ACL Surgery & Rehab: Jaylen's Journey Part 2

For 16-year-old lacrosse star Jaylen Rosga, when the day finally arrived to have surgery on her ACL, MCL and meniscus, she only felt relief.

“I remember I just had this smile on my face,” Rosga said. “I said, ‘You know what? I have to be positive.’”

While surgeries can seem scary or intimidating, Rosga found the whole process to be simple and smooth at TCO.

“Going into surgery, it’s kind of a breeze,” Rosga said. “Every one you meet is super nice. You get shots and needles, it’s not that bad. The surgery itself feels like a blink of an eye.”

Reality set in for Rosga, though, after waking up from the procedure.

“You’re exhausted,” Rosga said. “The loopy, funny feeling wears off, and it’s like, ‘Okay, this is what we have to deal with. This is reality.’”

As soon as Rosga returned home, the biggest adjustment began.

“The first week after surgery is hell. It really is,” Rosga said. “I lived on the couch for four days because I couldn’t get upstairs to my room. You feel kind of useless and worthless because you rely on your parents so much.”

As an athlete, though, Rosga was determined to put on a tough exterior.

“I was not okay, but as soon as someone asked, I’d put a smile on my face,” Rosga said. “I never wanted to show how I was really feeling.”

Though things were tough early on for Rosga, having a physical therapist like Jill Monson made a huge difference.

“(Jill) was probably what got me through the first four weeks,” Rosga said. “She definitely helped me with the mental side of it and would give me tips. Not just on my knee, but advice on how I was feeling in general. She would say, ‘You know what? When it’s pain, pain is good.’”

Within four weeks post-surgery, Rosga began to see some strides and improvements.

“I would definitely say, the little wins you have to value so much,” Rosga said. “Week by week in PT, we would have different markers. Finally, you start to get these big jumps. It’s emotional.”

#ACLSurgery #ACLRecovery #ACLRehab

After about seven weeks post-surgery, Rosga was able to ditch the crutches and begin the next phase of her recovery at Training HAUS, powered by TCO.

“You start to do things where you’re like, ‘Wait, my knee can take that?’” Rosga said.

At just eight weeks removed from surgery, Rosga’s progress has been impressive, but she knows it’s still very early in her recovery.

“I still have a ways to go,” Rosga said. “But I will say, this whole journey and reflecting back on what has happened, it has taught me so many life lessons. It has also taught me so much about myself that I don’t think I would have known without this injury.”

Look for Part 3 of Jaylen’s Journey coming summer 2020