Just Stick it Out

After returning to gymnastics after my concussion, and training all summer I was ready for my senior year.  Over the summer, I did have shoulder pain, but I didn’t want to go to the doctors for fear of what they would tell me.  So I decided to ignore the pain and push through one last season. At the first meet of the season in October, I was once again doing my vault “timers” and went too high this time instead of too far like previously, and didn’t land on my feet before I rolled backwards.  This caused the back of my head to slam on the mat.  This time was very similar to the concussion incident before.  I was dizzy and nauseous for the rest of the competition, but I refused to tell my coach or my parents because I knew I would be out for at least two weeks again.  I continued to practice and compete with a concussion, but was extremely careful I didn’t hit my head again.  Eventually, the symptoms went away.  However, I was dealing with a much bigger issue.  My shoulder began to hurt worse and worse and it was getting harder to just ignore the pain.  I was very limited when it came to practicing because by the end of practice, the pain was excruciating. 

         Despite this injury, I managed to push through the pain enough to help lead my team to the last possible competition called New Englands.  In order to get to this competition you have to come in the top 11 at Sectionals, and then the top 2 at States.  This was the first time Beverly High School has accomplished this in nine years!  We were so thrilled, and this was the perfect end to my high school gymnastics career.  We traveled to Connecticut in a Coach bus as a team, and stayed in a hotel with all of my teammates and had a genuinely good time. Since this was the last competition of the high school season it was in March, and the pain in my shoulder just kept getting worse.  I was only able to compete 2 events, but I helped out my team as much as I could.  We came in fourth place at New Englands, which was more than we ever thought possible. 

         When I got home from New Englands I knew it was time to go to the doctors and see what was going on with my shoulder.  After getting an MRI, my doctor told me I had a frayed labrum, and that my joints were loose.  He said I could push through the pain, but it had potential to cause damage to my tissue.  At this point, I figured I only had 3 months left of gymnastics and that I could push through it.  Also, I was determined to make it on to the “Senior National Team” which competed in Ft. Meyers, Florida in early June.  So, I decided to get a cortisone shot in my shoulder to get me through training until Nationals.