It started like any other day. No one could have predicted that by the end of it, grade 12 student Patrick R. would go through one of the biggest challenges in his life with an injury that would test his body and mind in new ways.

What follows is Patrick’s story, in his own words:

I started playing when I was 7 or 8 years old. I started playing because my dad had a basketball in the house and I was never allowed to play with it. He said I need to know how to play, because it was a very special ball, it was silver and shiny. That’s why I asked him to send me to practice. 

I’ve had two major injuries, the more recent one is my left knee. Two summers ago I was playing basketball and I jumped to get a rebound. A friend of mine actually pushed me from the back while my knee was bent. So I had a full meniscus and ligament tear. I needed anchors to fix my meniscus and they needed muscle to build my ligament back, which happened during surgery when they took muscle from my quad to make the new ligament .

The biggest challenge after injury is more than just the physical recovery. Because as athletes we’re used to going to the gym and putting effort in. But it’s more of the idea of not being able to move. It’s really hard to explain to someone the feeling of not being able to lift your own leg because there’s no more muscle. Or not being able to go to the bathroom without using crutches or anyone’s help because you can’t move it [as the leg was in a adjustable brace]. 

Also, when you first get injured it’s a whole mental thing because you just don’t trust yourself to put pressure on the leg to move. And then, even now, I played my first four games in a year and a half. The biggest thing is catching up with yourself and proving to yourself that you kind of still have it. Sometimes I think, am I ever going to be able to shoot like I used to? But the moment I touched the basketball again and went to the first practice it started slowly to come back.

[The first game back was] the most chaotic two minutes of my life. I don’t know how to compare it, but it’s like when you’re overwhelmed by literally everything and your senses are heightened. You feel everything at a thousand miles because you’re used to playing basketball. You know what it’s supposed to feel like, but you’ve never been in an environment where so many things happen at the same time.

Photo of playing in a recent basketball match (summited by Patrick R.)
Photo of posing on court by Kaylex M.

I don’t think I would have done anything differently. And, this might sound stupid, but I don’t think saying, ‘Oh don’t jump for that rebound,’ because it’s a natural instinct to jump for a rebound in basketball. I would say, take the recovery process more seriously and use all your privileges, like the people and all the resources I have, to my advantage. And work at home. I went to physio three times a week but I worked out every day at home. And, yeah, that’s my biggest advice for my pre-injury self.