- February 23, 2024 My sophomore year of my high school basketball season I started experiencing very sharp and paralyzing pain in my left lower leg. I thought it was just super bad cramps, so I treated it like a cramp. This pain literally paralyzed my foot and lower leg to the point where I couldn’t flex or move my ankle/foot, so running was next to impossible. I pushed through my sophomore year somehow. Come my junior year, I was still experiencing the same symptoms but now it was in both legs. I was getting recruited by many schools my junior year, including the one I am now committed and signed to, so this had to be fixed. Toward the end of my junior year, I knew I had to seek a doctor’s help, not a trainer or a regular doctor, I needed a sports medicine doctor. Prior to that, I had done everything else (PT, massages, dry needling, cupping, rest, literally anything you can think of, I did), but nothing worked. Until I found Dr. Cole, my sports medicine doctor. I went to him at the beginning of my senior school year, and he diagnosed me with bilateral exertion compartment syndrome which requires surgery. He operated on me 2 weeks later, and about 2 months of recovery and physical therapy later I was on the court for our first team practice. Getting told you are going to have surgery 3 months before your basketball season starts is definitely very frustrating because all you think about is “Will I be ready for the season?” “But my team needs me.” But Dr. Cole and his team were SO encouraging, they were constantly sending me emails and calling me to help me through the process of preparing, and then the post-surgery process as well. I knew nothing about surgery or the post-surgery process, but Dr. Cole’s team helped me through it just the way I needed which helped my stress levels go down. Now, I am able to play all 4 quarters without needing on-the-court attention, ice between quarters, and massages during timeouts.
On December 1, I broke the all-time leading scoring record in Parkview Christian Academy varsity GIRLS basketball with 1,151 career points. Then on December 27, I became the all-time leading scorer at my school for boys and girls with 1,304 career points. On December 8, I set the all-time single game scoring record with 41 points. Then, on January 19, I broke my own record with a 43 point game. THEN, on January 30, I broke my own record again with a 45 point game. I currently sit at 1,552 points and I am on a full ride to a private school in Indiana(Bethel University). These accolades wouldn’t be possible without the strength that I hold through Jesus Christ most importantly, and with the help of the amazing team of Dr. Cole and Dr. Cole himself. I wouldn’t be here breaking all these records without the incredible help of Dr. Cole and his eagerness to get me out on the court. It helps when your doctor wants you back out on the court just as much as you do! Thank you Dr. Cole + team!
