Welcome to Beyond the Field. A few of us from sports medicine are here to share our experience as athletes who faced injuries and how we worked our way back from them.
Because what happens after an injury isn’t the end of the story. It’s often times where the real growth begins.
My name is Anna Aldridge. I’m the manager of sports medicine at Tahoe Forest.
And here are our stories. My story starts in the pool.
I dislocated my shoulder while I was swimming. And for the next four years, I kept training on an unstable shoulder without knowing the full extent of my injury.
I was diagnosed with a bang cart tear in my leg room. Eventually, I got the right diagnosis and that led to shoulder surgery.
For me, the hardest part wasn’t the surgery itself. It was actually the comeback.
I worked closely with my athletic trainers in college. Day by day, rep by rep, I slowly rebuild my strength and stability.
Once I was strong and fully functional again, I was able to return to the sport that I loved. And not only did I make it back, I returned stronger than ever.
Hi, I’m Dr. Liehr. In fifth grade, I was a pretty competitive gymnast.
Gymnastics defined my identity. Unfortunately, I sustained an injury to my low back where I fractured two bones and was pulled out of gymnastics for over a year.
I was going through a lot of transitions. My body changed a lot and I wasn’t able to make a full return to gymnastics.
I had a family tell me when one door closes another door opens and for me another door opened. I found more of a passion for soccer and eventually went on to run track and college and later at the Olympic trials.
One of the biggest things for me in this process was learning how to redefine myself as an athlete.
My name is Jennifer Hornback, athletic trainer with Tom Forest Health System.
Growing up, I was a three sport athlete in high school playing volleyball, basketball, and softball. With softball being my passion, I dedicated my life to playing softball.
And going into my junior year of high school, I sustained a significant injury that required surgery. Rehabbing from that injury was extremely difficult, not only physically, but mentally.
I overcame that injury and was able to play my junior year and senior year of softball and getting recruited to play at a junior college. the adversities that I had to overcome.
I’m now extremely passionate about being an athletic trainer and helping patients like you overcome your injuries.
Hello, my name is Macaylea and I’m one of the athletic trainers here at Top of Forest.
When I was playing college soccer, my sophomore year rolled around and I suffered my first major injury. I tore my ACL, both meniscus, damaged all of the ligaments, except for two, and had two muscle strains.
A year or five days after that major injury, I actually tore my other ACL in both meniscus and then ended up having to have a third surgery the spring of my senior year to clean up a meniscus retire and then actually played my final season for my super senior red shirt year.
I was able to get back out on the field. It taught me a lot about myself.
It actually caused me to pivot my career into being an athletic trainer and just requires a lot of resilience and digging deep to try to get back to doing the things that you love. Overcoming injuries, I know it can be hard.
I know it can be challenging both physically and mentally. The journey to recovery is different for everybody.
Everyone here at Tahoe Forest is here to support you and guide you through that recovery process, whatever that looks like for you. Just know that you have a support team with our sports medicine staff and our orthopedics that are here to help you through the process.
You don’t have to navigate alone. Come see us if you have any questions or concerns.
