Volleyball Journey - Part 8

Alex enters the room and Kaitlyn is sitting on the sofa watching some tv with her right foot elevated on the sofa next to her. 

 

“Hi Kaitlyn, I thought you might like some company and some dinner, I brought us burritos!” Alex exclaims as she makes her way to the sofa. “Yummo” Kaitlyn says, whilst trying to make some room on the sofa. 

 

“Stay where you are ill sit on the floor, keep that foot up” Alex says. 

 

The two settle in for a general gossip of the latest and greatest news around the campus. Kaitlyn being somewhat immobilised and restricted to bed rest has left her disconnected from some of the other students and the team also. 

 

They finish there large burritos and Alex cleans up the left overs and the rubbish before returning to the sofa. She goes to take a seat on the sofa as Kaitlyn lifts her foot up so that Alex can sit down, “Here. Rest it on my lap” Alex says to which Kaitlyn obliges. 

 

Alex asks her how the pain is going and how its feeling. “The pain has reduced a fair amount, I’m finally sleeping through the night again. I haven’t tried any weight on it, but its still very swollen and there is a lot of bruising now also” Kaitlyn explains. “Did you want to get it out of the brace and bandage for a while, whilst I’m here” Alex Asks..

 

“Oh yes that would be great”

 

Alex gently leans forward and starts to remove the Velcro straps holding the air cast stirrup securely to Kaitlyn’s ankle. As the straps come free the stirrup splits in two and is easily removed. Alex removes the two small clips securing the end of the bandage and slowly starts to work the bandage off helping, Kaitlyn support her ankle as she lifts it up gently to remove the whole bandage. She places the bandage down once removed and gently rests Kaitlyn’s ankle on her knee again. As Alex looks down to see how Kaitlyn’s ankle looks, she too leans forward to be able to see clearly as well. 

 

Kaitlyn makes a small joke, “That’s one lovely elephants leg and foot”

“hahahahahaha” The girls break out into laughter. 

 

Alex looks over Kaitlyn’s ankle and its still very swollen. There is no definition at all to Kaitlyn’s ankle and her foot, even her toes are still puffy. There is a lot of bruising, a large band on the outer side of her ankle approx. 1inch wide and extends for her heel forward and tapers off to her toes. There is bruising pooling at the base of her toes and the inner ankle has a pool of bruising below the ankle bone and toward her heel on the inner side. 

 

“Andrew told me last time I injured my ankle that some massage is good to help bring down the swelling and fluid. Would you like me to give it a light massage for you?” Alex asks. 

 

“Oh at this point I’m willing to do anything to get my ankle and foot back” Kaitlyn smiles back at Alex. Alex commences using her fingers and hands to gently work the swelling starting at her toes working up to her lower leg. She continues this for about 20-25 minutes as they two watch some re-runs of the TV show “Friends”

 

 “it’s getting pretty late, “Alex says after glancing at her watch for a moment, “I should probably hit the hay, I have a huge week this week with study!!

 

Kaitlyn smiles, “Of course, thank you so much for dinner and coming to hang out with me, and for the massage” Alex smiles back, “Of course no problem at all, Would you like me to bandage it up again and put the brace back on?” She asks. 

 

“No that’s ok, it actually feels good to have those off at the moment so might leave them off for a while.”

 

Alex agrees, and she slowly starts to lift herself up, gently supporting Kaitlyn’s ankle in her hands as she stands and then helps Kaitlyn rest her foot back onto the sofa. 

 

Alex grabs her things and heads off to her room for the evening. 

 

Alex finds herself very busy this coming week, with a huge study block in preparation for an exam in the coming weeks most of her evenings are spent with her head in her books. She exchanges a few text messages with Kaitlyn on Monday and Tuesday and again on Wednesday morning. 

 

“Good luck with the specialist today, Hopefully we will see you at the game tonight!” Alex sends to Kaitlyn as she sits in her lecture room Wednesday morning. Kaitlyn replies with a big thank you message, and a smiley face emoji. 

 

That day Sam escorts Kaitlyn to the specialist so that he can be present and support her if needed. They arrive at the medical suite and Kaitlyn and Sam make their way in, Kaitlyn crutching ceremoniously as she enters the electric glass sliding doors. 

 

They head to the counter and Sam, advises the admin team that they have arrived. They then turn and take a seat. It’s quite busy in the waiting room, as Kaitlyn takes a seat she looks around the room and sees a plethora of people both young and old, sitting with various medical ailments. There are plenty of knee braces being worn, ankle braces, walking boots, arm slings and braces as well. 

 

It doesn’t take long and they are called in by the nurse. Sam and Kaitlyn get up and they head towards the nurse, she introduces her self, “Hi I’m Jess ill be the nurse assisting today. The doctor wants me to get you in and xrayed straight away so then you can meet with him straight after.”

 

Sam and Kaitlyn follow closely, as the nurse guides them to the X-ray room, Sam takes a seat in the waiting area as the nurse takes Kaitlyn into the room and helps her get positioned on the bed under the x-ray machine. 

 

“Are you ok if I help you take the brace and bandage off so we can get you positioned?” Jess asks, “Yes of course Kaitlyn says. Jess starts by removing the brace in a gently manner, once removed she goes to work on the bandage having it off in a few short seconds. “Looks like you did a real number on that ankle” Jess says trying to lighten the mood in the room. 

 

Kaitlyn can appreciate that Jess is just trying to keep her mind active and not to dwell on what the results might be, so she decides to have a little joke. “Yeah well I was sick of walking so thought why not break my ankle” she laughs, followed by a smile and a laugh from Jess. 

 

Jess slowly positions Kaitlyn’s ankle on the padded area in position and then fetches a heavy leaded gown to drape over Kaitlyn’s legs and torso area. “Ok you ready” Jess asks like as if they are about to take off or something!” 

 

Kaitlyn nods in acceptance. 

 

Jess walks out of the room to a small console and presses the button, no more than 1 second passes, and Kaitlyn hears this very faint sound. Jess Rounds the corner and moves in, “Ok 1 down 2 to go” She helps Kaitlyn rotate on the bed so that her outer ankle is now flat downwards. She then heads back out of the room to the console and snaps another xray. “Ok last one I promise” Jess says as she helps Kaitlyn to rotate the opposite way so that the inner side of her ankle is sitting flat downwards on the pad. 

 

Jess leaves the room again, as the machine takes the last x-ray. Jess enters the room, “there we go all done.” She takes the heavy gown of Kaitlyn and then hangs it up and then goes to Kaitlyn, “Doctor Shaun, said to just leave the brace and bandage off until he has seen you so, ill take them into the room for you.” 

 

Kaitlyn acknowledges, as she is handed the crutches by Jess. Kaitlyn gets her self up with ease, and Jess make a little comment, “Looks like you’re a pro on those, not the first time im guessing?”

 

Kaitlyn smiles, “No unfortunately not the first, probably not the last either!!”

 

Jess asks Sam and Kaitlyn to follow her as she guides them through to the private consult room. Jess gets Kaitlyn to have a seat on the bed in the center of the room, which is covered it a firm green leather similar to what you would see in a physiotherapists office. 

 

Sam takes a seat nearby, as they ponder their own thoughts for a few mintues. Then the door handle rattles and Dr Shaun enters. “Hi, I’m Dr Shaun, what have we got here today?

He greets with Sam and Kaitlyn, and Kaitlyn goes on to tell what happened. 

 

“Umm he says…. Is there any previous history of injury to this ankle?” the Dr asks. 

“Unfortunately, yes, I have had many sprains to both ankles in the past but never this severe.” Sam pipes in and explains the previous injury and physio finds from her last right ankle injury. 

 

 

Dr Shaun moves his way to the foot of the bed to get a better look over the ankle and foot. He views it from all angles, top, bottom and side. “How would you rate the swelling now from say 24hrs after the injury?” he asks, “Well its actually gone down a lot in the last 3 days, on side I had an elephants foot, and today it’s probably 2/3rds of that.”

 

“Ok that’s good” the doc says, “Now I’m going to touch your leg and ankle let me know if there is any pain in any of the spots that I touch”, Kaitlyn nods her head whilst clenching her hands holding the sides of the bed tightly. Dr Shaun starts the Ottawa Ankle rules assessment for fracture. Starting at her inner lower leg he feels and presses along the Tibia Bone, “No pain yet?” Kaitlyn nods her head side to side as to say no. 

 

He continues down and as he gets close to the inner ankle, she has a little flinch, “Getting tender there” She says, he continues to prod around the inner side of her ankle, and just forward and below the ankle proves to be the most painful locations. He draws his attention to the fibula or outer leg bone, and starts on the lower leg feeling down the bone. 

 

As he gets close to the lateral malleolus (outer ankle bone) Kaitlyn flinches, “Yup that’s getting tender their.” She says as her clasp of the bench tightens. The Doc continues to press around and then press below the ankle bone, Kaitlyn flinches, “oh crap that’s very sore there” she says. He continues to examine and moves his fingers to the front lower section of the outer ankle bone, directly where the ATFL is and he presses in slightly. Kaitlyn, almost jumps from the bench, grabbing her leg with her hand. “Oh shoot, that is so painful there” she says. 

 

Dr Shaun pulls away, and then speaks up, “Ok let’s see how much you can move it, and if you can put any weight on it” Kaitlyn, nods, not so much in agreeance but she knows she has to do what the doc says so he can make a proper assessment. 

 

He helps her move her right leg and foot just off the side of the table, he holds under her calf for support, “Ok what I want you to do is point your toes forward, reward and then inwards and outwards.”

 

“Ok” Says Kaitlyn. 

 

She starts trying to point her foot forward, surprisingly to her she can move it about half an inch then back to the neutral position, then she tries toes backwards, her foot barely moves, then she tries outwards which she can just move a little, and then she tries inwards, and that’s when she lets out a little yelp, as the pain radiates from her ankle.

 

DR Shaun then repositions himself to be at the end of her foot looking back at Kaitlyn, with his left hand he holds her leg firmly just above her ankle, and with his right hand he cups her heel. He gently starts to pull her heel forward, Kaitlyn immediately squirms to grab the table in her firm grasp again as he continues to test the laxity in the joint. 

 

“Ok” says the doctor, lets get you up on your crutches and see if you can put any weight on that ankle. He helps her to stand with her crutches for support, before moving away, “Ok can you crutch to the end of the room and then stand still with your right foot flat on the floor.”

 

Kaitlyn, follows orders and makes her way to the end of the room. Dr Shaun positions himself on the opposite side of the room and takes a kneel for a better perspective. 

 

“Ok move your right foot forward about half a foot, and using the crutches to help, put some wight on the ankle and take a step.”

 

Knowing that this is going to probably hurt a bit, Kaitlyn slides her foot forward a little and then starts to transfer some weight. With the crutches firmly under her arms, she attempts a small step. “Arrgghhhh” Kaitlyn moans as she is barely able to put about 10-15% of her body weight on her ankle. 

 

“Alright, that’s enough, jump back up on the table” The doctor tells Kaitlyn before heading to the door, he opens the door and calls out for the Nurse Jess, Jess quickly meets the doctor just outside the door, “Can you grab an ice pack, and a full length orthopaedic boot please” he asks, Jess accepts and heads off immediately. 

 

He re-enters the room and closes the door behind him again. “Ok lets have a quick look at these x’rays” as he walks to his computer for a moment. Not letting much on at this point, Kaitlyn is nervous to see what the x-ray says. 

 

This large screen tv in the consult room comes to life, and on it is the 3 x-rays taken earlier. Dr Shaun finishes reading the report from the Radiographer, before making his way to the screen for a closer look. 

 

There is a knock at the door, and Jess enters, ice pack in one hand and large orthopaedic boot in the other. 

 

She heads straight for the table, and places the ice pack on Kaitlyns ankle as it rests on the table. She then steps back and prepares the boot by unpackaging it and ensuring its ready to go. 

 

Shaun looks at the screen for only a minute before he turns around, “Ok Kaitlyn, well the good news is I’m 99% sure it’s not fractured, there is still quite a bit of swelling which might be masking something very small, but at this stage its highly unlikely.  Now the bad news”

 

Kaitlyn’s heart starts to race, “ You have most certaintly have very little to no anterior ligament doing its job” He grabs a model of a foot with some fiberous attachments off his shelf and walks to the table. “This is the ATFL, on the outer side of the ankle, the tests I did before showed that there was extreme laxity to the joint in the motion that would be demonstrated if the integrity of this ligament is deteriorated. I would suggest that as you said you have had many sprains in the past, that over time its become more and more damaged and the last incident it has probably snapped what ever was left of the ligament.”

 

Sam and Kaitlyn listen in carefully as he explains everything. 

 

“Now moving forward there is really only two options for you. Option 1, do nothing. The body will heal the surround soft tissues, the ligament will most likely not heal and if anything may rejoin with some scar tissue, but it will not provide the same strength as before. You will most likely go through life without any major issues, although your ankle will remain unstable and susceptible to future injury of the remaining ligaments and tendons. Option 2 – we operate, sooner rather than later, we can do key hole surgery where there will be two small incisions we can go in, clean it all up, remove any scar tissue from past injuries, reattach the ligament let you heel and rehab and most likely you will get back to around 80-90% of normal.”

 

Kaitlyns mind is running in over drive at this point, “what will I do, what about Volleyball etc etc”

 

“Questions?” Dr Shaun asks. 

 

“Yes, so if I go option 1 can I continue to play volleyball?” 

 

“The short answer is Yes, but there will be many risks with this. We can try to mitigate the instability with a strict tapping and brace regiment, but you will still be at high level of risk of re-injury, also it may lead to other injuries. I see sports people whom try to manage one injury only to end up injury another area due to them trying to compensate for the original injury. For example he says, you may change the way you jump and land, the change in this may put extra pressure on your knee’s in ways that they are not meant to take pressure due to you favouring a particular leg, and this can cause knee strains or worse. Alternatively, you will naturally want to favour your other leg, which means more pressure on that ankle and knee also, which may lead to further injury.”

 

Kaitlyn ponders the response for a few moments. 

 

“Ok and if I get the surgery how long will I be off sports, and is there any potential for the surgery to not fix the problem or cause other issues” 

 

The doctor speaks up, “ I would say allow for a good 6 months of surgery, recovery, rehab and slowly building back up to game strength again. In regards to the surgery there are always risks with surgery, there is the risk of infection, there is the risk that things are much worse than we assessed once we have got inside the ankle to have a look, there is also a risk that the ligament is to damaged to be repaired, in which case the only fix would be to harvest a ligament or some tissue from your hamstring or use a synthetic ligament. In which case on both of those I would not recommend at your young age, I would suggest we do the best we can with what we have at present, and then later in life look at a more long term fix that will hopefully last you for the rest of your life. If you were a professional athelete that derived her income from your sport profession I would say we do what ever it takes to get you back on the court asap in as close to full strength as possible.”

 

Kaitlyn ponders for a few moments. Sam can see that she has 100 things going through her head right now. “Kaitlyn, why don’t you take a few days to think it over maybe talk to your family and then make a decision.” 

 

Dr Shaun looks up at Sam and says, “that’s exactly what I suggest you do, think about your life ahead and what you want and what you plan to do, you can still live an active life without the surgery and stay fit and strong, if that’s what you decide” 

 

Kaitlyn wipes a small tear from her eye as it rolls down her cheek feeling a bit overwhelmed by the news and the decision she has to make. 

 

Dr Shaun signals to Jess to prepare the boot for fitment. “In the meantime I’m going to get Jess to bandage your ankle back up and we will fit you in an orthopaedic boot for the moment, stay off that ankle for the moment until you have made a decision and then we can adjust the plan from there.”

 

Kaitlyn looks up at the doctor and says, “Ok thank you for you help today, ill let you know in the next couple days” 

 

The doc shakes Sam’s hand and then exits the room letting Jess to finish off. Jess goes straight to work, firstly bandaging up Kaitlyn’s ankle ensuring its secure but not overly tight. Then she grabs the boot and shows jess how to put it on. “Ok so this thing is really easy, you just loosen the straps on the front and the whole front part folds forward, then slide your foot and leg into the boot and make sure its snug against the back of the boot. Then pull the front part back in and tighten the straps and you’re all set to go”

 

Kaitlyn watches closely so that she can do it later on when she needs to take it off and put it back on. 

 

“Ok well, stay off that foot and hope you get better soon” Jess says whilst helping Kaitlyn to her feet and onto her crutches. She shows them the way out and then parts ways in the hallway. 

 

The car ride back to the campus is very quiet. Sam tries to have some small chat to keep Kaitlyn from over thinking it, but he can tell her mind is far away at the moment. Once back on campus he helps her to get out of the car, “thank you for taking me in today Sam, im going to come and watch the team play tonight so might see you then.”

 

“Not a problem, Kaitlyn, I know its hard but whatever decision you make will be the right one for you, that’s all that matters.” 

 

He waves good bye and Kaitlyn starts her crutching journey up to her room. Once in her room she lays down on her bed taking in everything for a few moments, and then she grabs her phone to call her mum. 

Meanwhile Alex’s day has been very busy, back-to-back classes all day and then at 4pm she races off to the stadium for game night. 

 

The team prepares themselves in the locker room as normal, Alex grabs Andrew briefly outside, “have you heard anything about Kaitlyn?” she curiously asks…

 

“No not yet, Sam hasn’t said anything to me so not sure what’s going on.” 

 

“Ok well I hope she is ok” Alex says.. Andrew reaches in for a kiss, “Good luck tonight go out there and smash it!!”

 

Alex smiles and heads into the locker room to finish her preparation. 

 

The team heads out to the courts to warm up, and the Junior team is already warming up with their game being played first tonight, they all get involved with some drills and stretching on the court. Alex see’s from the corner of her eye, Kaitlyn crutching in to the stadium and now wearing a boot on her right foot. As they continue to warm up, Kaitlyn makes her way to the seats just behind the bench for easy access. 

 

The senior and junior teams have a quite hit out to warm up and then the senior team retreats to the benches as the junior team takes the court. Alex grabs her water bottle and heads over to see Kaitlyn. 

 

“Hi Kaitlyn, how are you? How did everything go today?” She asks. 

 

Instantly she can tell that Kaitlyn is a little lost for words. There is a few moments of silence and Kaitlyn starts to talk. “It went ok, its not fractured, but the ligament is badly damaged and I either have to have surgery which has risks and no guarantee or just risk the potential of future injuries.” 

 

Alex consoles her feeling the distress in her voice. “I just spoke to my mum and she thinks I should have the surgery, best case they can repair now, worst case they clean it up do their best and just have to live with it for now”.

 

Alex takes Kaitlyn’s hand in hers, “well whatever your decision, I’ll be here for you” sensing that Kaitlyn is feeling somewhat alone at the moment, not having any family close by to comfort her. Kaitlyn breaks the conversation, “well enough about me, how was your day?”

 

They go on to talk for a good 45 minutes during the Juniors game, barely catching a glimpse of the action. Alex realises that the game is about to end and she needs to get ready to go so she parts ways with Kaitlyn. 

 

The seniors take the court, with Alex as captain she leads by example. During the first set she calls the shots, directing the team and pointing them where they need to go to. They take the first set easily, wining the last 8 points on succession. 

 

They take the court for set number 2 and get off to a firing start. Point after point it seems that they can’t lose tonight. Bree sets and amazing spike for Alex, she leaps up and smashes the ball over the net in rapid fire. She lands and the team goes to celebrate, as they girls jump and cheer in excitement, she slightly twists her left ankle….

 

Not thinking much of it as it happened, she brushes it off, and they go on. 

 

It’s the last point to take the second set, and the teams find them self in a battle to the end, back and fourth four, five times, already. They continue the fierce battle for the last point, and Alex preps her self to set, she lunges back to catch the ball in perfect positioning, as she plants her left foot, her ankle gives out and rolls a little, sending her slightly off balance, she maintains her composure and launches the ball upward for Brielle. Brielle at the net, launches into action leaping high and might, the opposing team, presents a fierce block with their 3 forwards coming together in unison to jump with arms raised. Brielle, takes aim and manages to get the ball just over the top of the block, brushing their fingers. 

 

As they all descend from flight well above the net, Brielle lands firmly on her left leg first, her knee instantly gives way and buckles inwards as she goes crashing to the ground. Instantly she is distort, and crying out in pain. 

 

As Brielle rolls around the court clutching at her left knee, Sam and Andrew spring to action and enter the court immediately. The team rallies around her to try to help her. Alex forgets about rolling her ankle slightly, and go instantly to Brielle’s aid. 

 

Judging by the pain and discomfort, Sam instantly knows that Brielle is staring down a medial and acl tear to her knee. Andrew goes straight to work, strapping a large ice pack to Brielle’s left knee as the team ties to console her. Andrew and Sam pick her up and carry her straight off the court and into the change rooms. 

 

After all the commotion, they hadn’t even realised that they had won the point and the second set. The coach calls the team off to have a break, so they head to the benches for a drink. 

 

Alex takes a seat for a break as the coach talks the team through the next set. A few minutes in and the referee calls game on. Alex gets up and instantly feels her left ankle tighten up a little. Completely forgetting about rolling her ankle previously, she takes a few steps, and it loosens up as she takes her spot on the court. 

 

Alex rallies the team once again, pulling them together for the third set. With Jasmine relegated off the team at present, Tania steps up from the junior squad to take the court. 

They leap into action winning the first few points with ease. Then the away side starts to put up a fight. A few long points are lost, and the team is starting to feel down. 

 

Alex gets them together for a quick pep talk, “Ok girls we got this, lets show them what we are made of, this year we will go all the way!!” They cheer as they break and take position. They launch the ball over the net, and within a few minutes they are one point away from victory. Bree launches the ball for Riley, Riley takes aim over the net, picking her target strategically and precisely, before slamming the ball over the net. 

 

The scramble to reach the ball, but the dive misses and the ball hits the court. 

They all jump for joy as they take out the victory for the evening. Only 3 games away from final’s they are at their prime again. 

 

The celebration continues into the locker room, as they cool down and the coach speaks with the team. That evening Alex returns to her room, feeling utterly exhausted, she collapses in bed and checks her phone. 

 

She has a message from Kaitlyn from after the game finished. “Hi Alex, thank you for chatting with me tonight, its hard being so far away from home with no one when you need someone. I have decided I’m going to get the surgery asap and hopefully I can be part of the team next year.” 

 

Alex feels bad for not seeing Kaitlyn after the game she quickly replies, “hey you sorry I didn’t get to catch you after the game the coach kept us for ages in the locker rooms. That’s great to hear and I’m sure you will be back next year better and strong than ever before”

 

Kaitlyn, replies with a smiley face emoji before the two fall asleep for the evening.