Casey Shillabeer ’22, staff writer
Every athlete’s worst nightmare is to hear that little pop and tear in their knee and go down in massive pain. Every athlete knows what that most likely means: a torn ACL.
Cassiah Ray has dealt with this type of pain more than once in her life. Ray, a senior exercise science major, plans to get certified as a personal trainer after graduation and hopes to work with athletes in injury prevention programs.
Ray tore her ACL in her right knee in March of 2019 while playing pick-up with her teammates.
“I got reconstruction surgery in April and rehabbed the rest of the year,” Ray said. “I knew I would be missing the first half of the upcoming season, but I continued to work hard so I could come back strong for the remaining half of the games for my sophomore year.”
December of 2019 rolled around, and Ray was cleared to play again.
“Unfortunately, nothing went according to plan,” Ray said.
In her first game back after being cleared she felt that familiar pop once more, but in her left knee this time.
“I was not even on the floor a total of five minutes before going down again. My mind automatically went to the worst-case scenario,” Ray said.
Her coaches and trainers tried to calm her down and take her mind off the worst possible outcome. On New Year’s Eve of 2019, her doctor had confirmed that she had completely tore her ACL in the left knee, as well as her medial meniscus. Devastation set in for Ray as she would have to do the recovery process she just finished all over again.
Ray got her second reconstruction surgery in January of 2020 where COVID-19 was just a topic in the news and not our everyday lives. What is a story without COVID nowadays, right?
Ray was able to go to physical therapy for the first two months after surgery, but COVID hit, and everything was shut down. Ray was unable to go to therapy for at least a month or two or use any type of public gym.
“This was a challenge because, for that span of time, I lost the accountability aspect from getting to go into the clinic and work with my physical therapist in person,” said Ray.
All these events really discouraged Ray, but thankfully her brother came to the rescue.
Ray’s brother has a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology, and a passion for exercise. He flew home from university in Chester, England before the travel bans were set in place.
Ray and her brother got creative, as most people did in quarantine, and made an at home gym in their basement to help with her recovery.
“He really helped me get back on track when I was starting to lose all motivation. We had limited workout equipment at home, but got creative,” Ray said. “We ended up making a DIY sled with an old mat, a chain and a lifting belt; using firewood as weight, and the backyard as our turf.”
COVID didn’t completely ruin Ray’s junior and senior seasons. Luckily LVC opted to participate in a condensed 11-game schedule in the 2020-2021 season while other schools opted out of games overall. The women’s basketball team had a complete 27 game season for the 2021-2022 season.
“If I am being completely honest and transparent, my junior and senior seasons were not everything I had hoped they would be,” Ray said. “With contact tracing, surveillance testing and positive cases, I missed a portion of both my junior and senior seasons.”
It was nobody’s fault, but frustrating for Ray and any athlete in that situation. She was finally healthy after sustaining two major knee injuries and just wanted to play and for things to be normal.
Ray had two full seasons, her first year and senior season, except with a few COVID challenges in her senior year. These were the two season she had played completely healthy, and it was a blessing for her.
“I am so thankful for this past season,” Ray said. “My teammates and coaches helped make my last season the best one despite any challenges or complications we faced.”
Even with knee complications, Ray was still able to play and be on the sidelines for her sophomore and junior seasons.
Sophomore year after her five minutes, she was on the sidelines supporting her teammates at every practice and every game despite the emotional difficulties it brought. Cheering on her teammates gave her a purpose.
Just as much as she was cheering for them, they were cheering for her as well.
“My teammates saw some of my worst moments, and I will forever be thankful for their support,” said Ray. “Whether it was a hug when needed, a note of encouragement, flowers, or a follow up text after surgery, I am still to this day so grateful for everything they did for me.”
Ray was able to play her junior year with some pain caused by the unknown tear in her meniscus in her right knee. Ray could not catch a break. Luckily, she finished the season but the pain in the coming weeks become unbearable. Her medial meniscus in her right knee had torn, which caused her to get a third knee surgery. This recovery period was only six weeks compared to nine months for her other two surgeries.
With COVID and knee surgeries, Ray has college basketball eligibility left, two years to be exact. She does not plan to use either of those years.
“While I love the game of basketball, I know that I am not some star player that will go on to play in some semi-pro league after college. I also don’t think my knees could take two more seasons of all that impact anyway,” Ray said.
With Ray wanting to be a certified personal trainer and work in injury prevention programs, she has great advice for athletes who could experience any type of long-term injury.
She says do not fall into the victim mentality, even if it is really tempting. “Feeling pain is inevitable, but suffering is your own personal choice” is a statement that really helped Ray get through.
“While it really sucks in the moment, it will make you a better athlete in the long run,” she said. “Tearing both my ACLs, exploited physical, emotional and spiritual weaknesses in me that I never knew existed. The long-term recovery process gave me an opportunity to address those weaknesses. I know I have become a stronger person overall because of it.”
Cassiah would like to give a huge shoutout to all the healthcare workers and medical professionals both at Penn State Hershey Medical Center and at LVC that were involved behind the scenes in both of her knee injuries.
“Our athletic trainers on staff at school were the first people on scene when I was injured and the biggest supporters throughout my rehab process from start to finish. I am forever appreciative of them!” Ray said.