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Back Injury Sidelines Softball Player
by Andrea Powell
Almost back on the field
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In softball practice one afternoon last fall, Danielle Gleeson dove for a ball and landed a little hard. She woke up the next morning and could barely move. When she went to the training room, she was told she was having muscle pain. Unsatisfied with that diagnosis, she went to the clinic. They believed it was her kidneys.
"I knew it was my back, not my kidneys," she recalls. "I then went to the E.R. and was told I had cracked my spine."
She was given two cortisone shots and, although surgery was not recommended at the time, she would spend most of the next six months in a body cast. She says her injury is very uncommon among ball players. It is more likely to happen to gymnasts.
"(They told me) I may need surgery in the future, and when I found this out, my thoughts were: What I if can't have kids, and what is going to happen with school and softball?"
Gleeson has not been able to play any games since getting hurt, but she faithfully charts activities as her teammates play. Recently she has begun walking without her cast, and her mobility has improved through rehab workouts in the training room.
Her advice for herself and other athletes is, "Stay positive and push yourself. Continue to work hard to get back to where you were, which in turn helps yourself and your team." She says she has stayed positive with the help of supporting teammates and her boyfriend Wayne Morris, whom she met here at Mars Hill three years ago.
Gleeson is 20 years old, majoring in physical education, and plans to graduate from Mars Hill next December. After graduating she plans on working further south because she loves the warm weather. She says her favorite day "would be a day filled with roller coasters."
She has one older sister who is married, and a younger sister and brother who play softball and baseball.
"My little brother told me that by staying positive and trying hard, I have made him realize how much he appreciates being able to play baseball, and that it has encouraged him to try harder."
Mars Hill's softballers are enjoying a winning season and look forward to doing well in the tournament ahead. They recently split a series against Tusculum, which is led by Mars Hill's old coach Fred Gillum.
"It is kind of upsetting that my setback prevented me from getting to play today against my old coach," says Gleeson, "but I am very hopeful that I may be able to play by the time the tournament comes around."
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