An ACL tear occurs when sudden force is inflicted on the knee, often during pivoting or a quick stop. This type of injury is common in wrestling, soccer, football and basketball. While the injury happens suddenly, recovery is long.
Taylor, a recent graduate of San Marino High School and a member of the Titan Mercury Wrestling Club, came to Shriners Children’s Southern California in summer 2023, just before his senior year, with a torn ACL and meniscus sustained during a wrestling competition. He was injured while defending a throw at a summer national tournament.
Thanks to advances in ACL reconstruction, the injury proved to be season-ending rather than career-ending. After two successful procedures performed by orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine physician Jonathan Koenig, M.D., Taylor has returned to competition and is now attending Wesleyan University.
Taylor’s comeback and his dedication to his dream sport made him an “all-star patient,” said Dr. Koenig. After surgery, he underwent physical therapy and regained his strength at an impressive rate. However, his over-confidence in recovery set him back when he returned to competitive wrestling too soon, and he re-tore his ACL during practice. Feeling frustrated and disappointed, Taylor decided to postpone enrollment in college and took a gap year to take the time necessary to properly recover from his second ACL surgery.
For the second injury, Dr. Koenig performed a revision ACL surgery using a newer technique, called a lateral extra-articular tenodesis, to provide added stability as Taylor worked toward his goal of returning to competitive wrestling. After the surgery, Taylor returned to physical therapy, pushing himself to rebuild strength and restore function in his knee.
I am forever grateful for Dr. Koenig and the amazing care I received at Shriners Children’s for giving me the opportunity to chase my dreams, and get back on the wrestling mat. The Shriners team turned my negative injuries into an overall positive experience for my life.
Taylor isn’t allowing his injury to stop him from reaching his goals. He continues to work hard in school and wrestling. He has a record of competing and winning at the state and national levels in wrestling and has also found success in national and international judo competitions, including a Junior Olympic silver medal (2019), Summer National Championship (2019), and Pan-American qualifications in 2018 and 2019.
While a patient at Shriners Children’s, Taylor shadowed and observed patients and was even a volunteer in the physical therapy department. He participated as a Patient Ambassador and attended events to share his story and be among other patients like him going through a similar medical journey. Now, Taylor has his eyes set on obtaining a doctorate in physical therapy.
