ATHLETE INTERVIEWS

Camille Lyu

Camille Lyu is a high school athlete with a passion for volleyball and soccer. She is known for her determination - once she sets her mind on a goal, she will do whatever it takes to achieve it. Despite being only one week post-op, she hopes to inspire others through sharing her experience.

1) Can you share your ACL story? 

It happened during a soccer game when I was the striker. I took a shot and felt my knee twist in the air, followed by a sharp pain. I ended up scoring the goal but went down immediately as a result of the pain.

2) What was the hardest part of the experience?

The hardest part of this experience is both mentally and physically. It was my senior soccer season in high school and I wanted a grand last season as probably most athletes would want in their last season. The injury happened two weeks before a tournament and 4 weeks before another travel tournament. Having to be sidelined and watch but not being able to help was so hard. Physically surgery brought everything back to 0. I prehabed rly well and almost everything went back to normal. Waking up from the surgery and everything was back to 0. But it’s definitely improving everyday.

3) How did you stay motivated throughout the process? 

I’m still at a very early stage of the process. But the small victories motivate me! Knowing that each progress is gonna bring me one step closer to being normal and being back on the field. Focusing what I can do instead of what I can’t makes me feel so much better every time.

4) What advice would you give to other athletes on the road to recovery?

I panicked so much before the surgery and totally freaked out. But now looking back it was really not as scary as it seemed. For anyone who is panicking for the surgery, just remember you are going to be fine! It will be over before you know it! Although I’m still at the early stage post op. But I’m trying to always stay positive, everyone says the rehab process is so long but time really passes fast!

5) Do you think this experience changed you as a person?

Again I’m still at the early stage of the process. But the ACL experience define made me much more aware of how my body functions and pay more attention to that. It also makes me cherish more the little things that we took for granted. There are a lot of people out there that are in a much worse position than us and do not even have a chance of recovery.