Soccer coach ruptures Achilles tendon on the field and needs surgery to repair it
After rupturing his Achilles tendon during practice, Mahntie was pleasantly surprised by how well his incision was healing when he got back on his feet.
Coach Mahntie Reeves, 49, was in the middle of soccer practice with his team when he simply stepped backwards and heard a loud pop!
“I did not do anything fancy, like a backflip,” said Mahntie. “The boys heard the pop, too. It hurt immediately.”
Mahntie said he hobbled through the rest of practice, dragging his foot around, and then he went straight to an urgent care center. Doctors there told him he had ruptured his Achilles tendon, which connects the calf muscle to the heel bone, and they put him in a boot to protect his foot. He quickly made an appointment with sports medicine specialist Dr. Geoffrey Millican to determine how to repair the tendon and get back on the soccer field as soon as possible.
“Mr. Reeves needed surgery to repair the damage to his Achilles tendon,” said Dr. Millican, orthopedic surgeon at Methodist Hospital | Texsan. “This type of injury is more common in sports that require lots of running and jumping. And it takes time to heel.”
His surgery was scheduled for July 27 at Methodist Hospital | Texsan, a premier orthopedic hospital. He said the team there took great care of him.
“There was an army of people taking care of me before surgery, during and then afterwards,” said Mahntie. “From the head nurse, to the anesthesiologist, to the guy who pushed me into surgery, they were all very attentive. I never had any questions because they were so thorough.”
Mahntie was able to go home the same day of his surgery to start his recovery.
“This experience has definitely taught me patience and discipline. But I’m listening to Dr. Millican and doing the exercises he gave me,” said Mahntie. “I find it amazing. I thought it was going to leave a big scar, but he said to put Vitamin E on it and draw the alphabet with my foot to work on flexibility. It looks so much better.”
Mahntie hopes he will be back on the soccer field in six months with his team. He said that would make him very happy.