I never thought I would be THAT athlete. You know, the one that had a million different knee braces in their drawer. But, here we are, two years and two knee surgeries later. If you’re somebody that can relate, it makes me feel better knowing you understand my pain. Let me tell you about my leg situation.

It was a dark and scary night … Alright, it wasn’t really a scary night. It was dark though, and I couldn’t see past the corn on the right side of the road. As quickly as a lightning bolt, a deer jumped out in front of my mom’s Mercedes. My mom was so mad I broke her new car. Alright, I’m also lying a little bit there. My mom doesn’t have a Mercedes, and if she did, I don’t think I would be driving it on back roads at night. Anyways, the deer appeared in my vision and I hit it’s butt before it scurried away, limping. I stopped the car completely, cried for a solid 45 seconds, then called my mom to come get me even though I was a mile away from home.

I never would have guessed that two years later, that little deer that jumped out in front of me would still be impacting my life. The minicar crash I had due to the deer led me to my first ever injury, which was also my first ever knee surgery. I was terrified to say the least. But hey, I’m alive and well, so I guess it turned out alright. Until my next surgery on my other knee a year later. I also survived that surgery, but I wasn’t too happy having to get an IV twice.

With all of this being said, I have some advice for people that are afraid of knee injuries. First and foremost, don’t hit a deer in your Mercedes on a dark and scary night. Bad things come from it, trust me. Second, a knee surgery isn’t the end of the world! Let me repeat, IT WILL BE OKAY. I thought having a bum knee would impact me forever, and in reality, I haven’t had pain in my right knee since the day of surgery. Third, rehab rehab rehab. Rehabilitation is key to avoiding/recovering from knee pain. I didn’t take this seriously until it was not an option for me to not rehab. Take the time before practice to properly assist your knee in getting better and more mobile. And lastly, get multiple opinions from different doctors before you make a decision about your injury. My first doctor’s opinion was MUCH different than my second. The first doctor was a little bit of a bozo when compared to my doctor who actually did the surgeries.

All in all, knee injuries suck. I won’t lie and say they’re a fun time. But there are ways to get through them in an easier way. Just follow some of my advice and it won’t be long until you can be active again.