Macomb Lutheran North Standout on Mend After Knee Injury

October 3, 2023

Macomb Lutheran North freshman Emiliana Manzo has already achieved a long list of accomplishments, including a 3.8 grade-point average while juggling two sports she loves.

Henry Ford HealthAs a point guard, she led her basketball team to an undefeated season in its division. She is also a center attacking midfielder, sometimes playing forward, on the 2009 Nationals Girls Academy Blue soccer team, ranked No. 1 in Michigan and 14th in the country.

In June of 2022, Emiliana hit a detour on her sports journey when she was participating in a club soccer national championship in Oceanside, Calif. With a few seconds left in the game and her team up 2-1, she ran 20 yards full speed to get to the ball. Hyperextending her left knee, she felt two pops. It was the first time she experienced an injury.

“I was screaming and crying and got taken off the field on a golf cart,” explains Emiliana. The trainer felt she was OK. Fortunately, she had the next day off and her knee was feeling better. The following day she played again, and 20 minutes into the game she knew there was an issue.

“Someone hit me from behind and I heard the pop again. I knew there was a problem.”

Emiliana’s father Vince Manzo said she experienced swelling, and the athletic trainer thought she may have a meniscus injury; however, she was able to continue to walk around during the championship in California before heading home.

Finding the Right Provider

Back in Michigan, Emiliana saw a few surgeons during her evaluation to seek treatment. When she met with Vasilios Bill Moutzouros, MD, chief of Sports Medicine at Henry Ford Health, she felt she met the right match.

“He treated me like an athlete and made me feel really comfortable,” she says.

Macomb Lutheran North freshman Emiliana Manzo is recovering from a knee injury.Vince adds that both he and Emiliana were also appreciative of something Dr. Moutzouros said during her evaluation: “He emphasized to Emiliana that she was an athlete before this injury, and she would be an athlete after the injury.”

A detailed evaluation by Dr. Moutzouros revealed Emiliana had a complete anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear and medial and lateral meniscal tears. The meniscus, a C-shaped piece of tough, rubbery cartilage, acts as a shock absorber between the shinbone and the thighbone. It is one of the most common knee injuries. The ACL, one of the strong bands of tissue that help connect the thigh bone (femur) to the shinbone (tibia), is also prone to injury during sports when there are sudden stops or changes in direction.

Emiliana required physical therapy to get the swelling down and increase mobility before surgical repair.

Dr. Moutzouros reconstructed her ACL with her own patellar tendon graft and repaired her medial meniscus.

“She handled the surgery well and has been working very hard in her rehabilitation,” he says. “Her high-level soccer experience likely helped in her recovery as her range of motion and strengthening advanced so quickly.”

Understandably, Emiliana was nervous and scared when she went into surgery but expressed appreciation for the little things from Henry Ford like hearing “great music” as she was entering surgery, which gave her a sense of calm.

“That’s when I knew I picked the right doctor,” she said.

The Road to Recovery

As part of her recovery, after surgery which took place in July of 2022, Emiliana has undergone six months of physical therapy to increase mobility and strength training to get her leg strong again.

She also participated in the Return to Sport Program at the Henry Ford Center for Athletic Medicine to optimize recovery.

“We loved it,” says Vince. “It gave us peace of mind.”

Dr. Moutzouros explains that ACL prevention and rehabilitation programs are critical, especially for women because they have a four times greater risk of ACL tear than men. He says performance training post-surgery, along with an injury prevention program for those playing cutting sports, can markedly reduce the likelihood of future ACL injury.

“At Henry Ford, we work with physical therapists across the Midwest as well as our own. They do a great job in following our Henry Ford specific post-ACL reconstruction protocol,” he says. “After therapy runs its course, we strongly encourage our athletes to undergo performance training to allow a smooth transition back to sport.”

Nick Parkinson, supervisor of Athletic Training and Sports Performance at Henry Ford Health, emphasizes that the return to sport program is designed to bridge the gap between rehabilitation and returning to full activity in your chosen sport.

“Many times, insurance limits rehabilitation to regaining activities of daily living and not necessarily rebuilding the skills needed to play a sport or return to activity,” Nick says. “This program provides an affordable option to fill this need and return athletes to competition at the highest level.”

As for Emiliana, who hopes to play soccer in college and pursue a career in the medical field, she says this experience has taught her to not be afraid of injuries and treatment. She has also used the experience to volunteer for a program through the Girls Academy which serves as an advisory board to come up with ideas to help with mental and physical issues girls her age may be facing.

“For other kids who experience injuries, I’ve learned that this does not define you,” she said. “You can push through it, recover from it and be way better than you even were before.”

To find a sports medicine doctor or athletic trainer at Henry Ford, visit henryford.com/athletes.

HEARTSafe School Video Contest to Assist in Promoting Cardiac Awareness Month

By Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor

April 19, 2022

April is Michigan Student Athlete Cardiac Awareness Month, and the Kimberly Anne Gillary Foundation is partnering with the MHSAA to promote cardiac awareness – and providing an opportunity for students to join the effort and earn $5,000 for their school.

Michigan has lost at least 81 students to sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) and related causes since 1999, according to data compiled by the Kimberly Anne Gillary Foundation. Randy and Sue Gillary lost their daughter Kimberly to a cardiac arrest in a high school water polo game in April of 2000.

Cardiac Awareness MonthThe MI HEARTSafe School Video Contest will promote student-produced videos highlighting the importance of Michigan schools becoming a Mi HEARTSafe school. The winning entry will be chosen by Kimberly Gillary’s three sisters and will receive $5,000 for the winner’s school. Entries are due May 13; see the Kimberly Anne Gillary Foundation website for details.

Randy and Sue Gillary founded the Kimberly Anne Gillary Foundation, a 501 (c)(3) charitable foundation within days of losing Kimberly. The mission of the Foundation is to donate automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to Michigan high schools and to advocate cardiac screening and testing of Michigan high school student athletes.

A major drive of the foundation is for every Michigan school to become a MI-HEARTSafe School. This is a designation given by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHSS) when a school has met the criteria to demonstrate it is prepared to respond to a cardiac emergency on school property. Schools receive a banner and other materials that can be displayed in the school to let those who attend and visit know that the school is a MI-HEARTSafe School.

“The goal of our Foundation is to try to prevent other parents from going through what we went through with the loss of our beloved Kimberly,” Randy Gillary said.  “We are proud to be partnering with the MHSAA in promoting cardiac awareness for Michigan’s student athletes. The MHSAA has been a leader in helping to change the culture in the state of Michigan to make our Michigan high schools more focused on being prepared to respond to a cardiac emergency on school property.

The Kimberly Anne Foundation has raised more than $1.68 million and has donated more than 825 AEDs to Michigan high schools.

“We believe that the vast majority of Michigan high schools now have at least one AED,” Randy Gillary said. “Most high schools did not have an AED when we lost Kimmy in 2000. Michigan high schools are now in a much better position to respond to the sudden cardiac arrest of a student athlete. AEDs donated by the Kimberly Anne Gillary Foundation to Michigan schools have been used to provide defibrillation shocks to save at least nine lives.”