“I think in the long run I’ll come back stronger then I was before…”
Nickname: – Sandra D
Your Age: – 15
City: –
State/Country (if outside U.S.): – Alaska
Sport/Activity: – Basketball
Tell Your Story / Post a Follow Up: –
I completely snapped my ACL and had a slight tear in my right meniscus… Sports has always been my thing, when I was little it was just a hobby but as I got older it became my outlet and my identity. Coming into my freshmen year I made varsity volleyball I had a great season and our team won regions and went on to compete at state. As fun as volleyball is, I was eagerly awaiting basketball season! I love basketball, every single part of it. From swishing a free throw to the feeling of dying after sprints I spend every day looking forward to my time in the gym. I started my season off being a varsity starter and getting on all tourney team at my first tournament. Even though my team was very horrible and we barely won any games, I loved every second. Ever since watching a girl tear her knee out and lay on the ground screaming in 8th grade, hurting my knee has been one of my biggest fears. One practice a couple weeks before regions we were playing against the alumni. I really wanted to impress them and they tried to throw a pass from the point to my man under the basket. Coming off a screen I was off balance and I jumped to try and get the steal. I think I touched it but all I remember is my knee buckling and feeling a horrible pop. I was freaking out. I knew the pop was bad and all I could say was it popped, it popped while I was laying on the ground desperately holding my knee. We have a saying at my school, when you have to get “the chair” meaning rolled off the court in the gym office chair, it’s serious. So when I had to get rolled off I broke down and started to cry. I kind of held it together until after the scrimmage was done and all my teammates gathered around and started to try and be encouraging like, “just imagine the moves you’ll be out there doing tomorrow” and that’s when I totally lost it. I was sobbing like a crazy person. They all kind of backed away after that and I got it together enough to call my mom and tell her what happened. She came and we made an appointment. It was a week before I could see the doctor and another before I could g! et my MRI, so about 3 weeks later he told me the news, I had snapped my ACL and had minor tears in my meniscus with a nasty bone contusion. He told me 6-9 months to be back to play. I felt like I was going to throw up. I cried the whole way to school then cried through most of first period before my coach made me pull myself together and go to class. I live in a small town so my parents decided to fly me to Seattle to get surgery at Swedish Hospital, where they do ACL repairs on young athletes all the time. The day before my surgery I went in for pre op and met my doctor for the first time. He shocked me by saying I had to have 0-120 degrees ROM before he would operate. He also said that he does a 9-12 month recovery and won’t clear his patient before 9 months as it takes 12 for the ACL to be 100% recovered. He recommended we push back the surgery but I insisted I would get my ROM by the next day. The whole rest of the day and into the night I slowly and painfully achieved that goal. The next day I went and got my surgery. Total ACL reconstruction using my hamstring and a menisectomy (cutting out the tear in my meniscus, thankfully it was minor) the surgery went great. The doctors at Swedish are awesome and I recommend them to anyone. I was off crutches in 6 days and started physical therapy 8 days post op. I had to wear a brace for 6 weeks and had to learn to walk normal again. By then I was definetely feeling the crushing depression of not being able to run and sweat and participate. The first 2 months were really rough and I had a really hard time forcing myself to work on my physical therapy. Also in the midst of all this I started to put on weight from lack of being able to exercise. I have never been confident about my body and this wasn’t helping. Once I was able to do cardio and do a decently hard workout, it was better. I still didn’t really have the drive to push myself and do my exercises, I was in a pretty deep depression. The turning point was starting to work out with my former 8th grade h! ooptime (! club ball) coach and role model. She is 25 and used to take my to the gym to learn post moves and shoot and stuff. The first workout I did with her was a total smack down. I did what I normally did and she was like great, so 4 more sets? I didn’t want to seem like a wimp and the next day I was so sore, but I felt great! I found that drive inside me as my body remembered what it was like to work towards a goal. I set little goals and slowly I achieved them. I got stronger and we increased our weights and upped the number of sets. We go to the gym together most days and if she is gone she leaves work outs for me to do. I had my 4 month post op appointment a couple weeks ago and my doctor was impressed! He said my ACL felt really stable and I was definetely on track to be back in 9 months. I feel great now and I should be able to run in a little over a month. My leg feels like a normal leg and I do killer bike and elliptical workouts. It is a hard adjustment because I used to have really great thin runners leg, and now i have some cellulite and my thighs rub, but my legs have never been stronger and I have learned to be patient. I know once I can run I’ll lose the cellulite. I also know that I will continue to lift and add a variety to my workouts. I have a great confidence at the gym now and I know how to use the equipment correctly. I think in the long run I’ll come back stronger then I was before, and a better player because I have now had the time to sit and watch. I have learned so much and I will have much more court awareness coming back. I still have a long way to go and I have tough days and weeks. But I have such amazing support from my bball family and my real family, and i know I can go to them to talk it out so I don’t get buried in that depression again. I hope this story helps someone who is in the place I was, and pleas don’t hesitate to comment if it does or you have some tips!
Your Age: – 15
City: –
State/Country (if outside U.S.): – Alaska
Sport/Activity: – Basketball
Tell Your Story / Post a Follow Up: –
I completely snapped my ACL and had a slight tear in my right meniscus… Sports has always been my thing, when I was little it was just a hobby but as I got older it became my outlet and my identity. Coming into my freshmen year I made varsity volleyball I had a great season and our team won regions and went on to compete at state. As fun as volleyball is, I was eagerly awaiting basketball season! I love basketball, every single part of it. From swishing a free throw to the feeling of dying after sprints I spend every day looking forward to my time in the gym. I started my season off being a varsity starter and getting on all tourney team at my first tournament. Even though my team was very horrible and we barely won any games, I loved every second. Ever since watching a girl tear her knee out and lay on the ground screaming in 8th grade, hurting my knee has been one of my biggest fears. One practice a couple weeks before regions we were playing against the alumni. I really wanted to impress them and they tried to throw a pass from the point to my man under the basket. Coming off a screen I was off balance and I jumped to try and get the steal. I think I touched it but all I remember is my knee buckling and feeling a horrible pop. I was freaking out. I knew the pop was bad and all I could say was it popped, it popped while I was laying on the ground desperately holding my knee. We have a saying at my school, when you have to get “the chair” meaning rolled off the court in the gym office chair, it’s serious. So when I had to get rolled off I broke down and started to cry. I kind of held it together until after the scrimmage was done and all my teammates gathered around and started to try and be encouraging like, “just imagine the moves you’ll be out there doing tomorrow” and that’s when I totally lost it. I was sobbing like a crazy person. They all kind of backed away after that and I got it together enough to call my mom and tell her what happened. She came and we made an appointment. It was a week before I could see the doctor and another before I could g! et my MRI, so about 3 weeks later he told me the news, I had snapped my ACL and had minor tears in my meniscus with a nasty bone contusion. He told me 6-9 months to be back to play. I felt like I was going to throw up. I cried the whole way to school then cried through most of first period before my coach made me pull myself together and go to class. I live in a small town so my parents decided to fly me to Seattle to get surgery at Swedish Hospital, where they do ACL repairs on young athletes all the time. The day before my surgery I went in for pre op and met my doctor for the first time. He shocked me by saying I had to have 0-120 degrees ROM before he would operate. He also said that he does a 9-12 month recovery and won’t clear his patient before 9 months as it takes 12 for the ACL to be 100% recovered. He recommended we push back the surgery but I insisted I would get my ROM by the next day. The whole rest of the day and into the night I slowly and painfully achieved that goal. The next day I went and got my surgery. Total ACL reconstruction using my hamstring and a menisectomy (cutting out the tear in my meniscus, thankfully it was minor) the surgery went great. The doctors at Swedish are awesome and I recommend them to anyone. I was off crutches in 6 days and started physical therapy 8 days post op. I had to wear a brace for 6 weeks and had to learn to walk normal again. By then I was definetely feeling the crushing depression of not being able to run and sweat and participate. The first 2 months were really rough and I had a really hard time forcing myself to work on my physical therapy. Also in the midst of all this I started to put on weight from lack of being able to exercise. I have never been confident about my body and this wasn’t helping. Once I was able to do cardio and do a decently hard workout, it was better. I still didn’t really have the drive to push myself and do my exercises, I was in a pretty deep depression. The turning point was starting to work out with my former 8th grade h! ooptime (! club ball) coach and role model. She is 25 and used to take my to the gym to learn post moves and shoot and stuff. The first workout I did with her was a total smack down. I did what I normally did and she was like great, so 4 more sets? I didn’t want to seem like a wimp and the next day I was so sore, but I felt great! I found that drive inside me as my body remembered what it was like to work towards a goal. I set little goals and slowly I achieved them. I got stronger and we increased our weights and upped the number of sets. We go to the gym together most days and if she is gone she leaves work outs for me to do. I had my 4 month post op appointment a couple weeks ago and my doctor was impressed! He said my ACL felt really stable and I was definetely on track to be back in 9 months. I feel great now and I should be able to run in a little over a month. My leg feels like a normal leg and I do killer bike and elliptical workouts. It is a hard adjustment because I used to have really great thin runners leg, and now i have some cellulite and my thighs rub, but my legs have never been stronger and I have learned to be patient. I know once I can run I’ll lose the cellulite. I also know that I will continue to lift and add a variety to my workouts. I have a great confidence at the gym now and I know how to use the equipment correctly. I think in the long run I’ll come back stronger then I was before, and a better player because I have now had the time to sit and watch. I have learned so much and I will have much more court awareness coming back. I still have a long way to go and I have tough days and weeks. But I have such amazing support from my bball family and my real family, and i know I can go to them to talk it out so I don’t get buried in that depression again. I hope this story helps someone who is in the place I was, and pleas don’t hesitate to comment if it does or you have some tips!
"Could I have been playing harder or faster so I would have avoided being hurt? When I received a photo of the play that caused my injury I felt better..."