injury yields benefits

A Crucial Moment

How the nine months after my surgery made me who I am today

By MaryGrace Cummings

Staff Reporter

On the morning of October 17th, 2021 when I walked out of my house to go to my lacrosse tournament I did not once consider that I would not be able to walk by the end.

I was starting out my third game of the day and I was on fire this game, scoring left and right. Tensions quickly began to rise between my defender and I, on my fifth goal, I went to shoot the ball then felt my defender push me and fall onto my knee. I watched the ball hit the back of the net at the same time that I heard a snapping sound so loud it was equivalent to a gunshot.

As the trainer tugged and pulled on my leg deciphering what she felt was wrong, she eventually sighed, looked at me and said, “it might be your ACL.” I broke down; any athlete knows what that means. It meant my life was over for the next nine months.

The ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) is one of most important ligaments that stabilizes the knee. It is most used for stopping, starting, and sudden movements. The average recovery time for ACL tear surgeries is 9-12 months. This looks different for everyone, but for me it was six months of non-stop physical therapy, doctors appointments and lots of emotional ups and downs. Almost all complete tears of the ligament require surgery.

On Nov. 4, I underwent surgery and began my nine month journey. Right after surgery, I expected to be ready for recovery with a positive attitude. However, I cannot say I was. The week following, I was crying what seemed like every hour, could not sleep, could not leave my bed without my crutches, and did not really feel like trying anyway. I was bitter and angry, I wanted someone to blame and I thought “Why me?” I felt entirely dejected and scared, having to accept that I would not be able to do simple tasks like reaching things on my floor, putting on pants, showering, and driving.

LEFT: MaryGrace Cummings lies in bed after her three-hour surgery to rebuild the anterior cruciate ligament she injured playing lacrosse in October 2021. ABOVE: Cummings pulls a weighted sled at physical therapy, three months post surgery as a weigh to rebuild strength in her knees.

ABOVE: MaryGrace Cummings plays in a game her sophomore year prior to the tear and the last time she played a high school lacrosse game. Photo by JP Cummings LEFT: Cummings knee can be seen from the first time she was allowed to take the doctors wrap off her knee, five days after surgery.

For a prideful person like myself, that is my worst nightmare, asking for help. My friends and family, although wonderful, could not understand why this brought me as far into a depression as it did. For the first time in my life, I even went to therapy. With time I started accepting it. I started finding the old me, being excited to go to physical therapy and celebrating the little things. Every time I bent my knee one more inch, finally lifted up my leg by myself, or walked one extra step were all wins in my book. Eventually, things began to come like running, lifting weights, and jumping.

At five months post-surgery, high school lacrosse season began. This season was going to be incredibly important to my future. It was my junior year — my chance for colleges to actually begin recruiting me. I had worked extremely hard sophomore year and the off-season for this, but this derailed my train. Nothing matched the feeling of going to practice and not being able to play, going to games and thinking that I would do anything just to go in. It annoyed me when I would hear girls on my team say “God I’d do anything not to run these sprints” or complain about playing time when I was sitting right next to them willing to do anything for just a minute on the field.

The only people that really understand the feeling truly are other athletes; our sport becomes our homes and working out and practicing are our emotional outlets. I had to work on fighting that sadness and jealousy that I felt while at practices and games, I worked to transition that into loving watching my teammates do great things and getting to see my sport from a whole new perspective- the sidelines. I took a new love in helping my teammates when they were down in the dumps and just getting to be my girls biggest cheerleader.

My hard work for those nine months paid off and I was cleared in August. When I got into my car after I got official clearance I broke down crying. It was over, I did it, something that nine months ago I thought was impossible.

In a way I am glad I tore my ACL, I was given an eye opening perspective in lacrosse, introduced me to some amazing people who then introduced me to a love for physical therapy and helping injured athletes, but also gave me a new work ethic that I never had before. I was no longer competing against other people, I was competing against myself. I had to learn to push myself through literal pain, forcing myself to do things especially when I did not want to.

[FINAL FRAME

By Aniya Sparrow Photo [ Editor-in-Chief

‘I knew they would catch me’

Senior Evan Erickson enthusiastically shoots into the air as the Senior Showmen, the cheerleaders of the Powderpuff game, toss him up during the Homecoming pep assembly. Some of the boys from the Class of 2023 performed a dance routine to different song clips from the Emmy-award-winning TV show “Stranger Things.”

The routine drew a lot of laughs from the student section, the teachers, and even the administrators, who enjoyed seeing the boys put on their dancing shoes and hype up the crowd for Homecoming.

“It was a really fun thing to do, and it was a little bit scary to be honest,” Erickson said. “But, I knew they would catch me. And being a Showman helped me make friends with people I haven’t ever talked to before.”

This is a photo that I wanted to get the minute I decided to shoot the pep assembly, because I knew it was going to be the biggest part of the Senior Showmen routine. I felt as though I grabbed the perfect reaction shots for not only Erickson, but the ones catching him too. It really encapsulates how much fun the boys were having during this performance. That’s my favorite part of the photo.