Testimonials

Danielle Clark, a soccer player at East Central University, is a true athlete. She’s the first one on the field no matter the conditions and gives 110 percent at every practice and game. But a serious knee injury left her sidelined in spring 2008.

The injury actually occurred during the fall 2007 season when Danielle was sandwiched between two players while leading into a kick. Although painful, Danielle finished the game and the season all the while taping her knee and playing through the pain. But six months after the initial injury, Danielle’s knee took what would be its final blow during an off-season practice session. This time she sought the care of Dr. Mark Pascale, a McBride Clinic physician.

“I should have gotten it checked by a doctor right away [after the first injury],” Danielle said. “But, as an athlete, you are trained to not stop. You never know what I could have prevented if I had gone to the doctor [sooner].”

Dr. Pascale performed micro-fracture surgery on Danielle’s knee, which had a significant amount of cartilage damage. Micro-fracture surgery is a technique for repairing cartilage where the surgeon creates tiny fractures in the adjacent bones, causing new cartilage to develop.

Her recovery included six weeks on crutches followed by extensive physical therapy. Ever the athlete pushing the physical limits of her body, Danielle was off of the crutches after only four weeks and returned to practice with her ECU Tigers teammates in August. The journey, she said, was more mentally frustrating than physically painful.

“It’s really important to trust the people who know more than you do,” Danielle said. “I’ve had to step back and realize that I’m not invincible. I’ve learned a lot about patience.”

And she plans to draw upon the valuable lessons she’s learned as she continues to work towards a career in physical therapy and coaching soccer.

“This has been such a growing experience,” she said. “This will help me in the career I want to go into from the physical therapy standpoint and the coaching perspective. And I’ve learned that I can really strengthen my leadership skills and encourage people in other ways than just being an impact player on the field.

Spoken like a true athlete!