For the first time in my life, I have been faced with an injury that has kept me out of play for longer than a week and a half. On May 1, in our game vs Kristianstad, I suffered a knee injury 25 minutes into the game. I did everything I could to keep playing, but two corners and five minutes later, I had to come out. It was no longer possible for me to continue, and it was only fair to the rest of the team. I got an MRI, and I am just waiting on our doctor to confirm the results before announcing it, but what I can say is this is something I am determined to fight through, and I wont let it hold me back.
I have been doing rehab since day one, and for the first time I understand what all these girls with knee injuries have to deal with! From day one, I have done my best to have a positive outlook on this, because of course there are so many negative things I could focus on – the World Cup less than six weeks away being the main one. But instead, I have taken a different approach. I don’t have time to waste thinking about the negatives, focusing on things I cannot control, and wasting my energy on the intangibles. Rather I am putting this energy into my workouts, into my rehab, and into my nutrition. Doing everything I can to get myself back on the field, whenever that may be.
I know I can affect the healing of my injury through my workouts and rehab, not by moping around and complaining about “timing” or “why me.” Something not many people know about me is not only do I have several tattoos, but also the majority of them are quotes. They all have a special meaning to me, and remind me of different events or phases in my life I have been through. I believe wholeheartedly that if you put your heart and soul into believing in something, no matter what it is, it will work out in the best way possible for you.
The quote I relate to this is “Everything happens for a reason.” I truthfully think that if you deep down believe this, for every situation you encounter, it will work out for the best. I have been preaching this for so long, and now I have the chance to relate it to a big obstacle that has been thrown at me, and I know that this has happened for a reason. It’s not worth it to me to think about what that reason is, but I know after my rehab is done and I am back on the pitch, there will be a parting of the clouds, and I will understand it then. All you have to do is believe in it.
Stephanie Labbe is a keeper for the Canadian Women’s National Team and Piteå IF of Damallsvenskan.