Applaud our high school athletes

I am the proud parent of a high school gymnast.

I love reading about all of the gymnasts' accomplishments in the Local Sports section of the Herald. Our conference is the toughest and most competitive in the state. Going to watch these girls at meets is as exciting as any professional sporting event I've ever attended.

It's especially exciting when your team or your daughter is doing well and makes it to the podium for awards. I've been there and bragged about that.

However, this year is a very different experience. Last year my daughter, Abby, tore her ACL and suffered an evulsion fracture of her tibia after a fall during her opening tumbling pass of her first high school meet.

She needed major reconstructive surgery and 10 months of intensive physical therapy. She stayed positive, kept training, and dreamed of one day being able to compete again in the sport she fell in love with when she was 5 years old. This season she is slowly making her way back.

I've always felt it important for my children to be involved in sports because of the life lessons they can learn from such involvement, but this experience has far surpassed any challenge I thought would be faced during participation in a high school sport. Many gymnasts face injuries that not only hurt their bodies but also end their hopes and dreams.

Some of them do manage to persevere and return to the sport. These returning athletes deserve our admiration and respect as much as the top scoring gymnast of the meet. They too are champions of the sport.

So, the next time you see the varsity gymnast from Prospect with two knee braces and a look of focused determination trying to stay on the beam, please cheer for her. She deserves it more than you can imagine.

That's my girl!

Wendy Meyer-Gonzalez

Mount Prospect