Conditions + Treatments
ACL Injury/Reconstruction
Meniscus Tear
My name is Alyssa Brown and I am a senior softball player at Mortimer Jordan High School. I have been a varsity starter on our Lady Blue Devils softball team since my freshman year.
I’ve been fortunate to receive a softball scholarship to the University of West Alabama. I look forward to becoming a collegiate student-athlete and majoring in Athletic Training this upcoming Fall.
I started playing basketball and softball when I was 5 years old. I played basketball until the 8th grade. At that time, I had just started playing travel softball and made the decision to solely focus on softball.
My freshman year at Mortimer Jordan I was fortunate to be a starter, became our team's primary pitcher, and threw 80% of our games. We had a really good team my freshman year and we finished 3rd in the AHSAA state tournament behind Springville and Hazel Green High Schools.
My sophomore year I was once again a key part of our team and I pitched 70-80% of the time that season. Unfortunately, my junior year one of my teammates who are also a pitcher suffered injury, so me and another teammate were our two primary pitchers. We won the area, got to regionals. Pitching in the semi-finals (to go to state) our team won the game.
On May 11, 2023 I suffered a significant knee injury that brought my softball season to an abrupt halt. We were playing Hartselle High School in the 2nd round of the ASHAA State Regionals, a team we have faced multiple times in previous tournaments and even beat in the 2022 tournament. The winning team would move on to face Hazel Green High School, the 2022 State Champions, in the regional champions round.
It was the last inning of the game, and I was on the mound pitching. A Hartselle player hit a grounder up the middle and when I went to backhand the ball, my left cleat got stuck in the ground and I felt a pop in my left knee. I fell to the ground in excruciating pain and our athletic trainer and my coaches immediately ran onto the field to make sure I was ok. I tried to convince our trainer and coaches that I would go back out and play. I was determined to help my team win so that we could advance to the championship. Unfortunately, I had to be assisted off of the field and was unable to get the last out and finish the game.
Our athletic trainer, Jeremy Free, helped my family set up an appointment for me to be seen by Dr. Jay Umarvadia, who serves as our team physician. I did not think that there would be much wrong with my knee, however, knowing I would be playing softball at a collegiate level motivated me to have it looked at before it got worse. My appointment with Dr. Jay was on May 18. After looking at my x-rays and evaluating my knee, Dr. Jay was concerned that I had a possible ACL and/or meniscal tear. Dr. Jay had me fitted in a knee brace and said he wanted to schedule an MRI to confirm if I had significant damage.
A few days after my MRI, my dad received a call from Dr. Jay. Unfortunately, the MRI confirmed that I had torn both my ACL and meniscus. Dr. Jay said he was going to get me scheduled with an orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Benton Emblom. My initial appointment with Dr. Emblom was on May 30. Dr. Emblom performed an ACL reconstruction with a meniscus repair on June 6, 2023. After the surgery I was able to begin physical therapy and start the slow process of getting back to the softball field.
I was eager to get back into shape to be able to compete with my school for my senior year. Even though I was already signed to play softball at the University of West Alabama, I wanted to be able to redeem myself after my injury. The 2024 season has gone extremely well so far. We won first in our Area, and personally I have thrown over 400 strikes, aiming to reach 500 before the season ends.
Today, I am so thankful to Dr. Umarvadia and Dr. Emblom and all of the Andrews Sports Medicine staff for giving me the ability to get back to the sport I love and for helping me achieve Victory Over Injury! During such a scary and uncertain time in my life, they were there to help and work with me to get back to not just normal life, but also back to playing softball. I have more confidence in myself to get back to pitching and finishing my last season of high school softball, because of the thorough and well timed diagnosing and surgery they performed.
