First field practice in 16 months!

Last Sunday was finally the moment that the oldest son had his first field practice in 16 months after his ACL injury. What a ride that was from the injury till now. A ride, sometimes like a rollercoaster with ups and downs. After the first check it became clear that surgery was needed, but due to the phase of his growth, they had to postpone this with 10 months. Of course that was the first and biggest set back.
While the operation did go smoothly, the weeks after was a nightmare. For sure for him but also as parents. You don't want to see your kid in pain. And while we knew that this would be only temporarily, I can tell you, you do feel powerless. And to be honest you are.
The biggest side effect from the weeks after the surgery was that he did loose his complete interest in school. Not only interest but also his motivation. And the level of motivation he had, wasn't already too high. Now with just entered the last month of the school year we are trying to pull him over the line. On the 29th of June we will know the verdict about that.

But I am drifting. Having such an injury at such young age isn't easy to cope with. Both mentally and physically. Not easy for a 13 year old boy back when it happened and not as 14 year old boy after the surgery. Not easy to ask for lots of help. From taking a shower to going to the toilet. Things which are normal actions, which suddenly aren't possible anymore. And this also at a age where they are starting with puberty when both mind and body are evolving. He didn't only had to deal with this, but also had to shift his pain threshold. Breaking through this threshold time after time combining this with a needed persistence. Not easy I can tell you.
For sure the the 10 months before the surgery where a nightmare for him. At a certain point the knee does feel normal and your mind does trick you into the idea that football or sports in general are possible again. And this did cost him big time. He did had 3 practices in early September, which did result into a torn meniscus. It didn't matter to him that the advice was to do it slowly and for sure avoid contests for the ball. On the positive side, he doesn't suffer from a mental blockage to go into these duels.
But try to imagine that what you love most is taken away from you, knowing that you will face a long recovery and that your first recovery feels useless because you do know that you will have to start over again after the surgery. So you can guess how high or low his motivation was for that part of the process.

After the surgery it was just starting almost from 0 again in his opinion. While everybody knew that the recovery process before the surgery was very useful. The muscle memory already knew lots of exercises which does make things easier. But again he had to break through the pain thresholds. After 12 months of recovery he had reach his motivation limits. The end of the tunnel in near, you start seeing some light but you aren't there yet. And those weeks do feel like months. Remember this is depending on the schedule 2 or 3 times per week and hour to an hour and a half at the physiotherapist, where you only see the machine which does look torture devices. I do have to give credit to the physiotherapist, he wasn't only a physical coach but also a mental coach. Putting him into place when he didn't try hard enough, but giving him credits and motivating him to the max. One can't underestimate the importance of a good physiotherapist during this recovery. Not only on the physical part but also on the mental part. Big credits for him!

And last Sunday he did have his first outside session on a football pitch. The physiotherapist did wear him out but he did take it with a smile! He will try to do everything so that he can start with the team practices at the end of July! This isn't only interval and endurance exercises, but also learning how to slow down again, how to turn fast and so on, things we don't think about!

Around the middle of August we hopefully will have the last appointment with the orthopedic surgeon , who will then hopefully give the green light!

Cheers,
Peter