. Despite his initial desire to return to the sport, his parents (38F and 37F) were firm in not allowing him to skate again.

After consulting with his doctor, who emphasized the risks of further injury and the need for therapy to regain strength, his board was donated to charity. His girlfriend is also upset about his desire to skate again, and he’s now accepting that skateboarding is no longer an option for him. Read the full story below.

‘ Update: I (15M) broke my neck while skating. Parents (38F and 37F) are hesitant to let me skate again.’

Hi. So cheers for all the advice and all that stuff. I spoke to my mum’s and told them I was thinking about not skateboarding again. They told me that’s good because they’re not letting me. There were a few suggestions that I ask them to come watch me. When I floated the idea, it was shot down immediately.

I went to my doctor and she told me that she doesn’t want me skateboarding again. She expanded on my condition after the accident to me and told me another fall like that isn’t going to go well for me. She said even after I get this thing off, I’m going to need to go to therapy to build strength again.

My mum gave my board to charity after we talked about it. I know they sound kinda mean, but they’re really good mums. They’re just very annoyed I did something very stupid. My girlfriend is annoyed me with me as well when she heard I heard I wanted to skate again. So overall I’m not skating anymore.. TL;DR: I’m not skating anymore.

Check out how the community responded:

OraDr8 −  Your mums don’t sound mean, they sound like they love you. You’re smart for listening to your doctor, it must really s**k to not be able to skate if you love it but it’s not worth the risk, especially since you’re still healing. We all feel a bit invincible at 15 but don’t push it, a lifetime in a wheelchair or worse isn’t worth it. You sound like a sensible young man with great parents. I hope your recovery is swift and your strength returns.

[Reddit User] −  I fractured my neck when I was 16 sledding, and it’s been almost a decade later and I still have back and neck issues from it, neck and spine injuries are a big deal. I’m not saying you should never skate again, but for the next year at least you should be focusing on healing, another fall could seriously injure you more.

I’d recommend talking to your parents more about it, you have to think about how scary it must have been for them as well. Maybe you can pick up skating again down the road, but you need to slow down for awhile and focus on recovery.

beogaire −  Hello, former roller derby skater here. I know it’s not the same as skateboarding but I just wanted to share my story to let you know you are not alone. I had a bad fall about 8 years ago during training and broke my leg. Now when I say I broke my leg, I really shattered it. 5 breaks in total, spiralling up around my leg.

I had to have pretty serious surgery on it and get two plates put in, one of which runs from my a**le to my knee. It was horrible, and took nearly a year to get myself back walking properly again. And I still have a slight limp and lots of scars all these years later.

My mother wasn’t too keen on the idea of me returning to skate but as I was in my 20s she didn’t really have any control over the situation. So I re joined a small local derby team and started skating again, because it was all I could think of as I lay there for months waiting for my leg to heal. I was desperate to get back skating.

However, I found once I had strapped my skates on and started moving that I just didn’t have the nerve for it anymore. Falling is a big part of any skating, and every time I slipped or stumbled I nearly vomited in t**ror, and all the memories of my leg break came flooding back.

So I skated for a few weeks with the team but ultimately the fear only got worse the faster and more competent I became. So I quit, but it was my decision so I had no bitterness towards anyone. Sometimes you just have to be mature and tell yourself that regardless of how fun something is, it’s not worth getting a life-changing injury.

You sould like you’re handling your situation very maturely, so fair play. Best of luck with your recovery, and I hope you find a new hobby that you love just as much as skating.

Process252 −  Just remember, the vast majority of your life will be spent NOT being a teenager. So don’t f**k your body up now, you’ll have to live with it for a long time

mdh217 −  I broke my C6 vertebra in a car accident, so I get the shock and awe of a new life post neck injury. In my case, it was an undo burden to no longer drive – plus it’s still relatively a safe activity (so long as you don’t get run off a highway and flip your car on a cliff).

However, my neurologist made it veeeeerrrryyyy clear that I was to not take unnecessary risk, like skiing, skateboarding, sky diving, or anything else that considered falling down at a fast pace or high altitude. I can’t even ride roller coasters anymore. It’s a total bummer as an adrenaline j**kie. Thankfully, a lot of water activities are still on the table as ways to find adrenaline, exercise, or sport.

Be warned, if don’t take your therapy seriously now and your neck heals weird, you’ll at best be in pain all the time and get migraines and at worst need tons of surgeries. It’s not worth it when you’re 30 and feel 60 due to your neck/shoulder pain.

pinewind108 −  I used to stay out really late at night, hanging out with friends, girlfriend, etc. One night as I snuck in, my dad was sitting up reading a book. Scared the hell out of me, and I thought I was done for. All he said was, “Your mom and I never really sleep until you come home.

And when you’re really late, we’re always afraid that the car pulling in is the police, coming to tell us something horrible has happened.” When your parents love you, that fear of losing you is always there, in the back of their minds.

Camelsloths −  Why is there only one comment on this? Lol

jilljd38 −  As a mum my self and a once stupid teenager who took a fall from a horse they are not being mean and as a mum of an i**ot teenage boy who spent most of his time from 14 to 17 in various different leg casts arm cast and leg braces and crutches not from a dangerous sport

he fell off an inflatable and injured himself doing nothing most of the time don’t do anything till you have healed properly take all the physio you can and if medical professionals tell you doing something is not a good idea listen to them I’m nearly 40 I need a hip replacement that I’m not going to get any time soon

because I’m not old enough because I was stupid and thought I knew better at 16 when it’s cold wet and damp I can hardly move pls make sure you heal properly before you attempt anything

thr0aty0gurt −  It wasn’t a neck injury and skateboarding for me, it was back injury and football. I decided to keep n playing after my first surgery, and ended up needing another surgery after getting injured again in college.

Although I look back at those times fondly, I am in constant and unrelenting pain. Having a chronic injury sucks, but if its in you spinal column its so much worse. Please take care of yourself, being in constant pain really takes a toll.

Insert_Non_Sequitur −  You’re being very sensible. I can tell you love skating. I’m really sorry this happened to you and that you’ve had to give up something you love to do. However, I can completely understand your parents point of view.

If you ever have a kid yourself in the future, I think you will understand even more – it hurts at an *incredible* level to see your own child in pain and I really believe they just want you to be safe…

they’re in no way doing this to be “mean”. Please do give yourself some time to grieve the loss of your hobby and I truly hope you can find another outlet that you will love as much. I hope your neck heals well OP.

Sometimes, the hardest decisions are the ones that keep us safe, even if they don’t align with what we want. Have you ever had to give up something you loved due to safety concerns? How did you cope with the change? Share your thoughts below!