I’ve been playing soccer since I was five years old. It is the only sport that I really love to play. During the very last game of my freshman year, I moved wrong. That one step challenged me with the idea of never being able to play soccer again. One wrong step led to two knee surgeries and one huge complication that changed my life.

When I found out I needed surgery on my knee, I was upset, but I understood that injuries happen to many athletes. Getting hurt was a risk of playing soccer. I went into the surgery with the thought of getting rid of the pain in my knee and being back to playing soccer in four to six months.

The surgery didn’t go as planned. My knee was fixed, but there was a complication. A nerve in my leg was compressed, and I lost feeling and movement in my foot. The doctors had no explanation of how this happened. It was only the second time they have had a complication like mine. I learned I might not be able to walk or run normally again. I might not be able to play soccer again.

I didn’t understand why this was happening to me. I didn’t know why the surgery didn’t go as planned. I was going to lose the sport that I grew up with; a sport that helped mold me into who I am. But I had to be strong for my family. I tried not to feel sorry for myself. I tried not to cry because I didn’t want to have my family feel my pain. It was already hard enough for them.

When my knee fully recovered from the surgery, my foot still didn’t have full range of motion or feeling. I was not going to allow this complication to get the best of me. I was going to play soccer. Every time I went onto the field, I had to tape my foot in the upright direction because I couldn’t move it myself.

After I finally was getting movement back in my foot, my knee started to hurt again. The doctors were going to go back into my knee a second time. All the pain was for nothing. My complication was for nothing. This second surgery was a test of my character, a challenge to overcome. When I finally was able to step onto the soccer field and play my first game back, I felt alive.

I returned to playing on the varsity team and club team. Looking back on everything that happened, I now see it as a positive experience. I never will take soccer, running and walking for granted. I have so much love for my family and how they stood by me throughout all the struggles. Everything happens for a reason. I now believe this happened to me to see the important things in my life. I embrace my surgeries and complication and tell my story to those who are going through similar situations. Everything works out in the end. My surgeries impacted my life for the better.