Shanghai and a Troubled Appendix

It's been a roller coaster few days. Rafa lost in Beijing to Klizan last week, but said his wrist was fine so he played on in Shanghai.

Once he arrived in Shanghai he wasn't seen. No practice, no photos, nothing. It was later revealed to us that he had appendicitis and had been staying in his hotel and making brief visits to the hospital. Not what we wanted to hear the day before a match.

Rafa is Rafa, so he refused to withdraw and got ready for his match on Wednesday. We knew it would be a loss. He never retired though, he puts up with the pain. A long couple of hours later Feliciano Lopez won 6-3 7-6. It was a fight, but he was suffering from a serious condition, how could anyone expect him to win?

It was a very worrying match. Rafans know better than anyone that health is the number 1 priority. I didn't care he lost, but I was distraught to know he was in pain. Rafa has taken very aggressive antibiotics to stop the pain. These were positive for him because they meant he could put back surgery even further, but they made him very weak and dizzy.

Appendicitis is an inflammation of the appendix, and doesn't ever go away completely. Once you've got it, in most cases at some point you'll have to take it out in an operation. Recovery time is not too long, but it can be inconvenient. If you have it taken out early (like Rafa), the recovery time should be between 2-4 weeks, but it depends. Rafa plans to have his appendix taken out at the end of the year, after the World Tour Finals. We hope his problem will go away until them, and will not bother him in these last few important tournaments.

We only had Rafa back for 3 matches, but now he's gone again, with yet another health issue. It's endless, and very very hard for us.

The sad truth is there will be a time in the near future when after one of the issues he will no longer be able to get back up. We need to think realistically. One time there will not be a glorious comeback from an injury period, and we need to prepare ourselves for that.

I miss Rafa already, and to know he's been in pain kills me. On a side note, Rafa is now number 3 in the rankings due to his tournament absences, but that is NOT the important thing. Rafa needs to be healthy and happy to win tournaments, and he is not.

Let's wish Rafa a speedy recovery and give him strength at the end of a difficult year. #GetWellSoonRafa

@rafanadaladdict