On a Monday evening in September Miro Tuomala is sitting at home in Tampere in his lounge chair when he feels his legs go numb. As a Finnish jääräpää, she believes she will feel better, but her common-law partner, who is studying physiotherapy, pressures her husband to contact the emergency room.
The two-meter tall Tuomala is used to back and leg problems, as several disc bulges have slowed down and hampered her floorball career for eight years. Recently, a bulge has been found again, which has been tried to be treated, like previous injuries, with rest. The situation still causes uncertainty and restlessness.
The emergency room states that when there is a history of back problems, it is still worth monitoring your condition. He goes to sleep, but in the morning the sensation has completely disappeared from his lower back and thighs.
From the health center, he is referred to the hospital. After hours of waiting and three doctors’ evaluations, 26-year-old Tuomala finally gets the MRIs.
Tuomala doesn’t have time to wait for the results for many minutes, when he hears the doctor asking after him at the emergency desk. According to the operating orthopedist, there is a serious injury to the back that must be operated on immediately.
The surgical staff is called to the scene for the emergency night operation, and Tuomala is rushed to the hall.
The phone is taken away so quickly that he doesn’t have time to inform anyone about the twist. A worried common-law partner has to call the hospital all night to get even some information about an unclear and worrying situation.
The operating room doors close.
Tuomala grew up in Jyväskylä in a sporty family, where she skied, orienteering and also played ball. An enthusiastic sportsman applied Mika Kohonen to floorball school at the age of 8, and even though he went between the posts to block pucks and footballs, floorball won.
He gained more size in a thrift store, when he stretched 30 centimeter during one summer vacation to 190 centimeter. The classmates who were even taller in the spring had suddenly become shorter than Tuomala, and the school friends had enough to be amazed at. In a group of five children, he is clearly the tallest.
– I don’t remember that there were any growing pains, but it could be that time has gilded the memories. The weight did not keep up with the height growth, and I probably weighed 60-70 kilos. Endurance sports were still a big part of life back then, Tuomala recalls.
For Tuomala, Rahola’s marten cave has been a home hall since 2019. Without their top defender, KrP has had goalkeeping problems this season.
The problem with back injuries has always been that the bulge presses on the nerve and the radiating pain is directed to the legs instead of the back.
Tuomala feels that he still has a lot to give on the rink side. Watching training and games from the sidelines is fun, but the team’s other injured players have received important peer support.
Tuomala still dreams of being able to help the team during this season, but the years have taught him patience.
The vice-captain, who is liked and loved by his teams, wants to be present in training and games, even if it sometimes seems pointless to hang out.
Tuomala’s first back symptoms hit Happee in the 2013-2014 championship season, when he joined the team representing deer shirts as a 17-year-old high school student.
It has not been possible to verify the connection between rapid growth and back problems, but the exceptionally brisk growth may have had its own effect.
– No major individual reason for the first bulge has been found, and no one has been able to explain why I have had so many of them over the years. Perhaps the support system has not kept up with the rapid growth.
– When floorball is a twisting sport where you have to swing around the goal like a rubber man, for a long time it hasn’t necessarily been the best thing to do.
In the troubles of Tuomala, who was christened “tall boy” in Happe’s representative team, the back itself has not really been sore, but the pain has radiated to the legs, when the bulge has gotten to press on the nerve.
– I didn’t think about it at the beginning, that it’s practically something that slows down and hinders my entire career, but it has affected my training and how I’ve been able to play.
The pain of being followed
In 2015, the under-19 boys won the World Championship gold with their top moves. The career of Tuomala has become a wave movement. The goalkeeper, who won four medals in Happe’s jersey and two in Nokian KrP, has had to be on the sidelines from time to time due to injuries, but whenever he is fit, he has shown that he belongs to the country’s elite.
Last season started again at the shipyard, when his back gave way in the first days of his military service in the spring of 2021, which had been postponed for years due to injuries.
The dream of December’s World Cup home games had to be buried, but when the masking and unflinchingly sure defender returned to the rink, last spring he was at his best leading the pack of mares to the World Cup finals against Classic.
Vire was noted, and at the end of May he was with the men’s national team to secure a place in the World Cup qualifiers. After a great end of the season, everything looked good, but my back was irritated and leaving sports training for the summer didn’t help. A bulge was found in the diaphragm again.
Tuomala has been a very loved and positive person in all his teams, and KrP players have voted him captain for several years already. When the body is broken and unable to help the team in the rink, the mind has been down.
– I have thought about it many times, that life is quite unfair. There is not one or two times when I have been to the hall to watch training and when I got home the uppermost feeling has been a harsh f*tutus.
Tuomala wants to be present in the team’s day-to-day life, even though watching from the sidelines is a pain and cheering seems pointless.
– It’s been damn hard and of course it still is, but you just have to try to find those streaks of positivity and move forward with it. The team has always been important, and you still get a lot of joy from it when things have been more difficult.
With the head coach of Nokian KrP Janne Kainulainen has a history with Tuomala already from the years in Jyväskylä, when both were influential in Happee. Kainulainen sees that despite the difficulties, Tuomala has approached his situation realistically and calmly.
– Every morning and evening he has been getting himself in shape and cheering on the team. He has unfortunate experiences with adversity and injuries, but at least during the time I have been at KrP, he has taken the situation calmly.
– Of course, this last bomb was a bit different, and everyone feels that kind of crisis more.
In 2015, Tuomala shone in the youth national team, when Finland won gold and she was selected for the star team of the Games.
He became one of the top keepers in the league in Happee. In 2018, Tuomala was defending the silver medal at the Jyväskylä.
The two-meter defender is an impressive sight between the posts. He grew up in Jyväskylä following, among other things, the two-time world champion goalkeeper Eero Koso.
In Nokian KrP’s shirt, Tuomala played a big role last spring, when the pack of martens advanced to the SM finals against Classic.
In the men’s national team, Tuomala has been able to take his first steps, and last spring he played two matches in goal for Finland in the World Cup qualifiers.
Tuomala opens her eyes after surgery in the hospital’s recovery room. The doctor comes to tell Tuomala about the situation, and the common-law partner has also been told where to go.
An MRI has revealed that the disc has ruptured so badly that the spinal canal is completely blocked. In a serious situation, the danger has been paralysis, but the emergency operation has been successful.
In the same connection, another potential problem point on the back has also been operated on.
Even though Tuomala is lying in tubes in the hospital, the family members and friends who come to say hello make an important observation: although there is still no feeling in the lower body, the patient is smiling again, because the pain has disappeared.
Rehabilitation starts with light walks, and now Tuomala can already strain her back and legs in the gym. Considering the circumstances, the situation is good, but there is still enough uncertainty, because rehabilitation is slow and feeling has only partially returned.
– Basic things like urinating and defecating have practically had to be learned all over again. I’m going to therapy at the hospital with it, and there have been effects on my daily life. In the beginning, talking about this to friends, for example, was embarrassing, and there were awkward situations from time to time, Tuomala admits.
– We are waiting for the nerve pathways and sensation to return, but it may take months or even years. The experts I’ve talked to believe that in a young and athletic person, the feeling does return, but it makes you think and hesitate.
In the past months, I have had time to think about the scary scenario of paralysis.
– After all, it has stopped him and as an athlete he has thought about it so that what could have been done differently. Should I have sought treatment earlier?
– The more he has talked with people, the more he has turned to being grateful when he can still walk on his own two feet. We are happy with it at the moment.
Career continuation will be considered in the spring
Tuomala is interested in coaching in the future. During the autumn, Tuomala has had time to mentor the young junior goalkeeper who has spotted him Miki from Saari. The continuation of his own playing career is shrouded in darkness, and the contract with the Nokia team covers the current season.
Continuing your career also has its own risks, as back injuries may recur in the future.
– Dreams have changed since the last operation. In Sähly, the biggest dream would still be to get on the field and help the team this season as well, but I haven’t dared to think about the future beyond that. The continuation of the career will be considered after the season.
– After talking with the experts, it could still be possible to play this season in terms of recovering from the surgery. Let’s hope and believe that other things will be taken care of, Tuomala refers to the recovery of feeling.
Difficult years, uncertainty and nasty setbacks have grown character.
– I don’t know if being on the sidelines has taught me anything sensible, but at least I’ve learned patience. It’s frustrating and sad that you can’t play, but sometimes you have to wait for things in life.