Elle's ACL Surgery and Recovery

by Elle

Hey everyone! My name is Elle and i tore my acl 12 months ago and is now fully recovered.
On June 13, I was just a normal 14 year old playing in a soccer tornament. In my last game, I was trying to block this girl from kicking the ball. I swung my left leg out to block her kick, and she ended up kicking my leg and i heard a huge pop. From that moment on, I knew something was bad, for acl tears were common in my mom's family. Prior to this, I had been going to a sports program called House of Speed for about a year. This ended up helping my recovery, for when I found out the results to my MRI, I had only torn my acl. While i wasn't crying when i heard this news, i wasn't exactly happy either. I had my surgery a month later (using a cadaver graft) and then had to go to therapy three times week for about 4 weeks. I even had to wear my brace for the first week of my freshman year.
For about 5-6 months after that, I would spent at least an hour each day at the gym to help my recovery. Sometimes, my mom would have to force me to go to the gym. But, i realized i wasn't alone in my recovery. I found out that a senior at my school, who also played soccer, tore her acl a week before i did. We both became close friends and helped each other out on our journeys. We both became managers for my schools cross country team, would go to the gym together, and close to end, we would go to soccer open gyms together.
In my recovery, while it was a pain to have to put in so much work to get better, I still maintained a fairly optimistic outlook. I rarely cried and I had only one minor breakdown before my surgery. Otherwise, i just kept looking on the bright side of life and I told myself that I would get recovered some day. However, that day would have to come pretty fast. At around my 7 month mark, I learned that soccer tryouts for my school's team was coming up. I was so determined to at least make JV. During that month, i strove my hardest to not only get fully recovered, but to get back into my soccer shape. With the help of going to some House of Speed sessions, i ended up getting fully released after 8 months and just two days before tryouts. Tryouts went great and I made JV! While my coach was a little skeptical about me just coming off an injury, I showed him how ready I was. I ended up being a starter and played every game. I just finished my season yesterday and my team did great!
I just want to wish anyone who has torn an acl to have a great recovery. While your recovery might seem like a long time, just keep up with it and do everything you are told to do. If my mom hadn't been nagging me to do my workouts, I might have never gotten to where i am now. Also, always keep a positive outlook. I know you will come out with an even better knee that before! Keep up with the good work!!!