Football is so much more than a game. Those who have played the game, understand the physical dedication required in order to achieve personal goals. For those who have never played, think of your absolute breaking point, the point when you are so exhausted your legs feel like they could give out any instant. But you're surrounded by others who feel the same way you do, and the reason you're able to keep pushing is knowing that if you fall someone will pick you up. And if someone else falls you'll do the same for them. This is why teams succeed. There is strength in numbers, and when someone is down, the team rallies to build back up again.
On Oct. 4, 2013, a teammate who'd completely tore his ACL, MCL, LCL, PCL, both meniscuses, and broke a kneecap a year prior playing the game he put his heart and soul into, walked out onto the field of the team who he'd gotten injured against for the first time since the injury. This is the story of how Number 73 made his courageous return to the gridiron.
John Henry O'Shaughnessy made a name for himself on the field steamrolling opponents. Oftentimes, the work of offensive or defensive linemen is unglorified and under-appreciated. But linemen are where every team is rooted. Without a solid line, the flashy players don't have the opportunity to shine. Linemen go at it on every play; the constant physical battle requires not only physical strength but mental focus at all times. This is football we're talking about. Without some grit, you're most likely going to get steamrolled, especially on the line.
Unfortunately, on a cool October night in 2012, one step in the wrong direction was all it took to completely de-rail O'Shaughnessy's junior year of football. Facing division rival Bishop Stang on Martha's Vineyard Regional High's home field, O'Shaughnessy describes what happened on that play.
"I’m going in [for the tackle] and the next thing I know my cleat is planted in the ground and then all of a sudden I heard three huge pops or snaps. And I knew something was wrong."
Just before halftime, Bishop Stang's 6'3 215 lb quarterback scrambles out of the pocket towards the sideline. He trucks one Vineyard defender before breaking into the secondary where O'Shaughnessy flew horizontally across the field to deliver a hit that would spin the quarterback to the ground. Stang's QB spilled, but so too, O'Shaughnessy, and he could not stand up.
From a teammate's perspective, it was a harrowing moment. To see one of our leaders go down like that after giving his all to prevent a touchdown was heartbreaking. When they say football takes blood, sweat, and tears they aren't kidding. All three were shed on the field that night, and even though the Vineyard came away with the win, the loss of a team captain made the victory hard to enjoy.
O'Shaughnessy remembers on the field that night, MVRHS athletic trainer Tania Laslovich, broke the bad news to him. "It's probably your ACL...You're probably going to be out for nine months." Three weeks went by before O'Shaughnessy found out what was wrong with his knee. An MRI revealed a completely torn ACL, MCL, LCL, PCL, two torn meniscus (one so disintegrated it couldn't be repaired) and a kneecap broken in two places. Remember when you were little and when you had a loose tooth? And how sometimes there'd be a singular membrane keeping that tooth attached to your gum? Picture that little thread of membrane, holding your knee together. At the time of his first MRI, that's all O'Shaughnessy's knee had to keep it in place.
When dealing with knee injuries, “every person is different, and the way they heal is different. Normal ACL’s can take anywhere between six to nine months to heal in young healthy people. ACL surgeries that have a lot of other things going on in there as well can add to the recovery time. How compliant the patient is with their rehab also makes a difference. A healthy person that is injured usually has a better outcome than somebody that isn’t. So if you have a healthy athletic person with good balance and muscle structure, chances are they’re going to get better faster, and you can push them faster because of their health,” Laslovich said.
But when you live near Boston, you have access to some of the best medical care in the world, including team doctors for the New England Patriots and Boston Red Sox. O'Shaughnessy's first surgery successfully repaired all the ligaments in his knee except for his ACL. Full range of motion in his knee needed to be restored before the ACL could be fixed.
Between surgeries, O'Shaughnessy wasn't spending all of his recovery time playing Call of Duty. With a clear vision in his mind to come back the player he had been, O'Shaughnessy set his mind to training the parts of his body that weren't physically missing ligaments. To see him in the gym during this time was truly inspiring. Here was a player who just four weeks ago suffered one of the worst knee injuries possible, in the gym with the team getting himself ready for next season. O'Shaughnessy showed dedication at its finest, and that spoke volumes to all of us, his teammates. We all knew John was going to make a comeback, and as we stood by him on his road to recovery he worked us to do everything in our power to make our last season wearing purple and white one we'd all be proud of.
O'Shaughnessy had his second surgery done on Valentines Day, 2013 . He had two options for the surgery. A hamstring graph could be used to recreate his ACL (O'Shaughnessy's coach advised him against it, as it creates another type of injury). Or doctors could use a third of his patellar tendon to make a new ACL. With time of the essence and wanting to avoid another injury, O'Shaughnessy had his patellar tendon cut to recreate his ACL. After this, O'Shaughnessy said he could, "‘limp around on [his leg], It was a really cool feeling being able to walk for the first time in a couple months." However, because they used a third of his patellar tendon to make his ACL, he added, "This summer was the first time I could take a knee on it without it hurting."
When fall came around our senior year O'Shaughnessy was still recovering, getting close, but not quite there yet. It wasn't until the end of September when he would make his return to the practice field. “Mentally I thought I was good a week before I was cleared. I was trying to keep it a secret; I didn’t want to tell anyone," recalls O'Shaughnessy. The only people who would find out he was cleared prior to practice that day were his head coach and two friends on the offensive line. The rest of the team was oblivious.
As he was lacing up his cleats after getting taped that day, he thought to himself, "I'm finally back." What happened next I'll never forget. As we ran from sideline to sideline in the end zone I heard someone say "Who is that?!" realize, "That's John!!" We all swarmed him in the end zone like he'd just caught a game-winning touchdown.
Our brother was back. From not having an ACL for three months, let alone being able to walk, he had found his way back on the field. Given the degree of injury he sustained it was a minor miracle O'Shaughnessy made it back as soon as he did. "That was one of the best moments of my life," he remembers, "when everyone was like who is that? And everybody just started losing it."
O'Shaughnessy said his first drills in practice were eye-openers, a drill with a defender and ball carrier who chooses one of three gaps to run through. The defender must plug up and tackle the runner. O'Shaughnessy proceeded to flatten our fullback, who resembled a mini MACK truck at the time. When everyone cheered for him he thought, "I’m back. This year has been all geared to this moment.”
Before his first game since the injury coaches told O'Shaughnessy they had planned to play him on offense to avoid the risk of cut blocks on defense. However, being someone who enjoys inflicting pain on quarterbacks, O'Shaughnessy asked one of our coaches, "If say hypothetically I just don’t come off the field and play defense, what would happen?" Our coach replied (in that stern voice recognized by teammates as the 'Oh shit, he's serious' voice) "John Henry, I will call a timeout, I will walk on and grab you off the field myself. And then you are not playing the rest of the game."
So offense only it was, and as it turned out, he was on the field for the game-winning touchdown in overtime. "It was a remarkable feeling after that game. It was just one game, but to go through all of that and come out on top my first game back meant a lot," said O'Shaughnessy.
The first time he had the opportunity to speak with coaches following his injury they told him, "If anyone could do this it’s you ... If I had to choose anyone on the team to go through this and come out with on top, it would be you." With the coaches' support in mind and his teammates all pulling for him to join them again, O'Shaughnessy made a comeback worthy of Rocky music to highlight it.
Today John Henry plays lacrosse at Westfield Sate University in MA. "Lacrosse feels a lot better because there's less contact. I just go for the ball. Haven't tried to hit anyone since high school," he said.
Success in athletics and in life is not given to you; it's earned. Athletes must continually work hard and overcome adversity. When faced with one of the most brutal injuries in sports, O'Shaughnessy didn't quit. He knew, "It’s all about the work you put into it. I worked really hard to get back." Because of that mentality, today he is a collegaite athlete and living proof that hard work pays off.
