It’s heartbreaking not to play the final high school season of your sport due to an injury you’ve always feared. For Jaelyn Ramos, a varsity basketball player and a dedicated small forward, tearing her ACL during her senior year meant not just missing games, but losing the chance to finish what she started alongside her teammates.

Ramos states that it was tremendously difficult to recover from a torn ACL knowing that she couldn’t play her last season and help her team. Her teammates were heartbroken after learning what happened to Ramos, knowing that she couldn’t play with them anymore and they were losing a huge asset to the team.

“Accepting the injury was tough at first. Going from being able to do everything easily to struggling to do even the simple tasks was a big change”, senior Jaelyn Ramos said. Ramos also explains how even the thought of tearing her ACL was scary, knowing that it would have a tremendous effect on her athletic career. “

Ramos then shares the feeling of pain after finding out she couldn’t play basketball or the other sports she was a part of in high school ever again, saying “It is frustrating not being able to do what I love, especially since basketball has always been such a big part of my life.”

Ramos then explains how she’s learning that recovery takes more than just physical strength to stay strong and how it’s also about staying mentally strong and keeping a good mindset.

Staying strong physically is hard enough with an injury like this, but staying strong mentally is more demanding, and challenging, and is crucial in staying positive. Even when your biggest fear comes true, it’s important to stay strong (mentally and physically!) and keep pushing forward, although the circumstances may seem impossible.

Ramos’ story provides us with a new perspective on what it’s like to have your worst nightmare come true and illustrates to us that it’s key to have a positive mindset, even when the odds are against you.