COMEBACK KID

LAKEWOOD RANCH — She had practiced it time and time again.

It was a skill she could practically do in her sleep.

So 13-year-old Mackenzie Goda didn’t think anything of it when she stepped onto the trampoline 16 months ago at Kids Supergym to warm up her back full.

She never imagined the “simple skill” would be the source of a catastrophic knee injury that nearly put an end to her flourishing gymnastics career.

But that’s exactly what happened in March 2010 when Mackenzie came out of her back full and landed awkwardly on her left knee. It buckled back and to the side. She stood on the trampoline in shock before a loud snap reverberated throughout the gym, causing Mackenzie to tumble onto the trampoline.

“It was very painful,” Mackenzie remembers. “I heard a really loud snap, so at first I thought I broke my leg. But then I realized it was actually my knee. I didn’t know what to expect. It was very scary.”

TREATMENT
Mackenzie sat on the side of the trampoline before being taken to Lakewood Ranch Medical Center for an X-ray. She was told she had torn her patella tendon — an injury doctors don’t see often.

Mackenzie then went to Sarasota Memorial Hospital for an MRI, which revealed she had torn her ACL, MCL, meniscus and patella tendon and had dislocated and fractured a piece of her tibia.

“My first thought was, ‘That’s terrible,’” Mackenzie said. “I was in shock. When it first happened I was in so much shock that I didn’t cry. The only time I cried was during the MRI when they had to move me.”

Doctors at Sarasota Memorial were unable to perform surgery on her knee, and Mackenzie was later referred to All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg. After looking at her knee, the doctors at All Children’s then referred her to Dr. Koco Eaton, an orthopedic surgeon in St. Petersburg.

“This was my first major injury,” Mackenzie said. “It was the first time I really needed to do to the doctor for something bad. I saw three different doctors, and that’s when I got really anxious and nervous.”

“It was pretty scary — just kind of the unknown of what it all meant and how and where to go,” said Amy Goda, Mackenzie’s mother. “One doctor said it looked like she’d been hit by a 300-pound tackle, and another said the only other injury he could compare hers to was someone who had jumped off of the (Sunshine) Skyway.

“Luckily we found a great surgeon, and he steered us in what to do,” Amy Goda said. “She did very well. She was kind of amazing. The only time she cried was when they actually had to move her knee. She’s just a positive girl, and she stayed very positive.”

Three days after sustaining her injury, Mackenzie met with Eaton, who scheduled her for surgery four days later.

RECOVERY
The next few days were particularly painful for Mackenzie, who fell ill from all of the pain medication she required. But a week after her surgery, the pain began to wear off, and Mackenzie started running errands with her mom and was able to return to school.

About a month later, Mackenzie began physical therapy, where she had to relearn not only how to bend and straighten her knee but also how to walk again.

“It was very weird learning how to walk again,” Mackenzie said. “I would take baby steps, and I looked like a robot. I had to pace it.”

Mackenzie also returned to Kids Supergym, where she began conditioning and continued her physical therapy. Over the summer, Mackenzie stepped back up onto the trampoline and began working on basic back handsprings and back tucks with a harness and a knee brace.

RETURN
Initially, Mackenzie’s doctor and physical therapist said there was a 50/50 chance that she would be back in the gym. Despite those odds, Mackenzie surprised everyone and began tumbling again in September — much faster than the doctors had thought possible.

“I think it was just the fact that I wanted to get back into it,” Mackenzie said. “I think if I wasn’t as happy or was more scared then it would’ve taken a lot longer.

“I actually really liked it,” Mackenzie said. “It was a little scary, but it was a very fun feeling.”

And on March 19, 2011 — exactly one year after her devastating injury — Mackenzie returned to the mat and the trampoline as a competitor in the 2011 2nd Qualifier.

“I thought it was so cool,” Mackenzie said. “It was such a coincidence. One year ago, I was in the operating room, and now I’m competing and doing everything I was doing before.”

Then on April 2-3, Mackenzie won trampoline and finished third in tumbling at the USA Gymnastics Trampoline and Tumbling Meet in Naples. Mackenzie also moved up to Level 9 status for trampoline and maintains Level 8 status for tumbling.

“It’s amazing what she’s done,” Kids Supergym coach Scott Bolingbroke said. “Some people would just give up, but she’s tough as nails. It’s challenging as a coach knowing when to push and how much to push, but she’s a good kid.”

Her mother agrees.

“You try to protect them and put them in a sport where they might not get hurt,” she said. “I took her out of gymnastics so she wouldn’t get hurt. But no matter what happens, she always stays positive. It’s nerve-wracking because I don’t want her to do it again. But as long as she’s got a positive attitude, then I can stay positive.”

Contact Jen Blanco at [email protected].