Junior Ashton Husbands overcomes a severe injury and competes for the track and field team just months after surgery.

Husbands remembers her injury in vivid detail. She recalls being late to her basketball game in December of her sophomore year, causing her to rush out of the locker room without her trusty ankle brace. During routine pre-game lay up drills, Husbands rolled her ankle, causing it to give out. Unfortunately, failure to wear her brace would result in a torn achilles tendon and several other torn ligaments.

“I have always had ankle problems in the past, but I knew this time was different as soon as it happened. The doctors told me it would be a long road to recovery as I had fraying of my bones and severe instability, along with the tears,” Husbands said.

In all, Husbands injury has forced her into a cast for three months, a walking boot for eight months, surgery, substantial time in a wheelchair, and physical therapy. But, the determined athlete only saw her adversity as a challenge. Before her injury, Husbands stood as an important member of the girls’ basketball team and participated in varsity track and field, throwing discus and shot put. Although basketball became a distant memory after her surgery, Husbands remained persistent, promising herself that she would continue to throw on the track team and reach her goal of lettering all four years.

“Surprisingly, the most difficult parts of my recovery were the mental aspects. Of course, it would have been easy to throw a pity party for myself and just give up on sports all together, but at some point you have to get over it, pull yourself together, and make decisions,” Husbands said.

Husbands began setting goals for herself to make the recovery process more manageable. She eventually returned to track this spring, progressing all the way to the region tournament where she placed ninth. Although she does not feel as strong as before her injury, with her discus and shot put scores lower than previous years, Husbands remains extremely proud of herself. She hopes that her experience may serve as a reminder to all athletes not to take anything for granted.

“If you are suffering from an injury, do not give up. It sounds cliche, but it really is the best advice. To get myself through it, I remember how much effort I have put into sports and how much they mean to me. This experience has also taught me to appreciate my parents and everything they have done for me emotionally and financially in the past fifteen months,” Husbands said.

The determined athlete has learned many lessons throughout the course of her injury, one of the most important being to appreciate the small things. She suggests that most fail to realize how important the use of a single limb can be. Husbands plans to continue practicing and make her senior season the most successful one of her track career.

“You should never let anyone remember you by the injury you suffered. Let them remember you by how you bounced back from it,” Husbands said.