Pieced together: Recovery, repairs, re-entry into sports

Cry of the Hawk has featured several athletes who have faced serious injuries and have found ways to bounce back. We continue to showcase athletes who continued to thrive despite difficulties they may have faced.
Senior Alyssa Santoro has scoliosis and as a result of medical procedure to treat the condition she has two rods in her back. Santoro said that doctors told her that she had “one of the worst cases,” of scoliosis and that it “could have left her paralyzed” if they didn’t put the rods into her back.
Despite the fact that Santoro has these rods, she has continued to compete as an athlete at NH as a member of the cross country, track and field, softball, and soccer teams. “The rods have helped with my posture for running yet some stretches are harder to do than others.”
This past summer junior Jess Schrof was playing lacrosse and tore her ACL and meniscus, leaving her with a long road of recovery ahead. Schrof’s initial reaction to her injury left her “gripping the grass in pain.” The athlete admits “It[the injury] has changed my life dramatically.” Schrof said she will be out of commission for over nine months as she recovers from the injury and has already started physical therapy.
Schrof said she has questioned her entire future because of the injury and wonders if she will be able to play lacrosse her last year of high school and into college. Although the junior admits her injury has had a huge impact on her daily life, she said that she continues to support her club and school teams by staying positive.
Senior Dominick Bushall tore his MCL tendon twice, resulting in surgery. Bushall’s procedure included taking part of his bone to help hold his knee in place along with screws and pins.
Bushall just recently started his recovery, and commented “it’s[the injury] made a huge impact,” since he is not able to do the simplest chores and even walking is a challenge. The senior states “despite the difficulty of not being able to walk, I know the recovery process since this isn’t the first time I tore my MCL tendon.” Bushall knows he is facing a long road ahead, with uncertainty about finishing out high school athletics, playing sports in general.
While many students face knee and back injuries, others like junior Jacob Huneke experiences having his sternum caved in, compressing his heart and lungs. Different from other students, Huneke’s injury wasn’t sport related. His injury stemmed from his growth beginning at a young age.
Huneke said this made “it difficult to breath and difficult to just get through the day.” The bar placed in Huneke’s chest hasn’t altered his daily routine it has just added more pain to his body.
The junior said “the bar has helped me breath, I can take deep breaths now which I was unable to do before the surgery.” He also explained that running cross country this season was not an option due to his continuous recovery and the intensity of the sport. Jacob Huneke