I was hoping on doing an interview with my cousin who just returned from a mission, but things didn’t work out this time. Maybe in the future. However, here at the Kesler home there are plenty of people to talk to so I decided to interview my “personal trainer” Courtney. Just before Brian and I left for California she got hurt snowboarding and while we were gone I hear that her recovery was rough. I decided to ask her a little bit about the whole ordeal. So here goes!
Joaquin: I know you got hurt while snowboarding, but what exactly happened to you?
Courtney: I’m a klutz! Ha ha. I was going down and the back part of my board got caught in the snow. The front part spun up and I fell down and twisted my knee. I basically just biffed it.
J: Ouch! Sounds painful!
C: Actually, it wasn’t that painful which is the weird thing.
J: It wasn’t?
C: Well, when it first happened it hurt really bad for a few minutes so I sat down. But then it felt better so I tried to get up and keep going, but it just felt really unstable. I tried to walk down the mountain, but I couldn’t. My friends had to get Ski Patrol. I was there all by myself waiting for the Ski Patrol… until I heard a cute puppy barking! I looked up and saw that the rescue dog had come and found me!
J: That’s cute! I didn’t know they used rescue dogs. So what happened when they got there?
C: The Ski Patrol asked me a bunch of questions and when they found out I was a minor they said they had to call my parents and I was like “NOOO! My dad’s going to kill me!”
J: Did he?
C: No. Luckily. We didn’t think it was that bad at first.
J: So did you break anything?
C: I went to the doctor and he did this weird test where he lifted my leg like this [too bad you didn’t see her reenact this part because it was funny] and said that he was 99% sure that I tore my ACL, even before the CAT scan. At first I thought it would be okay, that I would just use crutches for a few days and it would get better. There was a time when I felt like I was walking just fine. But he said I would have to have surgery.
J: Surgery!! I’ve never had to have surgery and I’m very grateful! Stuff like that scares me. What was the surgery like?
C: Well, I've had plenty of surgeries... I had to be there at like 5 in the morning. I couldn’t eat anything the night before. I got a cool hospital wrist band though! And I got to pee in a cup! Ha ha. They shaved my leg and the anesthesiologist came in and talked about the nerve block they were going to do on my leg, basically paralyzing it with a big needle. They took me to the operating room and the next thing I knew I was in the recovery room!
J: So you didn’t notice anything, huh? That’s good. What happened after the surgery?
C: The nurse wanted to see me walk on crutches before I could go, and I got really nauseous while I was doing it so I hurried and got back to my bed because I was going to throw up! They gave me some meds and I felt fine.
J: That sucks. But I didn’t really mean exactly right after the surgery… I kinda wanted to hear about the recovery.
C: Oh! The next few days were miserable because the nerve block went away! Then I would always get nauseous… And the day I went back to school I was high on pain medication… apparently I was acting really weird. I don’t remember it.
J: Too bad nobody filmed you and put it on YouTube. Videos like that tend to go viral and you could’ve ended up on The Ellen Show even! Ha ha. So when did you start physical therapy?
C: I started physical therapy right after surgery. It’s painful, but I’m getting better.
J: Your mom says you were even in a wheel chair…
C: Yeah. Two—three weeks maybe. Mostly because it was easier than being on crutches, but eventually my physical therapist made me switch back to crutches to get used to walking again. I hated it!
J: Well your knee seems to be a lot better now. You’re walking just fine, although I know you still go to your physical therapist regularly. But aside from all that, what’s been the worst thing about the whole accident?
C: Not being able to play softball!
J: I know. It’s your passion. And you’re really great at it.
C: Um… sure!
J: Don’t be modest. You really are a talented athlete, and I know you normally play softball year-round. What would you be doing now if you hadn’t torn your ACL?
C: Right now is high school season and I would be playing on the varsity team if it weren’t for my injury. I would have been playing pitcher…
J: When can you start to play softball again?
C: I’m hoping in the beginning of June. For girls, the recovery is 5-6 months and June will be five months! For guys it’s like 9-11 months to recover, so good thing I’m a girl! I can’t wait to play softball!
J: Well I hope you can play again soon! Do you think it will affect your game at all?
C: I think it’ll put me behind for a few months, but after a while I should get back on track. I just missed the opportunity to get better and perfect my skills… but the muscle memory should return quickly. I’ll just be happy to be out on the field again.
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