On Monday morning, I saw two photos of Seattle Seahawks cornerback Jeremy Lane. Each highlighted his very broken left arm. In one, Lane’s arm is bent between the elbow and wrist, as if there’s an extra elbow in there. In the other photo, Lane’s arm looks elongated and pulled out of place, like an old Stretch Armstrong.

If you have a weak stomach or are easily grossed out, I recommend you avoid any Google searches of Jeremy Lane.

I looked at the photos and immediately felt a sympathetic bond with Lane. Years ago, when I played high school football, I broke my right arm in almost the exact same place.

I was on our kickoff team, and as the play was ending I was hit from behind. I never saw the guy, and when I got up it looked and felt like I had dislocated my wrist. As it turned out, I snapped the ulna and radius in my right arm.

I haven’t heard if Lane had surgery yet. I imagine he had it within hours of breaking the arm. My injury happened in a road game. I had x-rays taken in Burlington, where I was given pain meds and sent home to Rutland, where I went right to the hospital. An operating team was waiting for me when I got there, and I was taken right into surgery. I was lucky in that the bones never pierced the skin. The surgery required to set my arm consisted of putting me out so a doctor could fiddle with my arm for an hour until he felt the bones line up. I didn’t need any pins or screws. I went through a couple casts in the first few days because of the swelling.

I broke my arm in mid-October. I was in a cast until almost Christmas. Most of my rehab consisted of squeezing a racquetball while I sat in class, to give muscles that hadn’t done much of anything in weeks something to do. My arm had a slight bend for a few months, but it felt fine as soon as the cast came off, and everything was back to normal in time for baseball season.

One thing Lane can look forward to is arm hair. When my cast was removed, my right arm was werewolf hairy. I’ve heard it’s because your body is working so hard to heal, more nutrients and hormones are sent to the injured area. I don’t know if that’s true or an old wives’ tale, but my hirsute arm was soon back to normal.

Good luck to Lane on his recovery. I hope he’s back on the field, 100 percent healthy next season, so he can learn that Rob Gronkowski is indeed that good.