Client Testimonial – Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) reconstruction
Jaydine, Gibraltar
‘Netball has been a passion for mine since I was probably 10 years old. Yet, during try-outs for the under 17 Gibraltar National squad I suffered a messy fall, damaging my knee joint, the bone, cartilage and ligament. Dr. Thomas Boerger fixed by knee, he reconstructed my ACL. I’m thankful for his patience and skill. I am now completing a course to become a qualified Netball Umpire’, explains Jaydine.
‘Through friends and family, I got into netball from a young age’, continues Jaydine. ‘Through after school clubs I got to be good and became Captain of our league team. We had a lot of success winning matches.
So, by 16 I was able to try out for the national squad. But that’s when everything changed. It was an intense match, with lots of contact on both sides.
The Sports Injury
I was passed the ball and I jumped right at the same time as the defender. We clashed; our hips struck, and I fell to the ground. It was a messy fall. I landed badly, and my knee popped out and went the wrong way.
I was in agony. My mum got the court before the ambulance, so we went together to the hospital. I had x-rays, was fitted with a leg brace, and given pain killers.
Later I had an MRI. I also contacted Dr. Thomas Boerger, to make an appointment. He immediately advised me to remove the leg brace, to allow some movement in my leg and knee.
The Surgery
My first surgery included cleaning out fragments of broken bone in the joint and also an arthroscopic meniscus repair of the torn cartilage. It was during this procedure that it became clear that my ACL was not completely torn. Dr. Boerger’s advice was to wait until it naturally gave way before a full reconstruction should be done.
So that’s what happened about six months later, leading to the second operation for a complete Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) reconstruction.
The Recovery
I know that many people have different recoveries from ACL reconstruction. I think mine was complicated by COVID arriving during the middle of it all, so I was on my own with family for much of the physio.
I realise that mindset is important for a good recovery, and for this second procedure I was determined to make a full recovery. Before I probably hadn’t considered the impact of surgery; and maybe I hadn´t prepared enough by building up muscle tissue.
It was hard though. On my first day after surgery my leg felt like it was on fire and it was very swollen. I wore a supportive brace that allowed movement and bending of the knee for the first day or two. By day three I was without a brace and Dr. Boerger was happy with the healing and the neat scarring.
I went for private physiotherapy and really become committed to making progress.
Anyone who has an ACL reconstruction should prepare for quite an intense recovery journey. For me the first two weeks were hectic. I rested my leg lying in bed between exercises and used crutches at first to get around.
My family, especially my mum, was an amazing support and really helped me get through the recovery. During lockdown she’d get me out and about, take me to down to Sandy Bay to do physio and be in the water.
For this second op I had prepared more so I knew I had it in me to make a good recovery. But it takes time.
I remember the first jogging session I had on a treadmill, after about 3 months. It just felt amazing!
The Future
Now 18 months later I can really train quite hard at the gym. I’m fully active again. I’m busy with my volunteering with St. John’s Ambulance, and preparing for Nursing Training, so I have not been doing competitive sport.
Although I don’t think I’m going to return to netball as a player, I am doing my training course to become an umpire!
Dr. Thomas Boerger was really amazing. He was so patient it me. He was really understanding of me. For this to happen to a 16 year old was complicated, and he understood the challenges. And at the end of the day, he fixed my knee, so I am very happy about that!’