Conditions + Treatments
UCL Repair With Internal Brace
I have played baseball my entire life and I have pitched for as long as I can remember. During my sophomore season of high school baseball in 2017, I started to experience some pain in my elbow. After hoping that the pain would get better with time and eventually experiencing no relief, I made an appointment at the Andrews Sports Medicine in Birmingham to see Dr. Lyle Cain. He reviewed my MRI and determined that I had torn my UCL. He determined that I was a strong candidate for the new primary repair of the UCL with internal bracing procedure that he and Dr. Jeff Dugas had developed. If I hadn’t received the cutting-edge treatment that I did at the Andrews Sports Medicine, my rehab would have taken twice as long, and my career might have been derailed.
After rehabbing my entire sophomore year of high school, I returned to the field as a junior and had the best season of my life. I was recruited by Georgia Tech that summer and my elbow felt great for four years. In the spring of 2021, I was pitching during my sophomore year at Georgia Tech, and I began experiencing a different kind of elbow pain. After four healthy seasons, I had torn my UCL again. I knew exactly where to go. The people at Andrews Sports Medicine had taken care of me before and I knew they would do it again. Dr. Cain performed Tommy John surgery- full UCL reconstruction.
I am about 14 months out from when I had my second surgery, and I feel great. After missing my junior season at Georgia Tech, I am back on the mound and ready to finish strong with a healthy senior season. I am very happy with how both of my surgeries went, and I am glad to be back on the mound. My injury experiences encouraged me to become a pre-med student, and I am studying to take the MCAT this summer and hope to go to medical school after I finish my bachelor’s degree.
The recovery process was more challenging psychologically the first time around. When I had my first surgery in high school, there was so much uncertainty. I wanted to play D1 baseball and when I first tore my UCL, I thought that dream might be derailed. I was able to lean on my friends and family to encourage me throughout the process, and I grew as a person and in my faith. My injury experiences have taught me so much about myself and about life. When I tore my UCL a second time in college, the process was challenging, but knowing what to expect made things a little more tolerable. The Georgia Tech sports medicine staff took very good care of me, and I knew I was in good hands. Since I knew I had come back from this before, I was confident I could do it again.
I would recommend the Andrews Clinic to any athlete! I believe they have given me my baseball career back on multiple occasions. If I hadn’t had that first procedure, I wouldn’t be at Georgia Tech, and my life would be on a completely different path. Playing at Georgia Tech is one of the best things that as ever happened to me, and I am so thankful for Andrews and Dr. Cain for getting me back into the game.
