An Athlete’s Worst Nightmare
Imagine you are going along playing the sport you love, when all of a sudden you hear a pop, your knee gives out, and you are on the ground in pain. This happened to me not once, but twice. After going to the doctor both times, they figured out I tore my ACL. The ACL is like a rubber band that holds your knee together enabling you to bend, jump, cut, and run. Without it, your knee could give out at any given time. The first time I experienced it, I was playing soccer in P.E. The second time I was playing volleyball. I had to have knee reconstruction surgery after both. The second time I had the reconstruction surgery plus fixing my meniscus. Tearing an ACL is a very vigorous process. Following surgery, …show more content…
In high school, it can seem like the most important thing in life. I, fortunately, was involved in many other activities to fill up my time. I could not play volleyball my sophomore or junior year. This really upset me because I love the sport. While sitting on the side lines, I had a decision to make: sit here bitterly and wish I could be playing, feeling sorry for myself, or cheer my team on and try to be a positive impact on them. I chose the latter, to cheer for my team and have a positive impact on them. This was difficult at first because I was so confused why it happened to me, especially the second time. Then people started commenting on how strong I was and how they did not understand how I could be so positive about such a sucky situation. I then realized that I was appearing stronger than I thought. This was my encouragement to stay strong. The first time I tore my ACL, I worked really hard to get back. Volleyball was my inspiration. I had to have another surgery because my body rejected the screw they put in during surgery. This made my come back even tougher. I did not let it stop me. That is when I went up to the Fieldhouse in Sioux Falls. I had to gain back 4 cm of leg muscle. While this does not seem like a lot, it was very difficult. I worked on single leg strengthening every day, all summer. I finally got the okay to play volleyball by the …show more content…
About every Tuesday and Thursday, I have to find time out of my day to attend physical therapy. Right after surgery, I had to go three times a week. This was more difficult because he is only in George Tuesdays and Thursdays, so I had to drive all the way to Rock Rapids. These sessions sometimes take up to an hour. Sometimes I am not able to have lunch because I would rather miss that than class. I also have doctor appointments in Sioux Falls about once a month. Another way it has affected me was that right after surgery I had to miss about a week and half to two weeks of school. After that, I was only able to come about half days due to my stamina being down due to all my pain. I had to work extra hard to catch back up to everyone else. I had to do this twice. Over all this was a negative affect at first look, but after I thought about it, I realized it has made me stronger. I had to work hard and put 110% effort into my school work, which then I carried out throughout the rest of the
Imagine you are going along playing the sport you love, when all of a sudden you hear a pop, your knee gives out, and you are on the ground in pain. This happened to me not once, but twice. After going to the doctor both times, they figured out I tore my ACL. The ACL is like a rubber band that holds your knee together enabling you to bend, jump, cut, and run. Without it, your knee could give out at any given time. The first time I experienced it, I was playing soccer in P.E. The second time I was playing volleyball. I had to have knee reconstruction surgery after both. The second time I had the reconstruction surgery plus fixing my meniscus. Tearing an ACL is a very vigorous process. Following surgery, …show more content…
In high school, it can seem like the most important thing in life. I, fortunately, was involved in many other activities to fill up my time. I could not play volleyball my sophomore or junior year. This really upset me because I love the sport. While sitting on the side lines, I had a decision to make: sit here bitterly and wish I could be playing, feeling sorry for myself, or cheer my team on and try to be a positive impact on them. I chose the latter, to cheer for my team and have a positive impact on them. This was difficult at first because I was so confused why it happened to me, especially the second time. Then people started commenting on how strong I was and how they did not understand how I could be so positive about such a sucky situation. I then realized that I was appearing stronger than I thought. This was my encouragement to stay strong. The first time I tore my ACL, I worked really hard to get back. Volleyball was my inspiration. I had to have another surgery because my body rejected the screw they put in during surgery. This made my come back even tougher. I did not let it stop me. That is when I went up to the Fieldhouse in Sioux Falls. I had to gain back 4 cm of leg muscle. While this does not seem like a lot, it was very difficult. I worked on single leg strengthening every day, all summer. I finally got the okay to play volleyball by the …show more content…
About every Tuesday and Thursday, I have to find time out of my day to attend physical therapy. Right after surgery, I had to go three times a week. This was more difficult because he is only in George Tuesdays and Thursdays, so I had to drive all the way to Rock Rapids. These sessions sometimes take up to an hour. Sometimes I am not able to have lunch because I would rather miss that than class. I also have doctor appointments in Sioux Falls about once a month. Another way it has affected me was that right after surgery I had to miss about a week and half to two weeks of school. After that, I was only able to come about half days due to my stamina being down due to all my pain. I had to work extra hard to catch back up to everyone else. I had to do this twice. Over all this was a negative affect at first look, but after I thought about it, I realized it has made me stronger. I had to work hard and put 110% effort into my school work, which then I carried out throughout the rest of the