Junior Harmeet Grewal experienced a life changing event last fall. In preparation for the upcoming 2016-2017 football season, Grewal suffered a torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) in his right leg during a late August scrimmage.

“I didn’t really feel it when it happened. I didn’t realize until much later something was wrong,” said Grewal. During the play when the injury occurred, Grewal was running the ball. He saw an opening on the left and thought the coast was clear. Until Senior Adam Thorne came out of nowhere and tackled Grewal from the right side.

“I’m glad my adrenaline kept me from feeling the pain,” stated Grewal. As the hit happened, Grewal’s knee was held in place while the momentum of of his body kept him moving forward. After going to the hospital, it was discovered that the ACL in Grewal’s right knee was completely torn.

Grewal was put into a full leg cast for three months. The next step of his journey was to get surgery done to his leg. “I didn’t get the surgery right away because of how expensive it was,” Grewal exclaimed.

A little over a year later, Grewal’s surgery occurred on December 20th. “The aftermath of the surgery was better than the initial months after the injury,” said Grewal. He didn’t leave his bed the first week after his surgery. He also couldn’t go to work for a month and he can’t do any sports for nine months.

Two months after the surgery, he was put into a rehab program. Grewal went three times a week for eight weeks. After this period, Grewal was able to do contact sports again and go back to his normal life. “It was a long process and I am happy it is all done,” stated Grewal. Grewal is currently out of his cast and back to his everyday life. “I’ve learned that there are some difficult obstacles in life, but you just need to learn how to work through them and persevere,” said Grewal.