As a young and talented athlete, it’s only natural to explore all avenues of sport to determine the ones you like, and the ones where your talents shine brightest. For Sean Webster, his skills were never brighter than when he was on the football field. This James Clemens High School senior had strapped a helmet to his head since he was 5-years old, but it was a short stint on the wrestling team his sophomore year that brought this athlete to see Dr. Michael Cantrell.
Shortly after beginning his freshman year, Sean picked up the sport of wrestling. His time was cut short the following season after suffering a serious knee injury. Sean worked through physical therapy, but both he and his parents were not seeing improvements. With his condition in limbo, Sean began to wonder if he would ever be 100% again, or if he would ever play sports again. He had his sights set on joining the Air Force Academy – but even that future was in jeopardy. Sean was heartbroken. Dr. Cantrell and his team went to work knowing exactly what they needed to do to help Sean: fix his knee and assure him his dreams were very much still in sight.
After performing a medial patellofemoral ligament reconstruction, Dr. Cantrell was successful in stabilizing Sean’s knee. He was on the road to recovery. But Sean’s recovery was going to take a lot of work and sometimes, it’s not uncommon for rehabilitating patients to have thoughts of frustration and doubt. “Dr. Cantrell worked with Sean and got it out of his head,” says Sean’s mother, Rikki. “You’ve got it! Dr. Cantrell told him…You are good to go! You can do this!”
Dr. Cantrell continued to use Sean’s follow-up appointments to help “coach” him through his rehabilitation. He reminded Sean to stay strong, not to get frustrated and know that he had the entire Cantrell team in his corner. That was just the encouragement he needed to make it back to the football field for his junior year and help the James Clemens Jets to another winning season.
“Dr. Cantrell was very thorough and helped make the process stress-free. We loved his staff and encourage anyone who may be going through something similar to just hang on. Stay the course, stay committed and don’t give up.”
Dr. Michael Cantrell is a member of The Orthopaedic Center Sports Medicine Team. Board certified in Orthopaedic Sports Medicine, Dr. Cantrell specializes in arthroscopic and open reconstruction of the shoulder and knee. This includes shoulder and knee arthroscopy, tendon repair, and ligament reconstruction.