Grace's ACL Story

Hey, I'd thought I'd share my story or what has happened so far.

I'm a high school senior this year and for the past few years I've tried out for my school's AAA soccer team. Finally after trying twice, I finally made it this year. I had been playing great all season when we went away for a tournament. My coach put me in the game and I was on the field for about five minutes before I was injured.

I stole the ball from a girl on the other team and had my back facing her. I went to turn to the left when I noticed she was sort of stepping on the back of my foot. When I fell, I heard a loud crack and I felt a moderate pain in my knee. I saw two doctors who both told me that my ligaments seemed to be alright and that it was probably just a very small tear in the cartilage.

I couldn't play for the rest of the tournament and the next week which was our regional playoffs. My knee was getting progressively better; I could run, bike, etc. But I still couldn't straighten or bend it all the way. I got myself a brace that I was wearing so that I could practice with my soccer team after regionals for provincials. Everything wasn't 100%, but I really wanted to play in our provincials for my last year of high school.

The ground was really muddy and uneven. I was running when all of a sudden my knee gave out and I heard another crack before I fell again. There was more swelling than the first time but I felt as if I was back to square one. It's been probably a month since my first fall and it was really killing me to sit on the sidelines as my team won provincials. I haven't been able to play hockey either.

I went to see an orthopedic surgeon last week who told me that he was positive that I had torn my ACL right from the beginning. He told me that I wouldn't be able to play competitive sports for at least a year. I was pretty upset when I heard this because sports are my life and I don't know what I'd do without them. He told me that it's likely my surgery will be in three months minimum but I've already been stressing out about it a little.

Reading these stories definitely helps to stay positive throughout the whole experience and it makes me want to work as hard as I can to get back on my feet. Hopefully it goes well and I'll be back playing sports again sooner than later!