05/31/2017
Meet Holly! Dr. Tim Schrader's Patient.
Holly has always played sports growing up but a hip injury which led to a peri-acetabular osteotomy procedure on November 22, 2012 hasn't stopped her!
Holly is stronger than ever and her passion for rowing ended with her team being the first boat ever in her university’s history (Northwestern State University of Louisiana) to win gold at SIRA for both the men’s and women’s divisions. She was also chosen as a second team all-American rower along with a boat mate. After SIRA, she went to ACRA (American Collegiate Rowing Association) and won second in the nation there. Here is her story...
"Hi! My name is Holly!
I always played sports growing up. The sports I loved the most were competitive gymnastics and basketball. I went to an all-girls high school in Baton Rouge. My junior year, I began running cross-country. My hip started having noticeable pain in it when I would pound on the ground while running. I had never felt that before. I have a high tolerance for pain, so I knew if it was hurting, I should probably get it checked out.
I went to a bone and joint specialist who did x-rays and other extensive tests. I found out I did not have enough bone coverage on the hip socket. I was referred to Dr. Schrader in Georgia for an appointment. I had the peri-acetabular osteotomy procedure on November 22, 2012.
I went to physical therapy afterwards. I recovered quickly, and was running within three months after surgery. Even though I was running, everything about my left leg was stronger than my right leg. It took me two years (my first two years of college) to strengthen it completely. I took the stairs, and did exercises on my own. I decided to join the rowing team my junior year and that helped it a lot. As soon as I got on an erg machine, I had this confidence that this sport would bring my leg back to normal. After several months, I felt my right leg was just as strong as my left. It was not tiring out so quickly and it was keeping up. If anything, I would not have performed as well as I did in the sport of rowing without the surgery. Post-surgery, my hip no longer hurts. This allowed me to row at my optimal level and exercise on any range of easy to difficult outside of rowing too.
My second year of rowing, we had enough girls to make a four boat that could possibly medal at the SIRA (Southern Intercollegiate Rowing Association) championships. We ended up being the first boat ever in my university’s history (Northwestern State University of Louisiana) to win gold at SIRA for both the men’s and women’s divisions. I was also chosen as a second team all-American rower along with my boat mate. After SIRA, we went to ACRA(American Collegiate Rowing Association) and won second in the nation there. From there, we were able to race at the largest collegiate regatta in the United States, which was Dad Vail’s in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We placed 19th there, and you had to place at least 18th to advance to the next level. In the world of rowing, there is something called the Sub Eight club for girls, and it’s for any girl who can get below 8:00 minutes on her erg time test. My 2000meter erg time test was a 9:20 when I first joined crew, and I got it down to a 7:44 for my very last test.
This surgery has done more good for me than anything else. I am able to do hard-core exercising, and all sorts of things throughout the day that I would not have been able to do without the surgery."
