Injuries are a part of sports, even at the high school level.

My first ever injury was a torn ACL. This happened to me about month ago at Jackson Park during a soccer practice. I was playing around when someone centered the ball. I jumped up and came down on my leg and heard a pop. I was on the ground for five minutes because I couldn’t get up.

After practice, I was in pain and noticed my leg was swollen. I realized right away that my leg was hurting and my performance wasn’t the same, so I went for an x-ray.

The doctor told me that my bones looked good, so he referred me to a different location to run an MRI. Two weeks later, I got my results and discovered that I had torn my ACL and would need surgery.

I waited a month and had my surgery on November 26 at Christ Hospital. Before the surgery began, they injected anesthesia through a needle and in 15 minutes I was out cold. It was a two hour  surgery and when it was over I woke up with wrap around my leg covering an ice patch and a knee brace. The doctor said the surgery went well.

I went home that same day and was in a lot of pain. I walked on crutches for a week before the doctor let me walk with just the brace. I started therapy two days after my surgery, and that will continue for one hour on Mondays and Wednesdays for eight months. I only need to wear the brace for eight weeks, but won’t be able to play sports again until after the therapy ends next July.

I was told that usually athletes can return from injuries like this even stronger than before.  As much as I disliked the whole experience, I’m hoping that’s the case for me.