- Jan 31, 2021
- 2,059
- 3,871
- Thread starter
- #61
Chapter 9: "I want to know if she's ever going to be able to have a family and hold her children in her arms."
Note: Chapter contains mentions of Larry Nassar and detailed injury descriptions
Note: Chapter contains mentions of Larry Nassar and detailed injury descriptions
- People ask her why she puts up with everything, and it's because she loves gymnastics
- Classic 1994
- She was in the best shape she'd ever been in–she wasn't hurting anywhere, physically or emotionally
- She was even planning to participate in a Cotillion
- Arthur, Geza, and Jerry were good for her gymnastics. She had new skills on every apparatus and her difficulty levels were higher than ever. She had a DLO on floor, which she hadn't done since early 1993, and was ending with a full-in. On beam she had a punch front. There was new choreography in her floor. She felt happy about every piece of her career
- People were predicting it would be Strug and Dawes contending for the title. Shannon was doing Goodwill Games; Borden, Chow, and Phelps were also all there
- Compulsory bars was never her favorite, but she'd been able to do it without major breaks. Kerri was hoping for a strong start on bars, because bars depends so much on flow and it's so hard to get the rhythm back when there's a break
- Things were off from the start–she overrotated her first handstand on the high bar, overcompensated as she tried to get back to vertical. When it came to the slips grip maneuver than hop to the high bar, she should have taken an extra swing to regain momentum and swing, but she didn't want the .3 deduction. But she'd already swung too far and lost her grip when she tried to shift, sending her flying into the low bar. She tried to catch it, but she hit her face instead. Her chest and chin hit the floor, and her body jackknifed over them in the wrong direction, her heels hitting the back of her head
- She felt a tingling in her legs and for a moment she didn't think she could move. She tried to roll on one side and gasped for someone to help her. Arthur and several trainers ran to her, and they told her not to move. Her father ran onto the floor and gave the same instruction, telling her she was going to be all right. She heard her mom on the side saying, "Kerri? Kerri? Are you all right?" Her mother has not been able to watch Kerri compete since then without getting physically ill
- As they were wheeling her out to the ambulance, someone told her father she would be fine by Championships. It was the wrong thing to say–her father is very even tempered, but he yelled at them that he didn't care if Kerri ever did gymnastics again, he cared if she's going to be able to walk, if she's going to be able to have a family and hold her children
- Her parents rode with her in the ambulance. She had feeling in her legs through the all ordeal and thought she could move everything all right–the tingling had been brief, and she felt more of a sting in her back. Her father and the EMTs were taking no chances, though. She wore a neckbrace and lay perfectly still the whole time
- After a round of testing, she was diagnosed with a stress fracture of the L-4 and L-5 vertebrae. She didn't know if that was good or bad–she'd had stress fractures before, but this was a back injury. Her Dad compared previous back Xrays with the new ones with the doctors. They said the stress fractures were probably there before, but the fall made it worse. She told them her back had been sore at Steve's, but there was never real discomfort there and she had been pain-free with Arthur
- The doctor told her it would keep her out of the gym 6-8 weeks. She felt betrayed by the sport. She thought it might finally be time to quit, and she told her dad she was cursed
- Recovery
- In hospital for two days because of reoccuring dizzy spells–fainted when stood up
- Back hurt, but the thought of another 8 weeks of therapy hurt more
- Miss Val had formally offered her a scholarship at UCLA, and she wondered if she should just go to college
- When she got home, Arthur and lots of other federation people called to check on her and encourage her to try a comeback–talked about how the sport needed her, the country needed her, and how much she had already overcome. She got a video of the fall, but refused to watch it
- Often woke up at night with severe back spasms. She would slowly get out of bed and work them out by walking a little bit–she would walk past the attitude quote. Realized she could never change what had happened, but what had pulled her through was her attitude, her family, and her love for the sport.
- First step back was just getting healthy. She had a very bulky brace for the first two weeks, then a less bulky one for more serious therapy. Bob Wallace, Larry Nassar, and Debbie Van Horn developed a comprehensive PT program for her. Had lots of deep massages, ultrasound treatments, and exercises in the swimming pool, riding a stationary bike, and exercises and stretches. She tried to do a little more each day–she was determined to make it back for World Championship Trials, just six weeks away. When she wasn't in school, she was doing therapy all day every day
- Big meet she had missed with the stomach injury was the individual Worlds in Brisbane; she was upset about missing Worlds and the chance to go to Australia. The Team Worlds were in Germany. Worlds were in November, World Trials were in September
- Had therapy with Bob Wallace twice a day. Was willing to try anything that might speed up her recovery. Got people at a local spa/resort to let her use their wave pool. Also tried shiatsu, Jacuzzis, herbal massages, and acupuncture. Doesn't know how much it helped, but she'd try anything
- Also worked with Dr. Jean Williams, a U of Arizona sports psychologist. Discussed attitude, positive thinking, and focus. She taught her to set small goals and work up from there, and to be realistic about her goals and not compare herself with others.
- By September she was back in the gym with Arthur and she'd switched to a smaller brace, more like a weightlifting belt. Was soon doing full routines on everything but floor, where the pounding was too much.
- Worlds
- Did make the Worlds team–was second at Trials. She wasn't 100% and probably did too much too soon
- Wore a neoprene brace until the day before Worlds began.
- Was still nervous about compulsory bars. She had worked her way back up the the skill and done it dozens of times, and tried to tell herself it was a freak accident, but it still made her nervous. After warmups, she told herself, "You've worked too hard to fail. You can and you will have a great performance."
- She made it through the slip grip, which was a huge moment even though only a handful of people there knew it. Because of that she lost concentration and one of her hands slipped on the bar later. She only got a 9.487, but she considers the routine a victory
- The team was 2nd to Romania after compulsories. People thought they wouldn't be able to hold onto it because Steve pulled Shannon from optionals because of her shin splints, leaving USA with no margin of error. They were an inexperienced team–Kerri and Dominique had both done several Worlds, but it was a first for Borden, Chow, Phelps, and Fontaine. Also, neither Bela or Steve were there–Mary Lee Tracy was the head coach, and she lacked an international reputation. But she did a great job installing confidence, and counted on Dominique and Kerri to lead the team
- Considers 1994 Worlds a turning point and confidence booster. She helped lead the US to a silver medal. With Russia in 3rd, it was the first time the US had defeated a team from the former USSR in a major competition
- She was 8th AA
- Felt like her comeback was complete
- Signed her UCLA letter of intent and faxed it to Miss Val. Planned to graduate from Green Fields in June and take a year off from school to concentrate on making the 1996 team. She was graduating a year early with straight As, so she didn't feel this would affect her academically. After Atlanta, whether or not she made it, she would go to UCLA and compete collegiately
- Did the Cotillion and had a great time
