Tough stretch makes Edmonton athlete wise

Brielle Wise had big expectations for herself going in to her third year with the MacEwan Griffins basketball team.

During the first game of the season, Wise tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her knee. She had surgery to repair the injury in December and started down the path of what is typically a 12-month recovery.

“I was basically seven months post-surgery,” Wise said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I was basically seven months post-surgery," Wise said.

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It was July 23, a tough day to forget. She was driving home from Kelowna with her boyfriend when a car turned in front of her. The police deemed it a head-on collision.

The injuries included a separated joint in her left shoulder and a broken hand.

It was a setback, but nothing was going to stop her from getting back to basketball and she was cleared to play two days before the one-year anniversary of her surgery.

During her first practice back, she tore the same ligament. This time her surgeon was going to make sure this would never happen again. He used a cadaver for her ligament and used a rare strategy to stabilize the joint.

“He took a chunk of my IT band and then he basically like weaved it in and out of the joint to stabilize it.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "He took a chunk of my IT band and then he basically like weaved it in and out of the joint to stabilize it."

Her knee feels stronger than ever. But the reality is she won’t play competitive basketball for the Griffins again. The fifth-year athlete didn’t want to leave the team though.

“The last two seasons I was just dealing with my own trauma and my own issues,” Wise said. “So I knew this season I wanted to give my 100 per cent all and help them as good as I possibly can in the role that I have.”

Right now she’s helping run practice. When she’s cleared, she’ll red shirt which means she’ll practice but won’t play.

It’s a tough road. There’s been ups and downs no doubt, but the 22-year-old knows she’s coming out stronger.

“There were times I didn’t think that I would be able to accept what happened,” she said. “I have continued to push through and rely on really close loved ones to help me through the tough times.

“It’s really rewarding to see myself feel mentally and physically as strong as I am today.”