Soccer Is My Kinda Therapy!

It’s been quite a while since I’ve even thought about this blog, honestly because I didn’t have anything to write about at all. Since I last updated I started physical therapy for my dislocated knee and literally the next day after my 1^st therapy session I came down with what I thought was just a cold, but it turned out to be Mononucleosis, which I have had for a month now, but slowly starting to recover. However that did mean that the three other sessions I was supposed to have did have to be cancelled. My Dad also had to start his own rehab and his medical bills are also adding up so that means for right now my family cannot afford physical therapy for me. At this point I’m just happy my dad’s returning to normal life and work! Luckily my family owns a membership with ClubSport Oregon so next weekend I will start to get back to the gym on my own and then eventually build up to working with a soccer specific personal trainer later in the summer.

Even with just one physical therapy session for me knee, it reminded me of how much I hated physical therapy for my Cerebral Palsy as a young child. Every little kid just wants to feel normal so by the time I was eight years old, I was pretty rebellious about it. Going to Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland at least once a week for eight years just got boring and I started to wonder if it was really helping. So my parents stop the therapy and I stopped wearing a brace on my left foot. Of course I didn’t stop the soccer though. By the 6^th grade, four years after I stopped the therapy, I started to realize that my left leg was becoming stronger and I could run a bit faster and keep up more with my teammates. I also could now run upstairs and walk with a more normal gait (on my heal instead of my toes) I then realized that it was the soccer playing that was making my left leg and balance become much stronger and even making it easier to kick with the right side.

During my freshman year I also enrolled in a weight training class. While I was a bit nervous at first because I was one of only 4 girls in the class and the rest of the class were all varsity football players, I discovered with the help of my schools physical therapist that weight training could help me regain function and muscle tone it the left hand. When started the first week of the class I couldn’t even bend my left arm all the way out. By the end of the year, I could bend it all the way out and fully bench press. This year I use my P.E. class as my weight class and working on strengthening both my left arm and leg. Next year I will again be in a weight training class and hopefully a yoga class. Of all the classes that could be my favorite, weight training is definitely #1! 

I'm extremely lucky to go to a school with such a good weight room! Seriously! 

The other thing soccer could do that the therapists could not was telling me that I can rather than cannot.  They tried for years to get me to say and think that, but again I was just rebellious. I could never play softball because I never figured out how to run fast enough. I played two years of basketball but I realized I couldn’t catch a ball. But the one thing that has always made me say I can was soccer. I have always felt normal and in the right place playing soccer. I may look slightly different to some people on the field but I’ve always understood the game and loved it more than anything. Soccer helped the phrase I can become a word in my personal dictionary and I cannot is slowly slipping away and it’s no longer an option for me. I believe this is why I love that they have programs like TOPSoccer for kids with disabilities. It makes them realize that even with a disability they are normal and that if they want to play soccer they can. I also think that while they may not know it, it’s helping kids improve their physical ability even if it’s just little improvement.  I will always encourage kids with disabilities to try a sport or at least always stay active in some way because soccer has helped me in so many ways in my life!   

Oh and I forgot, I turned 16 on Friday! :)