Recovering from a serious injury is an intense physical process. For Ava Petri, healing an ACL tear meant surgery, physical therapy and months of slowly getting back into training. But her work with the Female Athlete Program had just as much emphasis on mental wellness, resilience and self-identity. Ava says those lessons have stuck with her and made a huge difference in her recovery.
The dreaded ‘pop'
Ava is an incredibly active senior at Blue Valley Southwest High School. You might find her playing sand volleyball or pickleball with friends, on the pitch training with her club soccer team or hitting shots on the basketball court.
“I’ve been playing soccer all my life,” Ava says.
But she had to take a break from soccer and basketball following an injury in spring 2023.
During a high school soccer game, Ava was crossing a ball and heard a pop as she landed on her foot. Ava says she was in denial and insisted nothing was wrong. But Doug Wiesner, youth sports medicine program director for the Sports Medicine and Performance Center, was filling in for the BVSW athletic trainer and insisted that Ava get it checked out at the health system.
An MRI revealed that Ava’s ACL was torn. Scott Mullen, MD, completed a surgical reconstruction and Ava began physical therapy with Kyle Martin just 2 days later. The orthopedics team also recommended Ava work through her recovery with the Female Athlete Program.
“One of the main things that really helped me was that we all decided to take my time throughout the process and not rush back. I knew I’d be out for around 10 months. I didn’t want to go back any sooner to risk injury,” Ava says. "I immediately started going to PT twice a week and increased to 3 times a week. Going into physical therapy everyone told me I would be miserable, and I’d hate going every day. But in my eyes, my experience was quite the opposite.”
For the rest of the story click here.
