DANVILLE, Pa. — Hunter Zettlemoyer, age 16, is a sophomore at Milton Area High School. His football season was cut short in late October when he was injured during a game.
"Happened to basically get rolled up on and my knee bent kind of back and in. It was a weird bend, and that's what caused it to partially sprain," Hunter recalled.
Hunter had a grade-two MCL sprain. That's where Kayla Eddy, a Geisinger certified athletic trainer, comes in. Kayla put Hunter on a recovery plan the next morning with an orthopedic clinic.
"We make an appointment. He was able to get into that clinic to see Dr. Jeffrey Summers, who is an orthopedic doctor. So right off the bat, he was seeing an orthopedic doctor the next morning," Kayla said.
Geisinger has certified athletic trainers in 35 school districts, including Milton.
"We're the bridge between school athletics and the Geisinger clinics with the physicians."
Kayla worked with Hunter for six weeks. He recovered faster than expected and was able to return to winter sports, where he qualified for districts in swimming.
"I knew that if I went through it, the harder I took, the sooner I was going to get back, so I pushed as hard as I could. That way, I could get back as soon as I could," Hunter said.
"Hunter had goals to set. He said, 'I want to be here at this day, here at this day.' He said, 'I need something to work towards,' so he worked really hard towards those goals he had set to come back."
Geisinger is recognizing Kayla and all of its trainers during National Athletic Training Month.
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