2 ACL Tears

I was 11 years old at the time. I had just got done with a two-a-day soccer practice in August and my club, FC United was having a cookout at the complex. My friends and I were playing a non-competitive pickup game of soccer, just for fun. I clearly remember defending one of my friends who had the ball and as I started to run my left foot got caught in a small hole. I felt immediate pain. I just laid there, crying; all of the girls were scared and I don’t blame them. We were on a field far from the clubhouse, where most of the people were. My coach came running out and gave me a piggy-back ride up to the clubhouse, he ran the whole way there. My mom is the type of parent who says rub some dirt on it and get back out there though my dad is almost the complete opposite. My mom, who was sure I was fine, told me to stop limping and we left. My dad suggested we go to the hospital though it was decided we would go to the injury clinic the next morning. I guess being 11, I didn’t think much would come of that one play, in a fun game with friends. Little did I know the next day I would get an MRI and the day after would be life-changing. I remember the doctor coming in and saying the MRI was inconclusive though it appeared I tore my ACL and meniscus and explaining what that even meant. He said that I would need surgery and told us the recovery would be anywhere from 6 weeks to 6 months. I was obviously devastated and my parents were in shock. 

My parents did their research and since I was so young, many surgeons were afraid to do the procedure on me. My growth plates were still open and that was abnormal because most people who tear their ACL’s are teenagers or older. We finally decided on going with Dr. Beran at Nationwide Children’s in Columbus. He was nice, and it seemed like he knew what he was doing. The walls of the office had tons of success stories. He explained to us it was uncommon to have a torn ACL at my age and provided hope it was only partially torn and only my meniscus would need repaired. He walked me through what to expect and my surgery was scheduled for the following week. 

5 years later I am playing high school soccer. It hasn’t been the most ideal season with COVID 19 and a lot of our players have been out with injuries all throughout the season. We are playing Indian Lake today, they aren’t anything to worry about, we are handling them pretty well. It’s 5-3 with under a minute left in the game. I am tired, I don’t usually get a sub or if I do I get a quick break then back out on the field, but it has always been that way and I love it. The girl on their team I have been guarding for most of the match is really nice. I have been chatting with her throughout the game, (you probably think this is weird but it’s what I do). I play the defensive-midfielder position so I can be all over the place at times. We have possession for most of the game, in the attacking third of the field. Indian Lake wins the ball and begins bringing it up on our side of the field with 12 seconds left in the game. The ball is to my right and I am marking up on my girl. The player to my right passes my girl the ball and when I step to pressure her, she taps it out beside me and is about to shoot. I go to block her shot and I am successful but not in the way I was hoping. I stepped with my outside leg and planted, and then immediate pain is all I could feel. She basically blew completely through my right knee. I just laid there and pierced the air with my screams. The trainer for Indian Lake looked at my knee and thought it was just a contusion and she didn’t even give me a ride on her cart to my car. The following day we went back to the injury clinic at Ohio Valley and the trainer and doctor thought my meniscus may have been torn which led me to another MRI. Then I heard the horrific words, “You had us fooled. You really messed up your knee.” Then went on to explain my ACL and meniscus were both torn and I would need surgery. 

My parents decided not to take me back to Dr. Beran because he teaches at OSU and doesn’t do as many surgeries now. After doing more research and asking around we scheduled consultations with 2 different surgeons, Dr. Heckler with Kettering and Dr. Lawless with Miami Valley South. I met with both of them and decided Dr. Lawless was the best option. He said I would do physical therapy before surgery to strengthen my knee and regain quad control so post surgery rehab would go smoother and I would be able to get back to playing exactly six months after surgery. Dr. Heckler said I would go right into surgery and the minimum time would be 8 months until I could play again, so Dr. Lawless sounded like the best pick.

 Dr. Beran did a good job. I was obviously nervous, I was only 11 years old and surgery was really terrifying to me. I remember going into the big room where it seemed like everything was white and there were a lot of people surrounding me. The nurses gave me anesthesia and then I fell asleep still hoping my recovery would only take 6 weeks. Unfortunately I ended up with a hamstring tendon graft which means they took some of my hamstring and repaired my ACL though my meniscus healed on it’s own. I woke up with my parents next to me in another room. The first question I asked was: 6 weeks or 6 months? They both cried replying that it would be 6 months. I bawled like a baby. I was in a lot of pain and the nurse helped me out to my car. I had a lockout brace on and was unable to bend my knee at all. When I got home, it was really difficult to get upstairs to my room. I obviously couldn’t walk up the stairs so my dad tried to carry me but he accidentally grabbed my hamstring and it was one of the worst pains I have ever felt in my life. I finally got upstairs by both my parents carrying me up but in a different way then the first attempt. It was so difficult to get comfortable because I had an Iceman machine I had to wear and an elevating pillow I had to use all the time. 

I was just as nervous with my second ACL surgery. I tried to pass the time by making a TikTok and my parents and nurses even got in it. I was given drugs to make me drowsy and then they gave me the nerve block to numb my leg even before I was in the operating room but they let me take my blanket because it was freezing cold. The next thing I know I woke up with my parents next to me. My knee was completely numb and I was very loopy because of the pain meds they gave me. The nurse helped me out to the car and I slept the whole ride home. Thankfully this time I didn’t have a brace and easily used my crutches to get up the stairs. 

The recovery was a little bumpy the first time. After surgery I had the lockout brace for 6 weeks and once I got it off I had to reteach myself basic fundamentals of walking. I was in the 6th grade at Reid with the stairs and no elevator and it was hot because it was the beginning of the school year. It took a while to gain confidence in myself again and it was hard not being able to participate while watching all of my teammates play. I tried to keep my head up and make jokes and smile a lot to keep my mind off of the things I was missing out on. I was dubbed an assistant coach with my own whistle and clipboard at soccer. I was able to play basketball 6 months after surgery but it took 8 months to return to soccer because of cleats, uneven surfaces and cutting. Soccer is rougher on the knees. I had to wear a big bulky brace to play which I hated. I still have a scar on my knee from my brace rubbing my skin away, it drove me crazy.  

The recovery this time has been way different than the first time so far with the biggest difference being not wearing a brace at all after surgery. Going through it the first time and already having that experience made the no brace concept a lot weirder. I am happy that I don’t have to wear the brace because it was very restricting and I won’t have to wear a brace when I return to play either. I am nervous about not wearing a brace when playing just because it makes me feel more stable and supported but last time it was super bulky and slowed me down a lot. The recovery should be faster than last time and so far, that is true. I am at the 6 week mark right now and I can walk upstairs normally, walk without a limp, am working on getting a better range of motion and stability. I have to do exercises, ice, and practice walking up and downstairs at home. I am excited to get to start doing actual physical activities and hope to get my driver’s license very soon. I know everything that comes next and I hate it. But I am going to do it because I have to if I want to continue playing. 

This is my tale of 2 knees, 2 ACL tears and (hopefully) 2 successful recoveries. Throughout this I have learned my superpower, I heal. Both times my meniscus were torn and both times they had already healed at the time of my surgery. I hope this story ends forever with this paper and I never have to go through it again because it sucks.