Khadija Meriles Demry

On April 2016, during a basketball tournament in Virginia, I went to block a shot by the net and my foot got caught on the stanchion. My knees felt like they snapped in and out all while the weight of the other player fell on top of me. I was in so much pain, I was so scared, I was thinking so many things at once and the pain was too much. I went to the emergency room and all they could say was that there were no bones broken but I would need an MRI. I didn’t know what was wrong but I felt so much pain, I was afraid to move and make things worse. We came back home, I got an MRI and it said I had a torn ACL and 2 sprained MCLs. I tried to be calm but I was still really scared to move. We spoke to one surgeon who wanted to do the surgery within a few weeks but my parents thought it was too soon. All I could think about was that I was missing the summer season and whether or not I would be able to play in the fall. I love basketball, playing is the thing that makes me the happiest and the fact that I didn’t know if or how I would be able to play scared me. A friend of my mom’s recommended Dr. Nawabi at HSS and surprisingly he was able to see me right away, we literally got in a car and headed right over. First thing I noticed was how nice everyone was, it was like they knew me, I was escorted in and everyone put me at ease. Once I saw Dr. Nawabi he spoke about the importance of my ACL, especially if I plan to make a career of basketball and he planned to take things slowly, he set a surgery date in early July. He told me I should try and walk and not to be afraid. It was like those were the magic words. He gave me new braces right then and I didn’t need to lean on my mom anymore because he gave me the confidence I needed. Dr. Nawabi explained everything that was going on with my knee so well. He explained how the PT and surgery would go so I felt really prepared for everything I was about to go through. I began my physical therapy at HSS with Mark, who didn’t treat me like a kid but a serious athlete. I felt like HSS was the place for me because everyone around me was an athlete and serious about their recovery. After about 8 weeks, I saw Dr. Nawabi for my pre-surgery check up and he gave me some great news. According to my latest MRI it seemed that the ACL was getting stronger. He thought it might be possible not to have the surgery. He said to keep my PT going for the rest of the summer and he would let me know for sure in the fall if the surgery was necessary or not. On one hand I was excited on the other I thought, what if I do need it and now recovery time will be longer? I was afraid to miss the high school season but trusted in Dr. Nawabi, he gave me hope. I went back to PT and Mark was great about letting me know when I could go back to certain activities. Dr. Nawabi suggested I do a Return-to-Play Assessment, which helped me a lot in working on little details that would help strengthen my knee. By the second assessment I felt really strong and ready to get back to playing. Dr. Nawabi cleared me for all activity right in time for the high school season! I am now playing on my high school varsity basketball team! I feel really strong and am just so happy to be playing again. I can’t thank Dr. Nawabi, Mark and all the therapists enough for all their help. I am glad that they understood that basketball isn’t just a game for me but my passion in life!