The Tedious Journey of Uncertainty

The clock is down to the last five minutes of the championship game with both teams tied 1 to 1. Neither team wanting to back down pushing their bodies to the limit risking everything for that goal that would take them to victory. However, one wrong move, or hit can mean more than just a game or a season; it can mean the end of a career. A career that can come to an end with a pop followed by a sharp stabbing pain and swelling. Indicating a injury to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) which is an important component of the knee . An ACL injury however, does not cause an athlete to end his career; this decision was formulated by the long road to recovery, the criticism the injured athlete received , as well as the posttraumatic symptoms which all athlete experience after a devastating injury.

Before the 21st century full knee recovery to the extent of running and jumping was rare. At this time surgeons were at the verge of discovering the best techniques and autografts that worked best. Thus in that century of experimental surgeries many ACL replacements failed. At first they insinuated a successful ACL surgery. However, when returning to their beloved sport the athlete witnessed how the surgery unexpectedly failed. Sadly enough technology and surgical techniques weren’t as advance as the 21st century and therefore the grief-stricken athlete had to endure one agonizing surgery after another until he lost every last glimpse of faith. Resulting with a unwilling early retirement provoked by what became know as an athletes dreaded injury during the 19th and 20th centuries.

Nonetheless an ACL injury is still acknowledged as an athletes dreaded injury. Moreover, not because it ends careers but because it impels athletes to go down ...

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...ir career not because recovery isn’t possible, but because the journey to recovery is tedious and uncertain. Tedious because of the rehabilitation and physical therapy before surgery and after as well as the agonizing pain endured through the process. Furthermore, the tedious journey is uncertain because besides the long road there is many physiological symptoms and factors that affect the athletes recovery. Symptoms and factors such as depression, anger, fear, stress, criticism, low self esteem. loss of identity, and lack of support. No matter the challenge moreover, the athlete needs to get to the end the journey. The road to recovery isn’t easy but they have as example players like Alessandro Del Piero, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Nemanja Vidic and many more. And as Winston Churchill once said, “ never give up on something that you can’t go a day without thinking about.