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In an ACL reconstruction procedure, the surgeon normally takes a hamstring tendon from the same leg of the injured knee to rebuild the ACL. But scar tissue around the Amelias knee prevented that. So the doctor had to go into the right hamstring to draw the tendon.

I think thats what upset me the most, Amelia said. I was like Dont let her cut into my other leg! But she did anyway.

Tommy added: It wasnt like she had a choice.

The second surgery brought good news. Amelias meniscus had begun to regenerate It was kind of like a miracle, Amelia said but that also meant a slower rehab process to allow the meniscus to fully heal.

Normally, people who have ACL surgery are off crutches after a week or two, Amelia said. But I ended up on crutches for about four months.

Shed also miss an additional three weeks of school.

After her injury, the Renners quickly got Amelia into see a counselor.

We said all along that the emotional part was going to be the hardest part, Tommy said. These kids, they work their whole childhood for this dream, and now the dream is gone.

Amelia said those discussions have helped, as well as talking with other athletes. Her physical therapy group ranges from patients 22 years old all the way down to a 9-year-old who blew out her knee playing rugby.

Shes even reached out to others, like Hockinson football player Peyton Brammer, who suffered a knee injury about a month after Amelia did. Amelias cousin is Micah Paulsen, a teammate of Brammer on Hockinsons boys basketball team.

When I found out that Peyton got hurt, I sent this big long text to my cousin and said please send this to Peyton, Amelia said. The surgeon who did my surgery did Peytons too. And then later, Peyton ended up in my group PT.

These discussions, Amelia said, helped her realize there is more to life than playing sports.

Now Im just a student; Im no longer a student-athlete, she said. Im no longer the athlete that I was, and Im never going to be the athlete that I was again. For me, the biggest part is realizing that.

As one of the sports she played when she was younger, Amelia opted to play golf at Prairie last spring, earning second-team all-league honors.

Prairie golf coach Paul Shapard told her if she put a quarter of the amount of time she put into volleyball into golf, she could maybe play at college, Tommy Renner said.

So last summer, as she worked to strengthen her volleyball skills, Amelia also took golf lessons.

After her injury, Amelia thought golf might allow her to remain a student-athlete at Prairie.

When she finally ditched the crutches in January, she was cleared to begin chipping and putting. By April, she got the go-ahead to start a full golf swing and return to high school sports, once she got a brace for her knee.

Like one of those braces linebackers wear, Amelia said.

Then the closure of schools, and with it all of spring sports, ended that dream.

But missing school is what hurt most for Amelia.

I had already missed a third of the beginning of my senior year, and now Im not going to have the rest of it, Amelia said. Its awful.

She worked so hard last summer to make her senior year of volleyball special, and in the first match, it was taken away.

Now working hard to get healthy enough to play golf, that was lost before it could even start.

But her athletic journey might not be over yet.

Last week, as she was resigned to just being a college student and attend Dixie State in Utah, Amelia was contacted by the volleyball coach at Ottawa University, a small NAIA school in Kansas, with a scholarship offer to play volleyball and golf.

I called my doctor and asked her about it, Amelia said. She said golf, Im confident you could play anytime now that you have your brace. Volleyball, youd have to redshirt a year and see. I cant guarantee that you could come back and play at that level. But Im not saying you cant do it either.

Amelias parents are apprehensive about the idea of her returning to volleyball.

But ultimately, the decision is hers to make, Tommy said.

Amelia added: For me, now, having the opportunity to play in college, something Ive dreamed about since seventh grade, and not taking it might be something I regret further down the road. So thats where Im stuck right now, trying to decide if its worth the risk.

Its another twist in a winding road for Amelia Renner over the past year.

In the end, she just hopes her story might help others just starting down their own road to recovery.

I want other kids to know theyre not alone, she said.

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Focus set on recovery: Prairie volleyball player shares story of recovery from ugly knee injury - The Columbian