Arlington Teen Makes Comeback After Accident

ARLINGTON, MA — There's no real photo of her with her crutches, even though for nearly four months those crutches were the only way Molly Lombard could get anywhere. Any event or photo op with friends meant tossing the crutches to the side and posing with that classic smile of hers.

For Molly, the crutches were always a temporary means to an end. One that she was ever working to get to.

Last May, during a lacrosse game at Arlington Catholic, Molly was checked by an opponent, she stumbled and fell funny on her leg and broke it. It was so bad she went into surgery the next day and had to have a titanium rod and two screws put into her leg. She was to be out of commission for the entire year, her doctor told her.

"Her injury, obviously was one that you don’t see often, and you really don’t want anyone to go through that," said Phil Mastro her athletic trainer at Arlington Catholic.

But it took less than a year for Molly. After seven months of physical therapy like it was her job, the doctor cleared Molly in November. This month she's gone downhill skiing (despite her nervous father) and is back into Irish Step dancing full time. And now, some eight months after she was sidelined, 98.5 FM named Molly Lombard "The Sports Hub Comeback Athlete of the Month," recognized her on air this week and gave her an award, which is given by the radio station in conjunction with ProEx Physical Therapy.

No dancing

Back in May, her doctor told her she was not to do any activity that was considered “impact.” No more lacrosse, basketball, biking, or field hockey. No running, no walking without crutches and .... no dancing for the teen who was all set to go to regionals with the Irish step group she'd been a part of since she was 4 and the competition she'd been preparing for for months.

“It was painful… All summer we do all this fun stuff and it was hard to stay back and not participate,” said Molly.

Molly’s mother had grown up dancing and had introduced it to her daughter to the dance when she was just 4. Molly had loved it. Normally Molly would go to dance class five days a week, some Saturdays spending seven or eight hours practicing. Her dream? To dance competitively overseas.

Something different here

Mastro, the athletic trainer at Arlington Catholic said he knew from the second day that he saw Molly, she was something different.

Two weeks after surgery Molly was back in school, hopping along with her crutches and visiting him asking for tips and a strategy to get back in the game. That's when he knew she was going to be different.

"It was obviously traumatic for her. But she had the will and she didn’t want to give up. She wanted to work through everything and no matter what happened she was very gung-ho about getting better and the whole time with a smile on her face."

Molly, he said exemplified the kind of person who had the will to get better and someone that really put in a lot of effort and time. Mastro, who has worked with pro athletes in the past, said Molly had the mentality of a high level athlete. Normally, he said, teens or adults will go through stages of disbelief, anger, sadness, unwillingness to do anything to help themselves and a trainer has to work hard to convince and help them through those steps, to get them rehabing regularly as soon as possible. Mastro (who is a ProEx Physical Therapy certified athletic trainer) recommends within 48 hours of surgery, even. But it's not easy to get someone out of a sick bed when they're not feeling it.

As for her part, Molly said she’d seen other people complain about their injuries and dwell on them and she decided she wouldn’t do that.

Teachers, coaches and her physical therapists and athletic trainer say they were impressed by the then 15-year-old's approach.

“She was wicked positive,” said her mom, Colleen Lombard, an Arlington teacher.

And that, they say, is what helped Molly come back faster than anyone expected.

"For someone that young to show the will to work and the understanding of getting back to sport quicker just shows her maturity," he said.

And that, he said, is why he nominated her for the recognition.

There are some 24 clinics in the Boston area and nearly a dozen schools with ProEx programs, each can nominate an athlete for the recognition each month, according to a ProEx representative. And Molly beat out all those nominations for the month of December.

As if that wasn't cool enough...

Molly and her mother said they were excited to hear that news, but were even more excited to get another piece of news.

Molly headed back to dancing practice as soon as the doctor cleared her. It was the first time she remembers being nervous about going to the studio. But she got back right in, with hugs and welcomes from the team there. And even though she missed the regionals, the director of her dance studio picked her to go to Ireland for an international Irish Step Dance competition in February. She'll be there, one of a team of eight chosen to compete in Ceilighy Dancing.

"This is very big. This is the first time such a big group from our studio has gone to compete against people all over the world," said Molly.

"She really worked hard and I’m so happy that we have this opportunity for her to go to this big dance competition and do what she’s always always wanted to do in Ireland," said her mom.

What's Molly's big takeaway from the whole experience?

"I feel like I took things for granted," she said. Little things like walking on your own to biking to all of the activities her family does together. "I appreciate it all so much more now," she said. And lesson two; "hard work does pay off. If I had just slacked back, I definitely wouldn’t be going to Ireland."

o ProEx Physical Therapy started the award with Sports Hub in September, and do this monthly throughout the football season.

Photo courtesy Molly Lombard and family