Seeing the Upside of Surgery by Jessica

Seeing the Upside of Surgery by Jessica - February 2017 Scholarship Essay

Watching the sun set behind the net. Noticing the temperature drop the later practice runs. Feeling the wind push my shirt against my damp abdomen as I run toward the goal. Having a soccer ball at my feet, ready to shoot. My feet rubbing raw and forming blisters as the soccer cleats move up and down. The sweat dripping down my face and into my mouth, leaving a salty taste. The smell of my soccer bag after a long weekend tournament. The empty water bottles that clutter the car. The dirt that covers my uniform and skin. The mud that is caked into the bottom of my cleats. The smell of my cleats and shin guards after too many to count practices and games. The feeling of my lower legs as the shin guards are peeled off, yielding them to cool, fresh air. Every day was filled with soccer, whether that be training, practices, games, or tournaments. I lived and breathed soccer since I was four years old.

Going into high school would be the perfect opportunity to continue my soccer career, especially since the school’s team had been the division 1A champions for several consecutive years. I trained hard and prepared to the best of my ability for tryouts. All summer I did everything possible to be ready for freshman year soccer. The last day of tryouts, the coach called me over and informed me that I would not be on the team. I was devastated. Heartbroken. All I wanted was to be on the team and continue playing soccer while meeting people from my new school. However, all along I had faced pain and difficulties with my left foot, including several doctors claiming that nothing was wrong. My coaches, my family, and I were concerned because even when the doctors cleared me and said that nothing was wrong, I was still experiencing pain. It simply did not make sense.

After several years and many soccer seasons, an orthopedic specialist studied the multiple x-rays and MRIs that had been administered and immediately identified the problem. A bone fragment was floating in my left ankle. The fragment had broken off of the calcaneus several years earlier while playing a championship soccer game. Several weeks later I went into surgery to have the fragment removed. As my foot healed, the surgeon stated that I could return to soccer. I was brought onto a travel team and returned to playing soccer year round. I pushed through so that I could continue, with my love of the sport, competition and be with my friends.

Following two orthopedic surgeries, one to remove the fragment of the calcaneus from my left ankle and another to repair a torn labrum in my left hip, I have come to realize a whole new passion. This passion was developed as I was recovering from surgeries and underwent physical therapy. Through physical therapy treatments I experienced the progress and joy that comes with the healing and rehabilitation process. The connection that I experienced with my therapist was more than simply “therapist and client”. We shared the connection of wanting a full recovery as soon as possible. We shared the connection of sports and injury. We shared the connection of moral support through the various trials and set-backs faced with my recovery.

I want to make connections with patients (and maybe a few athletes) and be there for them as a source of support. While in physical therapy, I trusted my therapist for recovery, pain relief, and restoration of function. Through the pain experienced and the struggles I was facing, my therapist helped me to stay strong through everything and continually reminded me that relief was in sight. By observing physical therapists, I have enjoyed witnessing the healing process first hand in myself and in others. My passion now is to become the best quality physical therapist I can possibly be. I want others to trust me as I lead them along the road to recovery. I want to help individuals restore function, return to their previous level of performance and educate them in order to avoid recurring injuries.

My failure as a soccer player seemed overwhelming at the time, however, when I realize the passion I have developed and the career path it has placed before me, I am extremely thankful. This scholarship, through Varsity Tutors, will be gratefully appreciated as I follow my dreams and receive a “Bachelor of Science in Exercise Physiology” and a “Doctorate of Physical Therapy“ in six years from Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania.