TB12 Spotlight: Samantha Jacobson
Samantha Jacobson grew up in Wayland, Massachusetts, with a passion for sports. Her family of athletes was always staying active, so she played a sport every season, winter, spring, summer, and fall — until 2015 when she tore her ACL during her senior year of high school basketball.
The abrupt halt to her active lifestyle was devastating.
After surgery to repair her torn ACL, she started attending the TB12 Center as well as a physical therapy clinic recommended by her surgeon. Within the first few weeks after her surgery, her progress at the TB12 Center had surpassed the physical therapist’s expectations.
“My physical therapist was speechless at my progress, and when I told them of my accomplishments, they told me to slow down. Needless to say, my time at physical therapy did not last long,” she said.
Within weeks post-surgery, she stopped going to physical therapy and began attending the TB12 Center twice a week. After only eight weeks, she was able to run.
“To the ears of a surgeon and physical therapist, that was unheard of. Because of the excellent treatment I was receiving and the hard work I was putting in on my own, I was fully recovered and cleared within five months.”
This was just in time for her to head off to college as a freshman at Wake Forest University, where fully recovered and no college athletics ahead of her, she found a new passion.
“I wasn’t playing sports in college, and my family is crazy about working out, so I just started running after I tore my ACL.”
“I wasn’t playing sports in college… so I just started running”
A year and a half after fully recovering, she tore her ACL again.
“I know what you’re thinking… she tore it again? TB12 must not be that helpful — wrong. I tore it again because I was being stupid. I was skiing down a cliff with knee-deep powder in skis that were much too short for me and stubbornly decided wearing my brace was unnecessary… sorry, dad.”
She waited a few months until her sophomore year was over to have surgery so that she could come back to the TB12 Center to rehab. This time, she recovered even stronger and faster than the first time — running after seven weeks, cutting and jumping a few weeks after that and after three months she was fully recovered and headed to Sydney, Austrailia for her fall semester.
Then in April 2018, 11 months after her second surgery, in 35-degree weather, 40 mile per hour winds, and down pouring rain, she finished her first Boston Marathon in 4 hours and 7 minutes while running for Team Eye and Ear.
“TB12 not only healed me, but they made me stronger. They made me excited about working out, getting better, and made me more confident in who I am as an athlete.” The 2019 Boston Marathon will be her second marathon, one that she hopes to finish in less than 4 hours. “I would say I have two goals this year: break 4 hours and enjoy it — I want to have fun this year.”
“I have two goals this year: break 4 hours and enjoy it —
This Year, I want to have fun.”
The weather in 2018 may have put a slight damper on her first marathon, but it didn’t stop her from creating fond memories — like when her two older brothers ran with her at the legendary Heartbreak Hill or crossing the finish line for the first time.
This year especially, she has an opportunity to give back to something close to her and what she describes as one of the best experiences of her life.
“I am running because truthfully, the TB12 Center has changed how I see myself not only as an athlete but also as a person,” she said.
“I would love nothing more than to give my experience to someone else, especially a great athlete who deserves the TB12 experience.”
