Personal Narrative: Successful The Hard Way

Along with that the angle of my knee was at a whopping seven degrees instead of three degrees, which is the normal alignment of a knee for females. As we found out more about what it would take to fix this rare injury that is when the journey of having to work harder than I have ever had to.

As many know, I had surgery this past week. Surgery is extremely rough, especially for those who have been constantly battling their problem. My knee has been a mystery for my doctor for over two years and I can not fathom why this crazy mishap happened to me of all people.These last two years have been the worst years of my life due to unexpected illnesses and surgeries.

Last September, my injury never fully got better from ballet. So, in March I heard my knee “pop” and, I could not walk on it. I was on crutches for 5 days due to the pain. I had to wear an ugly knee brace everyday and used a lot of ice. The physical therapist thought I might have torn something in my knee. I was happy to find out that nothing was torn in my knee after all.

It all started in seventh grade. I was in p.e. And we were playing Dodgeball. This was normal because that was what we usually played. That day was different, I went to throw a ball and managed to tear my kneecap off. When I threw it, I went to turn, but my foot stayed still and my knee popped nine times and I fell to the ground. I didn’t think anything of it because my knees will randomly pop. I got back up and walked away like nothing happened because I am used to my knee popping. But I only took about five steps before it started to hurt. I must not have noticed it because of the adrenaline that was in me from the game. Mr.Hookfin noticed and helped me to the nurse's office. I limped there because I couldn’t put any pressure on it without it wincing from the pain. It all happened before 10:00a.m. and my dad didn’t get there until noon because he was in school. He got me a doctors appointment for 3:00 p.m. because it was really swollen. When we got there they were not sure why it was so bad, so they gave me painkillers and I had to go for an M.R.I. scan the next day. Later we found out that I tore my kneecap off and had to get surgery to put it back in place. I went in for surgery two days after that. The surgery itself only took a few hours, but rehab to get it to work normally again was torture. Everyday for two hours I had to go in and work on my leg. It started of simple, but once I started to get

The next day my knee is feeling better so we assumed nothing was wrong but a few days after that I had been running around and playing with friends. As we were playing, one of my friends dared me to jump off of a slide, so I did and boom there goes my knee again numb and hurting a little so I went home to my parents. We realized it was the same sort of thing but we all assumed it was a minor sprain so we iced it and elevated it. The next day it was gone and then it happened one other time a few days later and we finally started to realize something was wrong but we still put it off. The last and final time was when I was at jujitsu and I was doing the usual warm up. At the time I was doing burpees and as I got up to jump from the pushup position I pulled my legs into me chest and “SNAP” my knee had completely given out and I was in the worst pain I had ever experienced to this day. My knee could not and would not move so my Jujitsu

It was April 2010 and I was playing in the South Atlantic Conference Basketball Championship. I left the ground for a layup and when I came back down, I was in excruciating pain. I couldn’t walk for a few days and when I went to my doctor, he told me my knee was sprained. I spent months reading a plethora of articles online. I nagged my parents for months to take me to a different doctor. They finally

Then we went to the doctor's office and my aunt was working there so she came and sat by us in the waiting room and went to the doctor's appointment with us. Then the nurse came in and observed the x-ray and said I broke and tiba and my growth plate. And found out the people at St.Mary's were wrong and I did break my growth plate when they told me that I didn’t. Then the doctor came in and said that she had to move my ankle to the way it was before I broke it then the doctor tried to move it but she couldn’t so she said that I had to get put to sleep and might have to do surgery on it. Then she put on my cast. Then I went to the hospital and got in my room and got an i.v. put in and I had to wait about 5 hours then she could the surgery. Then I got put to sleep and she moved my ankle and the right way. Then I woke up at about 11:00 at night then I went back to my room and then watched a movie and fell asleep and got to go home the next morning. I had to keep my cast on for 3 months and got it of in

My life began in privilege. From magnificent dollhouses, professional family Christmas pictures, and white picket fences, it all seemed so simple. Five-year-old me did not understand for the longest time what adversity was and how it would ever affect me. Twelve years later, I’ve come to realize that the adversity in my life has created diversity within me.

“Allie it looks like you tore your MCL, ACL and meniscus” My doctor said softly. Tears and tears began running down my face. I remember wanting to be strong in front of my doctor so I waiting until I got into the car before I broke down. “We should plan your surgery date and get you into physical therapy immediately.”  I asked my surgeon if I could have my surgery right away so I could get back to the thing I loved most, basketball. “I’m sorry but you can’t have surgery until your MCL is healed and you have full range of motion which will take around 2 months.” My heart was broken. We planned on having my surgery on my spring break in April, and let me add that I was suppose to go to California with my friend and her family. The two months before my surgery I was going to physical therapy 3 times a week and it was kicking my butt. I can’t even begin to explain the pain I had to go through just to get my knee to bend 1 centimeter. Knowing that after surgery I was going to have to do it all over again made me hate life more than I already did. The week right before my surgery was one of the best weeks. My surgeon told me I didn’t have to wear my brace to bed or during the day as a present for working so hard the past several weeks.     The night before my surgery came and I was a wreck. Horrible thoughts filled my mind,  “What if they do the wrong knee or what if something goes wrong and I die?” Thankfully the surgery went really well, and I woke up on a lot of drugs. I don’t remember this but my mom told me that I cried because my foot was orange. Also, because I wanted my bed and dog which seemed pretty accurate. Showering was a horrible struggle and I never wanted to do it because I had to sit on a shower chair while I showered. It was painful just to get out of bed and go to the bathroom. When I thought of what Hell would be like, immediately I thought of my physical therapy place. I would

When track season started my Junior year my right knee started having severe issues.. After one practice my right knee was swollen, and was turning a red and purple color. I rested for the rest of practice and that night, and the next morning just walking around made it swell. I ended up going to the doctor the next day and got x-rays of both knees. I found out that because I had injured my left knee, my right one had overcompensated and was giving out. I was out the rest of the indoor track season, before outdoor track even started. I ended up having to do physical therapy to hopefully help gain strength to be able to run again my Senior year for Cross Country. I did physical therapy for 5-6 months, 2 times a week, I slowly started progressing

In the beginning of my junior year, I decided to join my high school’s PROUD club, a gay/straight alliance. Support for the LGBTQ community was always something I believed in, but I was always a lot of talk and no action with my beliefs- feminism and liberal ideas included. In this club, I found so many young people passionate about their beliefs, and so ready to go out and make a difference in the world. Joining this club changed my position on standing up for what I believe in. It made me realize that to truly change the world for the better, you have to do a lot more than post on social media about it.

I was scared out of my mind when I saw the words “Hamstring tendon avulsion injury accompanied by 4mm of fluid present between bone and tendon.” I had no medical history and was unaware of what these words were supposed to mean for my future in playing soccer but I know it wasn’t good. I had torn my hamstring tendon straight clean off the bone and the sensation traveled all the way down my leg and on the back of my upper leg all I could feel was a ball of torn and jumbled tissue and muscle. The only thing that I remember is the doctor looking me straight in the eyes and telling me “ You may never run again let alone play soccer without surgery which still isn’t guaranteed to help you”. In that moment everything froze I was going a million miles an hour but everything was dead and I lost it, I had every emotion in the book exploding from my brain and my heart. From that moment forward I was put into six grueling months of physical therapy. I was determined to be back playing in my first club game in August no matter what the Doctor said; he was wrong. I was pushed physically and emotionally by my physical therapist 4 days a week for six long months. If she wasn’t painfully digging her strong hands into the targeted pain spot, then we were outside attached to a bungee and she was holding me back while I ran along the street. I took time and commitment every day whether I was doing exercises

My freshman track season I started to feel some pain in my left foot, so I decided to go to the doctor. He diagnosed me with tendonitis. I had to wear a CAM walker as I rounded out my freshman season, but eventually when I was feeling better I no longer needed the cumbersome boot. A few months later, when it was volleyball season, the rigorous volleyball tournaments began to have dire consequences on my foot. During one of the matches, I injured my foot again to the extent that I could no longer put weight on it. The doctor said that the arch in my foot was collapsing, and the only thing he could do to fix it was surgery, A few weeks later, on my 16th birthday I had foot surgery.

Proceeding the visit, my MRI scan revealed I had torn my Anterior Cruciate Ligament and Medial Meniscus. I remember my father’s head drop into his hands as if he had lost all the muscles in his neck at once. Seeing such a strong man in this state left me faint at heart. The road to recovery was winding, and I, with a faulty limb, was afraid to take that first step.

When I arrived, the physical therapists were extremely friendly and asked me how I injured myself. I explained with a smile, “I was playing basketball, and I went up for a pass and came down wrong on my knee.” Time went by, and they continued to chat with me, as well as, do some painless exercises to help my range of motion; likewise, they were very gentle, because it was my first day after surgery. When doing different exercises, I had to take my brace off, so I could move my knee better. Since it was my first time, I was extremely panicked, because it was all so new for me, and I didn’t want anything to go wrong. The therapist saw the worry on my face and said, “Don’t worry, everything will be fine, I won’t hurt you.” With that being said, I felt more comfortable and took off my brace and began doing the different exercises with the guidance of the therapist, and as soon as I was done doing a various amount of different activities; the therapists gave me ice to ice my knee for a certain amount of time. Going to therapy three times a week, helped me strengthen my knee and also encouraged me to get back out on the basketball