
Last week we also had our first spring game against Quinnipiac. Unfortunately this game was at night and it started snowing halfway through, reminding me once again that I'm incapable of running on the field to help my teammates - and to keep warm! This was our first game together since our defeat at Dayton and it seemed strange to be without any of our beloved seniors. I immediately recognized how small our pre-game huddle was, it looked just barely big enough to field a full team. We came out strong to start, scoring early and keeping most of the possession. However once we gave up a goal, we looked and played like an entirely different team.

In regards to my therapy, I feel as though I've hit the sort of plateau that I've been warned of. I no longer feel as though I'm making huge strides each day, but instead find lots of frustration because I don't progress as quickly via the same old exercises. The most disappointing thing thus far has been getting my full extension back. I now go to therapy twice a day (every day) to work on it and any free time in the day I have I make sure I put my leg up and push down my knee. I actually have to bite down on a towel when my trainer pushes on it and get quite a few sympathetic looks from those coming in and out of the Training Room. It's baffling to me that I cannot simply push my leg down all the way like I can with my other one. I have about 10 more degrees to go and my goal is to get that back within the next week before I go on Spring Break and see my doctor. Hard to believe that the highlight of my Spring Break will not be a week in the tropics - but my 8 week check-up!

Similarly, just yesterday as I was fighting back tears as my trainer pushed on my knee to work on my extension, my strength to persevere came from a lacrosse player right next to me who had just got full extension for the first time after her surgery, which was months before mine. I understood more than most how exciting this must have been and it reassured me that soon enough, that will be me. Just in our training room at UMass, there are a handful of athletes in various stages of recovering from an ACL injury. We make up a rag tag bunch with many of the same problems and achievements and we all share one common goal - to get back on the field, court or rink! The fact that I'm not the only one struggling through therapy each day has been the most helpful thing thus far in my recovery.