Eating, Sleeping, and Breathing Soccer

"When the time came for my surgery, I had Dr. Saran, his assistants and the anesthesiologist come to explain the procedure and how I would be asleep throughout the entire seven hours of it. Everything was exactly as they’d told me, as all I recall is laughing gas, and then nothingness,” said Kiana.

In order to avoid the pain she experienced in the left hip, the right hip also had to be operated on three months later. She went through physiotherapy with an exceptional woman named Naudira, who pushed her through her weakest days when she could not even lift one leg off the ground. “She believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. She saw me cry with frustration and was there to get me through it. Naudira never let me have it easy. However, as soon as she saw me getting comfortable with an exercise, she would push me to a new limit. After an entire summer of rehab, I was quite literally up and running come the fall. Dr. Saran told me that I had healed extremely fast and had more strength than I should have at that point in time.”

Seeing her desire to return to the game, Dr. Saran gave her permission as long as she would listen to her body and respect the limits. X-rays supported his decision as the bones in both hips had healed! Today, Kiana is back on the field playing at a semiprofessional level. In 2021, she was awarded by her native city (Laval, Quebec) the prestigious Prix Pierre-Marchand for her perseverance and determination to get back to playing soccer. She is currently in a recruiting process, looking to study and play soccer in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for a Division I or II team in the U.S. Nevertheless, in order to pursue her dream, Kiana will have to fundraise to pay off her tuition/expenses.

“I am beyond grateful for just the fact that I have come this far, I owe much of that gratitude to the wonderful Shriners Hospitals for Children — Canada and the brotherhood of the Shriners. They treated me like a priority every moment I spent there, and back home. For a year and a half, I found myself hopeless, and living in both physical and mental pain. The hospital showed me hope, and today I am back on track, working towards the ultimate academic and athletic goal I have always dreamt of,” concluded Kiana.