Kristen's ACL Surgery at 13

by Kristen

Hi! I'm Kristen and I tore my ACL about 1 year ago. I was 13 years old and in 8th grade. I was playing in a soccer game on a rainy day and my cleat got caught in the mud while I was turning. I immediatly fell down and heard a big pop. I didn't feel any pain but I could feel the tingling in my leg and I knew something was terribly wrong. With assistance I walked off the field to my car and that's when the pain kicked in. After finding out I tore my ACL I was really disappointed and I didn't know what to expect. Beacuse I was so young none of my friends knew how serious my injury was. I was the first kid in my grade to tear it so it was all new. I was anxiuos before the surgery and a bit nervous. On the day of my surgery I was antsy and shaking. Once I got my first dose of medicine I was completly calmed and ready to go. After waking up I felt no pain. My leg was numb the next day too. 2 days after my surgery is when the pain hit. That day was the most painfull of the whole process. It took me about 2 weeks to recover enough to return to school. After that it can only get better. Throughout my physical therapy and healing process I was not only dealing with physical pain but it got to me emotionally too. I am an athlete and play sports almost every day. I play softball at a very competative level and that was what I missed the most. I dealt with the struggles of not being able to play very often. My advice would be to talk to someone about it. Don't keep it bottled up inside I found that it doesn't work. If you are young like me then your friends may not understand what you are going through, so try to find someone older who knows what is going on. Luckly for me my dad had the surgery in high school and even though the surgeries were very different back then, he could still relate to me. After 6 months of post surgery recovery I was back just in time for my softball season. With my new teal colored ACL sports brace I personally had a very successfull season and felt no pain in my knee at all. I had the hamstring graft and it is holding up really good so far. Some advice I would give would be don't rush the process; as much as you want to get back to normal it's not worth tearing it again. So do what the doctor says and never stop with your physical therapy! I learned that the hard way. After a summer of softball I didn't think I needed to do my physicl therapy anymore but I was wrong. As a result I stress fractured my pelvic bone and had to miss my freshman year of high school soccer this year. I am out for six weeks (I can return to sports next week.) Also never feel like you are alone. Don't feel like nobody else knows what you're going through or that you are alone. You will be able to find someone who does and they will help you through. After lots of sweat and tears you will come out the other end a stronger person and you will be so proud of your accomplishments. But remember there is always someone out there who is going through the same thing as you. You're not alone. You get a new found compassion for people with injuries and in the end it's not that bad. If I could I don't know if I would turn back time. I feel like after going through this I have grown and matured as a person. You learn a lot about yourself and what you are capable of. So if you are having surgery or in your recovery just remember everything is going to be ok and you should be really proud of yourself for being so brave.

Good Luck!
- Kristen :)