The Fight to Return: Biggs Determination Wins
James Coller
The Ashland Beacon
Three letters flipped Audrey Biggs junior season upside down last year.
ACL.
While competing at the AAU Nationals with the West Virginia Thunder on July 6th in Indianapolis, Biggs felt something that no athlete hopes they experience; a pop in her knee.
“I didn’t know because I had never experienced something like that,” Biggs said. “But I knew that something was definitely wrong. I went down and (my knee) popped. I got off the floor and walked off by myself, but I knew something didn’t feel right.”
A look to the stands and seeing the emotion on her father Brian’s face quickly allowed Biggs to understand the extent of the uneasy feeling in the knee.
“I knew it was a bad moment when I saw my dad crying,” Audrey said.
The trainer on site suggested Biggs consult a doctor for a final prognosis but she knew inside the result, a torn ACL. The Biggs family traveled to Cincinnati Childrens’ Hospital where her intuition was correct, the ACL had been torn and there was still one person that needed to hear about her injury.
Boyd County coach Pete Fraley.
Fraley recalled being at his daughter Logan’s house when he received the phone call from Brian and was a bit confused when he saw his number on the phone.
“I knew that it was the dead period and coaches couldn’t talk to players,” Fraley said. “I said, what’s up and (Brian) said, ‘are you sitting down?’ My first thought was she has gotten a big time offer but then I was thinking they can’t talk to her, so I asked him if I needed to sit down. He said, ‘Audrey tore her ACL.’”
Even though Audrey could not see her coach when she took the phone to speak with him, she said she could feel his remorse from his words.
“When I called him, I couldn’t tell if he was crying or not, but I could tell he was broken inside,” Biggs said. “I was obviously sobbing and he said, ‘Sis, you are going to be better for this’ and when it happened I was like, there’s no way. But today, I truly believe that I’m the best version of myself mentally and physically because I went through this.”
Fraley connected with Audrey once the family returned home.
“I walked in and there she laid,” Fraley said. “I’m crying, she’s crying because it means something to her. She started apologizing and I was like, why are you apologizing to me for. I told her it was all good and for her to do whatever she needed to do to come back.”
DECISIONS
After learning of the extent of the injury, Biggs also learned that that she had decisions for the type of surgery to have after a medical breakthrough had created a path to quicker recovery than the typical nine to 12 months.
“Basically, it's a fertilized ACL and they take your stem cells and inject them into the fertilized ACL,” Biggs said of the new procedure. “It's supposed to be faster and make it stronger.
“We were a little hesitant about it at first because it's a new surgery,” Biggs continued. “A girl in the West Virginia Thunder (travel team), she just tore her ACL as well and had this same surgery. She was a couple weeks out when I tore mine and they knew, so they gave my parents a call and said this is what you need to do. We checked it out and talked to Dr. Chad Lavender.”
The Biggs family elected for the fertilized ACL and Audrey was ready to go to work with a goal of returning to the court this season.
“I never dreamed she would play again this year,” Fraley said. “She was the one who said I was coming back this year. I told her to go get ready to go play in the exposure events this summer and in July and I’ll see you Oct. 15 and she said, ‘no coach, I’m coming back (this year).’”
THE ROAD TO RECOVERY
Biggs went to work as soon as the surgery decision had been made knowing the more she did pre-surgery, the better off she would be in post.
“I worked my tail off for four weeks in prehab in Grayson,” Biggs said. “The stronger I got my knee in prehab, the easier it was going to be for rehab right after surgery.”
Biggs recalled the morning of her surgery on Aug. 3 and the uneasy feeling she had with the unknowns that stood between her return to the court.
“It was surreal that morning of surgery,” she said. “I don’t know if I was ready for it or not, but I knew that after that, it was only up from there.”
Biggs went to work only two days after surgery admitting she was far from herself.
“I was sicker than a dog,” Biggs said. “I was nauseous and weak, but I made a promise to my dad, from that day on I was going to work my tail off to get back faster than anyone ever has.”
Fraley recalled seeing Biggs moving around less than two weeks after her surgery and knew her determination was off the charts.
“10 days out from surgery she was walking and I was like, she might do this,” Fraley said. “She would send me videos (from rehab) and I would ask her if she was allowed to do that stuff. She’s had great care, but she’s also pushed herself. They recommend you go two days a week, sometimes three but she went every day. She would leave therapy sessions and come here and workout.”
With Boyd County preparing for its upcoming regional title defense on the hardwood, Biggs’ teammates worked on the court while she pushed herself to complete a walking lap around the gym. Fellow teammate Jasmine Jordan said seeing the drive Biggs was demonstrating provided her another level of drive that she did not know was possible.
“It was so motivating because I saw her that first week after surgery and I could’ve cried,” Jordan said. “She couldn’t walk and she was just trying to walk around the gym and I thought, that could be me. So, I wanted to push harder for her because that could be me in that situation.”
One month post-op, Biggs said she could see light at the end of a tunnel for the first time.
“I remember my leg looking so small that it just didn’t look right at all, but around the four-week mark, I was starting to run again,” Biggs said. “It's usually around the four-month mark when you start running. I knew then, something was different about me than someone else and I think that is all because of how hard I worked in prehab.”
RELEASED
As Biggs continued to grind through the rehab process, the Boyd County junior set her sights on a return around Christmas and a visit with her team of doctors did not provide a response she had hoped for.
“She thought she was going to get released in December and I told her, you’re not getting released in December,” Fraley said. “It was four months and five days from surgery and I told her, I’m going to the doctor with you. I texted her mom and dad and told them whenever they go to the doctor, I would like to go. I had questions for the doctor, too.”
The words Biggs desired were not far away as her January visit was the reward for the work she had put in to rejoin her squad on the court.
“We had multiple dates because I went to the doctor before and I didn’t get released,” Biggs said. “This was around five and a half months and you don’t get released at five and a half months. So, we regrouped and went back and I got released on Jan. 23 and the next game was Ryle. Coach was like, ‘Audrey, it's Ryle and they are ranked highly in the state. Are you sure you are ready?’ I told him, (the doctor) just released me and I’m playing Ryle on Friday.”
JANUARY 27
With the regular season winding away, Biggs wanted as much time on the floor with her squad and regardless of the opponent, Biggs was eager to return. The decision was made for her to rejoin the team when they played host to Ryle and Biggs joked that everyone was more nervous than she was for her return.
“I think my parents were more nervous than anything,” Biggs laughed. “I think my mom came out to the concession stand and cleaned the popcorn machine three times because she couldn’t watch. It’s something that I’ll never forgot because the community made it so special for me and it made the work that I put in so much better.”
Fraley met with his assistant coach Dan Rousey before the game to develop a Biggs return.
“We talked prior to the game and decided to let the game get flowing first and around four minutes, we would get her in,” Fraley said. “It was getting close to that four-minute mark and I was just looking at him like, are you going to sub her or am I? When he put her in, the smile that come across her face, she was just happy to be back out there. I’m just happy for the kid.”
Anxiously waiting the nod from her coaches, Biggs recalled the advice her father had given her before the game for when she got the call.
“I was trying to hide all of my emotions because my dad told me you’re a player and that’s all it is,” Biggs said. “You can’t go out there being nervous or being scared that you could get hurt again. So, I just went out there and when the announcer said, checking into the game…I was like, I’m in the game. At first, I was going 100 miles an hour but after we went up and down the floor a couple times and I slowed down, it was go time. It just clicked.”
Biggs finished with 11 points and three rebounds in 20 minutes of action in Boyd County’s 57-50 loss to Ryle. Although the outcome was not one the Lions had hoped for, Biggs teammate Taylor Bartrum said it was amazing seeing Biggs return to the court.
“I was hyped,” Bartrum said. “She had waited so long and to love the sport and not be able to play it and have to watch it, it's just hard.”
Jordan echoed the words of Bartrum.
“It was so awesome,” she said. “I was super proud of her and glad to have my teammate back.”
WORDS OF WISDOM
As Biggs chronicled her recovery on social media, friends and supporters of her offered words of encouragement as she strived to overcome the odds of a return this season. While the words were often of support, Biggs said there were those who felt as if she was trying too hard.
“I had people question me every day,” Biggs said. “Whether it was through social media or just face-to-face. But Coach (Fraley) has been through every phase with me. He’s taken me to therapy, so he knows how hard I’ve worked during this, but he’s had to hold me back a little bit. But my parents told him, you can’t hold her back. That’s not her.”
Biggs said her biggest hurdle along the way was overcoming the mental side in her return to the court.
“That was one thing I was scared about through all of this of when I could start playing again is that I would be scared or have the nerves,” Biggs said. “I just trusted the work that I put in and it's been a blessing.”
Fraley touted the work ethic of Biggs for anyone interested in Biggs at the next level.
“If you thought she could play prior to the injury and you see how hard she’s worked to get back from that injury, that’s a no brainer for me,” Fraley said. “She’s going to work. You don’t have to question her work ethic.”
Biggs has played in nine games for Boyd County this season and is averaging 14 points and six rebounds a game.