This isn’t your “I lost this many pounds or ran a marathon” kind of spotlight.  No, this one is very different.  Inspiring in a whole new way.   Andrew came to me for training over a year ago, and then we had very different goals.  Things happened, and his goals changed significantly.  This is a life-chaning in a much different way – spotlight on someone re-habing, recovering and rockin’ it.

It’s coming up on a year from when Andrew had a major knee surgery, and his progress has been amazing.  I went away last year for a few days and got a text from Andrew saying the words a trainer never wants to hear – I have to have knee surgery…  UGH.  He made it through the surgery just fine and then started training with one of my favorite physical therapists – Perry Hamilton at Pro Motion Physical Therapy.  Check him out!

After finishing all of his major PT, Andrew was ready to come back to me to try to help him gain even more functionality back, and that’s EXACTLY what he’s done.  It’s been an honor to work with someone in this way – to actually SEE him be able to do step ups on his “bad” leg, to be able to go up and down stairs with weights and now even running!!  He has brought tears to my eyes several times seeing how far he’s progressed.

Andrew comes in weekly and never complains.  No matter how hard the exercise is that I give him or whether or not he believes his knee will do it – he always tries and always conquers it.  Andrew, thank you for training with me, for working so hard, for an always positive attitude, and for making such huge strides (literally and figuratively)!!  Happy basketball reffing season, and this time – NO INJURIES!!  🙂

Here’s a little more about Andrew and his journey…

-Tell me about you, your surgery and the story behind your injury.  

I am a TSSAA High School Basketball Referee during the months of November through mid February. I am continuously on the highways traveling to high schools from Spring Hill to Portland to Macon County to Henry Countyduring that time. I’ve been doing this for 9 years now and enjoy this time of the year immensely. Every now and then we referees get hurt during a game..

So I was refereeing a game at West Creek High School on November 14^th, 2014 when during the girls basketball game, and I turned quickly on a fast break and heard the infamous “pop” on the left knee. I feared the worse and knew I was in trouble. The next day I went to Dr. Chad Price at Elite Sports Medicine and had the MRI and was told I needed surgery. Dr. Price didn’t know the extent of the injury until he was able to get into the knee itself. After waking up from the procedure; I was told it was a Micro facture of the knee. A Micro fracture is where they make new cartilage from blood in your knee area. The recovery is brutal with 6 weeks of no weight bearing so I was stuck on crutches for that time and started physical therapy as well. Physical therapy was tough for me as I had to learn to walk again and build back muscle that had been dormant for the 6 weeks while I was on crutches.  

-How long have you been in therapy and whats the recovery like?

I spent 8 months recovering from this injury and learned so much about myself. I realized we should not sweat the small stuff and appreciate what we have. I remember falling multiple times during my time on crutches but every time I fell, someone was there to help me back up. Strangers would stop what they were doing and come to my aid. I’ve learned that people out in our world today deep down really do care. They helped me up, opened the door and showed a side of compassion that I thought had been lost from our society. It took me getting hurt to better understand that compassion still exists out there in our community.

-What have you learned from going through this?

Today, I am able to do the daily activities that allow me to appreciate walking up steps, jogging and feeling the complete normalcy of daily living. Most hate doing those daily activities but I’ve learned to appreciate them and to not take the small things for granted. Without the training that  I get once a week from Megan, my leg wouldn’t be where it is today. I have strengthened it more in the last three months that I ever thought I would.

 

-How has training helped you?

As basketball season is about to kick off (next Tuesday is my first game back on the court) I can’t emphasize enough the importance of training. There were many days that I didn’t want to do or didn’t feel like going but I pushed myself to better me as a person by going to see Megan. I knew if I didn’t do this for me, I would not be able to succeed as a referee this coming season. I know I won’t be the same because of this injury but I know I have worked my tail off to try.