Athens, Ga. (March 2, 2021) – Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center recognizes East Jackson High School athlete Emily Lawhorn as its first Athlete of the Month of 2021. The program recognizes a high school student athlete every month for their perseverance through an athletic injury or medical illness either on or off the field.
Lawhorn, a freshman on the school’s swim team, was nominated as the program’s Athlete of the Month in January after she experienced an injury to her shoulder last November.
“Emily experienced a subluxation in her shoulder which caused an injury to her bicep tendon in her shoulder – not an easy injury to overcome, especially for a swimmer who uses her shoulders a lot,” said Ryan Bussell, Piedmont Athens athletic trainer who works on campus with East Jackson High School athletes. “She started a recovery program right away, and she worked with our physical therapy and rehabilitation team.”
Bussell said Lawhorn’s program started by eliminating her pain and helping her regain the range-of-motion in her shoulder. She worked through physical therapy exercises to help her shoulder fully recover.
“Emily never missed a day or session,” he said. “She was always on time for her rehab visits, always putting in extra work and doing anything to help improve her chances of returning to her sport.”
In a special ceremony, the Piedmont Orthopedic Sports Medicine Group gathered to recognize Lawhorn as the team’s Athlete of the Month and celebrate her persistence to overcome such a difficult injury.
The Athlete of the Month Program was established by Piedmont Athens Regional’s Orthopedic Sports Medicine team in an effort to support and recognize local, hard-working student athletes.
“Each month, we focus on one high school and meet as a committee, which includes the school’s athletic director, other members of their team and members of the athletic training program,” said Katie Terrell, athletic trainer and outreach coordinator for the hospital’s sports medicine program. “These amazing athletes overcome so much in order to play each year, and we wanted to find another way to support them as well as our community.”
According to Bussell, Lawhorn showed up to her rehabilitation sessions ready to work hard, making her stand out. “Not all days in recover are easy,” said Bussell. “But Emily did not quit!”
As the Athlete of the Month for January, Lawhorn received an award and is now featured in the Orthopedic Sports Medicine facility located on Piedmont’s Oconee Health Campus in Watkinsville, Ga.
For more information about services offered through Piedmont Physicians Orthopedic Sports Medicine of Athens, visit piedmont.org/AthensOrthoSportsMed.