When Adriane Blaesing of Munster, IN, heard that her 15-year-old daughter Maria was given Munster High School’s cross country team “Most Valuable Runner” award, she was not only proud, but also a bit surprised. That’s because this season was Maria’s first on the cross country team. She had only recently started this sport as a way to cross train for her primary sport, swimming.
Adriane credits her daughter’s achievements in both running and swimming to a seminar conducted by Dr. Leda Ghannad, a sports medicine physician at Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush in Munster.
Adriane had encouraged Maria to attend the seminar to learn about the importance of sports injury prevention. Dr. Ghannad’s advice included the proper way to add mileage and the importance of taking calcium. But the advice that impacted Maria the most was how adding a second sport could benefit her body and her performance.
Maria’s results spoke volumes. She not only enjoyed success as a runner, but an injury-free season in both the pool and in her cross country competitions.
“I attribute a lot of Maria’s success to the wisdom that Dr. Ghannad shared.”
Unfortunately, her twin brother, also a cross country runner, didn’t have the same injury-free track record and sustained one to his hand when he fell during a practice. The family had faith in Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush, so they sought advice from hand, wrist and elbow specialist Dr. Robert Wysocki, who diagnosed a triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) tear. Dr. Wysocki recommended that Benjamin wear a splint and soon he was back to running, weight training and playing percussion with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra.
As a mother, Adriane is always concerned about her athletic twins’ risk of injuries as well as their very busy schedules. Maria, who plays the violin in addition to swimming and running, and her brother Benjamin, are prime examples of busy student athletes who also excel in the classroom. Although Adriane admits she worries sometimes about her children’s time management, she is reminded by Dr. Ghannad’s counsel that active students often see greater academic success and are healthier.
