Last March, gymnast Laurie Singer underwent an operation to remove a bone spurt in her left knee.
It was her fourth knee surgery in 4 years.
Singer, a senior from Chapel Hill, suffered her first injury during her senior year of high school. During a floor routine, she performed a tumbling pass that ended in a double pike. But as she landed, her knee hyper-extended and popped. Doctors informed Singer that she had torn her right ACL, and she underwent surgery.
Singer would make a full recovery and competed with N.C. State her freshman year. But at the EAGL championships, she experienced dŽjˆ vu.
While warming up on the floor, her knee hyper-extended when she came out of a tumbling pass. She re-injured her ACL and required surgery on both her knees.
Singer relied on her family and God to help her through extensive rehabilitation.
“It’s been a hard journey,” Singer said. “So many doctors have told me, ‘you could quit’ and all this stuff. I never did. I wanted to continue to do what I loved. I really relied on God to get through everything. My family has always been there to support me through rehab basically every year.”
Singer is the second youngest child in a family of six. It includes two adopted brothers and a father who grew up with nine brothers and sisters.
Senior Kelsey Lee said the team benefits from the support of Singer’s family.
“They’re always at meets supporting me, supporting the entire team, coming with signs and dressed in red,” she said. “Her mom and dad have always just opened their arms to me; I basically live there. They’re very loving, open, and supportive of her.”
While she leaned on her family for support, Singer found the strength to continue with gymnastics through her relationship with God.
As a non-denominational Christian, she regularly attends meetings on Tuesdays with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
“We compete on Sundays so it’s a chance during the week for me to spend quality time with God,” she said. “It’s just been so much better this year with God in my life. I’ve grown so much closer to God. It’s helped my gymnastics drastically.”
This season, Singer has fully healed and will compete on both the uneven bars and vault. She still continues rehabilitation treatments to keep her strength up and must wear a large metal brace when she practices and competes.
Despite this, coach Mark Stevenson said Laurie is poised to have her most successful season to date.
“At one point, Laurie and I both talked about her stopping because of how many surgeries she’s had and the things that she’d gone through,” Stevenson said. “If you tell her specifically what to do, she gets it done. That’s what it takes coming off of surgery in order to get back and be successful. She’s the best she’s ever been right now.”
When Laurie was 3 years-old, her mother taught her how to do a cartwheel. Soon after, Mrs. Singer wasn’t able to pry her off the monkey bars at the playground. Her parents wasted no time in signing her up for gymnastics class.
Singer wouldn’t let go of the monkey bars as a child. After four knee surgeries, she wouldn’t let go of her passion either.
“Some doctors have mentioned, ‘you probably would be a good candidate for knee replacements when you’re older,’ but I try to disregard those things,” she said. “I never wanted to look back and say ‘I could have done this,’ and I didn’t. I wanted to know that, no matter what I did, I tried my hardest to do whatever I wanted to accomplish. Quitting never was an option for me.”
