5 Things YOU should know while recovering from an ACL injury:

The Mental Toll:

There is nothing that can prepare you mentally for tearing your ACL or any other injury that is season-ending, I could go on about this forever. The first time I tore my ACL, I had no clue what that entailed or the journey I was about to take. Now that I have unfortunately torn my ACL as well as other ligaments in my knee again, I know what to expect, but it does not get any easier.  As a player, seeing your team get better every day, running out for game days, and even struggling will be very hard to watch. The questions on repeat in my head are always, 

Why? Why me? Why now? 

This is still something that I am still trying to figure out, but slowly a shift in my mindset has been everything to me. If I can speak directly to those that are in the midst of this journey - Yes, it will be physically and emotionally draining for you, yes you are going to have good and bad days, yes this is unfair. It’s okay to be upset about all of that but you have to realize: that you can't change the past, you have to focus on the future. You have to push through to get to your end goal which may be playing the sport that you love again or even to get your life back. Find something to work towards.

Another big factor that seems small but looking back you realize the impact it has on those around you. This injury not only affects you, but the other people in your life have to watch you go through the emotional and physical pain and sadly, they can not truly help you expect of of course offer support. Trust me they are in just as much pain and if your family is like mine where their "lives" revolve around they kids and their sports - they are DYING on the inside too. Luckily for me I have a great support system made up of friends & family and they are important too for they alter their lives to make sure I make all of my appointments. THANK YOU

Be sure to show for your TEAM:

Unfortunately for me, both times that I suffered this injury I was in my senior years.  As a high school senior & a college senior, I had major leadership responsibilities. A big struggle for me was figuring out, how I could still be the leader of these teams while not being on the court and just sitting on the sidelines. I would say that showing up and being there for the team is the best thing you can do. I make it a point to show up to ALL team events and that includes practices, trips, meetings, and everything in between. I am sure, some might consider my desire to with my teammates as a waste of time, but I am firm in my commitment to being a part of the team whether I am able to play or not. And as my father, always say Together Everyone Achieves More.

Time is of the essence:

One of the hardest pills to swallow throughout this entire process is being patient. I have come to realize that your mind may feel ready your body probably will not. When I tore my first ACL I was fortunate in a way. I tore my ACL in December of 2019 and got my clearance letter in August of 2020 which was 3 days before I left to go to school. Fortunately for me, due to the pandemic the basketball world was shut down therefore so was my first college season which left me with ample time to recover and ease back into playing basketball after not playing for 9 months. Now with my current recovery process, I am in around the same December-August time frame but will be under a bit more pressure as the possibility of a 24/25 season approaches.

The Fear Factor:

Do not be fooled once the rehab part is over, you are NOT done. There was always a part of me that was scared of reinjury. I have tried every knee brace, wrapping, technique and none of them quite worked for me and after a while, I felt comfortable without anything. Since my last injury, I have definitely had a few scars and a handful of emotional meltdowns from just being in

fear of going through something to this extent again. As I started to regain my confidence and strength in my left leg (first injury), I know I started to favor it as I felt more comfortable with it. My right knee (this injury) was the one where I usually felt more comfortable, however after going through rehab and preparing my left knee to be 100 %, it was the one I counted on the most, which soon left my right knee to fall weak as it was the one that was used to all of the pressure.

Possibility of a Re-tear:

Like any injury the fear of "re-injury" is a real thing and actually the anxiety actually adds to the fear factor. Some people are lucky to never experience a re-tear, but unfortunately, I am not one of those people. As "luck" would have it, 4 years later and almost to the day, I was playing in a basketball tournament with my team. It was a back to back weekend, and the first game I by all accounts played great.  Again, as a leader I felt my play set the tone for the season. In the first quarter of the 2nd game, I stole the ball and made an unbalanced pass to a teammate and I immediately knew I had done it again. As I laid on the court, I can hear my dad say "Oh no NOT again" and it hit me my biggest fear became a reality.  I began asking myself the same questions, Why? Why now? Why me again? 

Now that I have the experience of going through this a second time, I am able to see the light at the end of the tunnel more clearly. Because of this, I am going to handle this recovery process a bit differently than my last. After I have my surgery and am comfortable enough, I am going to use my recovery time wisely. I plan to strengthen my body and start to work on preventative injury exercises. I believe that I incorporate injury prevention techniques in the off-season and during the season for the rest of my time playing basketball, and this is something I regret not doing sooner.

The moral of the story is "this too will pass", but this entire process will without a doubt test your emotional and physical stamina.

KATE HUGHES