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SARASOTA — Mikaela Braune’s life was consumed by pain. 

For the better part of two years, the Riverview High volleyball player struggled to make it through the day. 

Sharp pain reverberated through her hip and down her right side, causing her foot to shake uncontrollably at the slightest movement. Movement, the prominent trigger of her pain, proved to be the only way to make it stop. 

Initially, Braune was told it was a result of a stress fracture she probably sustained during her club volleyball season. When the pain didn’t subside at the end of club season, the then-sophomore had two 6.5-inch pins inserted into her right hip in June 2014. 

In the weeks following her surgery, Braune’s pain only intensified. She knew something wasn’t right. 

But after six doctor visits and six different opinions — ranging from a stress fracture, to a labral tear, to a mental breakdown — Braune wasn’t sure what to think.

Maybe it was her subconscious mind’s way of telling her she didn’t want to play volleyball anymore. Or maybe she had lived with the pain for so long that it had become a part of her. 

“I started to wonder ‘what if it’s all in my head,’” Braune says. “I just kept telling my mom, ‘I don’t want to see any more doctors.’” 

It wasn’t until this past June, when Braune made a trip to Boston Children’s Hospital, that she finally learned the source of her pain. Braune had a pair of osteoid osteomas, or benign bone tumors, in her hip. 

Osteoid osteomas light up the same way as fractures on an X-ray, and the pins blocked the tumor on Braune’s initial MRI. 

Braune underwent radioactive ablation, a non-invasive surgery, at the end of June. Doctors told her there was an 80% chance that she would no longer feel any pain.

“I didn’t want to believe it would take the pain away,” Braune says. “My life had been consumed by pain, so I didn’t want to believe it was going to take the pain away and then have it not. I didn’t want to get my hopes up." 

“I was excited that they found something new, but I was nervous and still resistant to believe surgery would fix it,” Braune says. 

Three days after her surgery, Braune was pain-free. She began working out two weeks later and returned to the court shortly thereafter to begin preparing for her senior season. 

Riverview opened its regular season Aug. 26 and is off to a 4-0 start. Braune recorded 23 digs in the Lady Rams' 25-6, 25-14, 25-6 victory against North Port Aug. 29. 

“It’s been awesome,” Braune says. “Those first games and practices, I was a little rusty. I felt bad that I wasn’t good. My coach just kept telling me, ‘It’ll come back. You’re just getting right back into it.’"

“I’m just excited to be playing again and not be guarded and play at my fullest potential,” Braune says. “It taught me a lot about patience and gave me a new appreciate for volleyball, too. Now, every day, I’m excited to be here.” 

Braune began playing volleyball in seventh grade after attending a handful of clinics. She stuck with it and after making Riverview’s varsity volleyball team as a freshman, Braune never looked back. 

“I like being with everyone, especially the girls that I play with, and the competitive nature of it,” Braune says.

Braune didn’t begin experiencing pain in her hip until the beginning of her Boomtown club season sophomore year. 

At first, Braune thought she might have tweaked her hip, but stretching did nothing to alleviate the pain. 

Braune, who is allergic to Ibuprofen, began taking 1,000 mg of Tylenol every four hours in an attempt to get some relief. It didn’t seem to help. 

“It was like a really intense growing pain,” Braune says. “I was scared. It really freaked me out.” 

But rather than taking a break, Braune pushed through the pain and finished out her club season. Following the season, Braune had surgery on her hip. Her doctor told her it would take time for the injury to heal; but nearly six months after the surgery, Braune hadn’t gotten any better. 

Braune attempted to play her junior year; but four games into the season, Braune could no longer push through the pain. 

“I didn’t work out and I just kept guarding it,” Braune says. “It was so bad. I was miserable for a year.” 

But even though she couldn’t play, Braune made it a point to attend every one of Riverview’s practices and games. 

“I felt like even though my pain wasn’t going to stop, I still wanted to be a part of the team,” Braune says. “I love being with them, and I wanted to be able to come back and be a part of the team.” 

At the same time, Braune began visiting other doctors in hopes of finding an answer for her pain. After looking at her scans, doctors thought she had a labral tear, which would require surgery and six months of rehabilitation. 

Braune was in the process of getting fitted for a brace when she flew to Boston for one final opinion. It was there that Braune received the diagnosis that would completely change her way of life.

“I never had to take pain medicine again,” Braune says. “It was so weird. The pain medicine became addictive, so it was awesome to not have to count pain pills.” 

Contact Jen Blanco at [email protected].