Yeesh. We knew it was bad for you, but we had no idea that shooting steroids was as terrifying an process as Craig Davidson details in his novel The Fighter.
The needle sunk into the pocket of infected tissue. The pain was
expected and surprisingly bearable. I drew back the plunger and got
only a few drops of clear broth. I disconnected the syringe and left
the needle jutting out, applying pressure to the surrounding skin.
Blood so dark it was almost black dripped down my thigh. Disgusting and
more than a little scary, but the pressure subsided. When I'd squeezed
as much out as I could, I filled another syringe with sterile water,
attached it to the needle still stuck in my skin, injected it, then
unclipped the syringe and squeezed most of the water out.
And plain ol' nutrition and exercise is worse than this how?
The Fighter is released in paperback on July 1.
