When Amanda Jager severely twisted her ankle only half a mile into a routine four-mile run, she thought she’d never run again. 

The terrible injury occurred on June 19, 2023, early in the morning. 

“I was running with my best friend and training for a big race,” said Amanda, a kindergarten teacher at Crestview Elementary School in Springfield. “I’ve never been in so much pain in my life. When I landed on my foot, we were going downhill, and I remember looking at (Shelby), and she said, ‘don't look down at your foot just yet.’ My foot was twisted in a way it shouldn’t have been.”

After a trip to the emergency room, it was determined that Amanda had dislocated her ankle. The doctors told her it would have been better if she had broken it, but unfortunately that was not the case. She was placed into an air cast and referred to physical therapy. 

Shortly after, Amanda was introduced to Melanie Wright, a Physical Therapist Assistant at STAR Physical Therapy in Springfield, who has been with the practice for over 14 years.

In their first meeting, Amanda shared how she desperately wanted to get back into running but was terrified to do so. Thankfully, she felt an instant connection to Melanie, who also shares a love for running, and she was able to start slowly working through her fears. 

“I felt like a sister bond with her,” said Amanda. “I told her I didn’t want to be that pushy patient, but it was also so important to me because (running is) what I do.”

The feeling was mutual, according to Melanie. 

“She is super bubbly, definitely a kindergarten teacher,” said Melanie, who enjoyed her time working with Amanda. “She has the best personality and loves to talk. She’s just the sweetest.”

Amanda started out seeing Melanie three times a week at STAR Physical Therapy for hour-long sessions. “I never had any doubts about her treatment plan, and she’s very athletic, so I knew she would be able to get back to running if she set her mind to it,” said Melanie.

Over the course of the next few weeks, Melanie worked diligently with Amanda to strengthen her ankle and increase her range of motion. 

“I’ll never forget, it was a few weeks in and I said, ‘be honest with me,’ because we had been doing the same routine (every time), ‘do you think I will be able to run by Halloween?’” recalled Amanda. 

Melanie’s answer surprised, excited, and scared her: Now that her boot was off, Amanda would attempt to run for one minute on the treadmill at their next visit.

The next week, when Amanda got on the treadmill with Melanie cheering her on by her side, she not only completed one whole minute pain free, but she went for five minutes because it felt so good. 

“I cried like a baby because I never thought I’d be able to do it again because it hurt so bad, and I had never taken that much time off from running before,” said Amanda. 

After a few more sessions running on the treadmill, Melanie was confident in Amanda’s ability to run, and she determined that Amanda was ready to “graduate” from physical therapy. Amanda’s last day with Melanie at STAR Physical Therapy was September 8, not even three full months after her injury occurred.

Although nervous, Amanda was excited to start getting back to her old routine of running, coaching cross country, and teaching spin classes. Additionally, she had to train for an upcoming marathon she agreed to run with her friend Shelby in Disney World.

“We started running every weekend, and I got up to 7 miles, then did a 10-miler, then we did a 20-mile route,” said Amanda. “The next morning, I couldn't wait to pull into the parking lot at STAR to tell them what I did.”

Melanie was shocked but thrilled to see Amanda come back through those doors, this time in much higher spirits. “We always love it when patients come back to see us. I knew she would do great, but she was so fearful throughout her PT, and I thought it was wonderful that she was back at it,” said Melanie.

Although Amanda admits this injury was incredibly hard for her to overcome both physically and mentally, she was glad to have a physical therapist like Melanie at STAR Physical Therapy to help her through the process.

“She’s never just, ‘You’re here for an hour and then you gotta go.’ You can talk to her about everything, and she has such a good rapport with her patients. I felt lucky to have worked with her,” says Amanda. 

Back to running marathons within months of a debilitating injury thanks to great care, hard work, and determination. Way to go, Amanda!