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Athletes Helping Athletes

Savannah Joseph - Hockey goalie from Cumberland, Rhode Island

I’m about to tell you about the injury that changed my life... June 14th my whole world got turned upside down. I remember the day like it was yesterday, I was outside playing with my dog and next thing I know I’m in the back of an ambulance.



After getting home from the hospital with crutches and brace praying that my knee would get better on its own, I stayed in bed for about 2 weeks barely being able to get up and use the restroom. I prayed every night that it was nothing serious. I play hockey and the season started in August, so as long as I was back for the season I would’ve been happy. After not getting better for 2 weeks I went and got an MRI, I still remember the conversation my mom and I had before she told me the results of the MRI. She told me to pull up chair, I remember her saying “You know your strong enough to get through anything right?” I said “Ya as long as I’m back for the hockey season” my mom had a bunch of stuff in her hands and she put everything down and she had this look on her face and at the moment i knew it was something very serious, she said “It’s your ACL” I remember sitting in that chair balling my eyes out and asking how long I would be out for, she said a year. I can’t even put into words the emotions that i felt in that moment. She looked me in the eyes and said “We’re gonna get through this.” Tears fill my eyes even as I write this 6 months later. I knew it was gonna be a long road to recovery, and it sure has been.




I’ve always had really bad anxiety when it comes to surgery and anything that has to with doctors, so I was quite nervous for my surgery. After surgery your stuck in bed for a decent amount of time and in a lot of pain. My first physical therapy appointment after surgery was hard, I layed there on the table with tears rolling down my face. I couldn’t move my leg at all, I knew that this was gonna be harder than I thought. They warn you about the physical pain that your gonna go through, but they don’t warn you about what this injury does to you mentally. I forgot how it felt to walk normal, I forgot how it felt to be able to go up and downstairs normal, I forgot how it felt to sleep without being in pain, I forgot how it felt to shower standing up. I started to get mentally defeated. About two months after surgery I would wake up and I would look at the clock and countdown the hours till I could go back to bed. I remember looking at the clock and thinking why can’t the time go by faster. I would cry myself to sleep most nights, I never want to go back to the state of mind i was once in. At the moment I’m about 4 months post surgery, I feel myself starting to get my life back to normal.



I’ve always believed that everything happens for a reason. Even though I’ve been through hell and back with this injury, I wouldn’t go back and change anything. I believe that something positive will come out of this. I wouldn’t be writing this essay to Milton Academy if all if this didn’t happen. This injury has changed my perspective on life. I will forever be grateful for all the support from my family, doctors and my physical therapist.


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