I’ve had rheumatoid arthritis for 15 years along with fibromyalgia and osteoporosis. Over time, the combination of these three conditions made my feet turn and twist. It got so bad I couldn’t even wear shoes, instead wearing Crocs most of the time. For years, I felt like I was walking on rocks and oftentimes my pain level was a 10 out of 10.
I’ve been an athlete my whole life and have completed many marathons over the years. I love to run, cycle, and swim, so a triathlon was a natural progression for me. In my 30+ years of being an athlete, I’ve never had problems with injuries. I’ve had a sore knee here and there, but nothing major, so I would just ice it, rest and continue with my training when the pain and discomfort subsided.
On my third day of police academy in 2011, I experienced a terrible pain in my leg. I went to my local doctor and he said I had a torn ACL. There’s not too much you can do about a torn ACL (other than surgically repairing), so I put a brace on it and kept rocking with my police academy training.
Hello, my name is Katelyn Bergeron. I am 16-years-old and attend Oak Grove High School. I enjoy cheerleading, playing tennis and modeling.
My injury started when I was 15-years-old. I first noticed it when I was tumbling - it felt like my knee cap would slip out, causing sharp pains. I thought I was just sore and needed rest from cheering every single day. It turns out I was extremely wrong.
At the age of 61, I have had a history of rheumatoid arthritis. In addition, a recent fall resulted in me twisting my right knee. I started having some popping and swelling in my knee with weightbearing activities, which caused constant pain and discomfort when sitting.
My son, Jacob, who is in now in his senior year at Oak Mountain High School, plays football and wrestles for the Eagles. Unfortunately, at the beginning of the 2018 football season Jacob experienced a severe contact injury. During practice while his leg was planted, a teammate rolled into the side of his leg, resulting in a severe, left knee injury.
My son, Jaden, a senior at Homewood High School, was injured during summer football practice in late June, 2018. Jaden was participating in 7-on-7 drills as a defensive back and was covering a receiver. When Jaden went to plant his left foot, he felt his left knee buckle.
My weekday job is a Marketing Asset Manager for the Coca-Cola United Bottling Company, a career I have enjoyed for almost 20 years. However, my weekend passion is being a football official for the Southeastern Conference (SEC). I’ve been an official at the collegiate level for 18 years, previously officiating for the Southland, Ohio Valley and Sunbelt Conferences. I’ve been fortunate to serve as an SEC official the last 8 seasons and I'm look forwarding to my upcoming 9th season in 2019.
I have played tennis my whole life. When I was 22 years old I had an injury due to playing tennis and had my left knee scoped, while I was in college at Auburn University. I bounced back pretty quick because I was ready to get back on the court and to my regular active lifestyle.
My name is Tiffany Robinson Chandler and Dr. Jeff Dugas is one of my most favorite people.
I first met Dr. Dugas in 2003 when I had UCL surgery on my left elbow. Little did I realize that God had many more opportunities for Dr. Dugas and me to cross paths. In 2004 I had my first ACL surgery while doing gymnastics at Auburn University, but it wasn’t then that my relationship with Dr. Dugas started to form. I transferred my junior year, in 2006, to Troy University to cheer.