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Inside the
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September 22, 2008 If there has been a theme in the 300+ columns I’ve done for this website, it’s the simple fact you can’t control what happens to you in life, but you can control how you react. That’s why I’m devoting this column to my daughter Jamie Fratto. Like a lot of kids in Novi, she was blessed with a college scholarship and is currently a freshman playing soccer at UNLV. She worked particularly hard over the summer to get ready for the rigors of college soccer, because she had the distinction of having to overcome 2 major knee surgeries by the time she was a junior in high school. During her sophomore/junior years, she never complained, never quivered, she simply took the challenge of rehabilitating head-on while dealing with the significant once-in-a-lifetime losses that go along with such a malady. Her hard worked paid off as she is having success at UNLV, garnering significant meaningful playing time, making the travel team and establishing herself as a contributing member to a top-flight nationally recognized program that has won its conference 4-years in a row, and owns victories over multiple nationally ranked programs in the last 3-years. But recently fate intervened again as the same knee kept swelling up and causing major issues. An MRI revealed she has no ACL!... And, apparently it’s been this way for a long time! The team physician informed her as long as she can deal with the pain and the on-going/daily regimen to minimize the debilitating symptoms, she could continue and postpone surgery until the end of the season. This time there will be a slightly different procedure used during the surgery and it will work to her benefit. In the meantime, Jamie’s toughness, intestinal fortitude and determination has allowed her to get the best of both worlds, and her willingness to accept this challenge yet again has turned bummer news into a positive. It has cost her time again and created a speed bump for her freshman year, but it gave her a chance to learn something about herself, and a chance to connect further with her coaches and teammates that empathize with her loss, but connect with her dedication and positive attitude. Her most recent setback will cost her time currently, but she’ll rebound better than ever and once again remind us that it’s not what happens to you in life, but how you react to make it a positive. Both on the field, and off the field… (c) 2008 Novi
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