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>> My name is Brittany Boyd.
I play basketball, and I play for the New York Liberty.
>> Here's Brittany Boyd.
[ Whistle ]
To the hoop, and scores the hoop!
>> My name's Jo Hannafin.
I'm an orthopedic surgeon at the Hospital for Special Surgery, and I'm the co-director
of the Women's Sports Medicine Center.
So, Brittany Boyd had a rupture of her Achilles' tendon in the beginning of the season
in 2017, and it happened all of a sudden.
>> We were playing a game against Minnesota.
It was the second game of the season.
Came off a ball screen, and I thought somebody kicked me in the back of my foot.
So, I turned around, like, 'Yo!
Why'd you kick me?'.
Then I had some pain, so I tried to get up and walk, and I realized that I couldn't walk.
>> She was running along, she thought somebody kicked her actually in the back of the ankle,
which is a classic story when you rupture Achilles' tendon.
We saw her back in the training room, and she had torn it through and through,
>> And she squeezed my calf.
She was like, 'You tore your Achilles', and I was, like,
I didn't even know, not necessarily what it was,
but I didn't know exactly how big of a problem it would be.
>> So, within 2 days, I think, of her injury, we did a primary repair of her Achilles' tendon,
and it took her a full year of rehab to come back and play,
but it really took her a whole second year to get her quickness and her speed back.
>> So, the recovery process was 9-12 months, and it took me 12 months
to finally get back, like, playing the game.
But I started my rehab here in New York with our trainers, with the New York Liberty,
and once the season was over, I went back home.
>> Brittany was pretty sad right after it happened because it was the beginning
of a season where she just was ready to just accelerate into that season,
so I think emotionally it was hard, but I think the whole team rallied around her,
and she was present through the whole season.
She then went home to California, and rehabbed with a physical therapist there,
and was taken care of in the off-season by a friend who's an orthopedic surgeon,
who is actually her team doc in college.
>> I mean, she just really took care of me, and it was rough.
I'll tell you it was rough.
Like, it was really, like, struggle, but you know, she kind of kept me motivated,
and just kept me pushing, and we figured it out all at the end.
>> You know, every athlete I've taken care of who's at that sort of level, you're nervous.
The first time you watch them go flying down the court, you're nervous,
and then each time they do something, it gets easier and easier,
and it was fantastic this year to watch her, and win the first preseason game
because her quickness was back all the way.
>> I mean, you hear stories of people, like, 'Oh, you know, I tore my Achilles'.
I was never the same' or 'I did this, I was never the same', but for me,
I think once I just got over the issue of kind of that it happened,
that I felt like the only thing I wanted to do was recover, and do my rehab.
And kind of, yeah, get back to playing at a high level.
>> I don't think she thinks about it at all now.
She was probably at 90% last year in terms of her speed and quickness,
and now you watch her, she does crazy things!
She'll go flying down the court, dive for balls, and you know, she doesn't think about it.
You know, she can rebound-- get a defensive rebound against some women
who are probably a foot taller than she is because she's got springs in her legs.
And so, now, it's just fun to watch her, and I don't quite honestly even think
about her Achilles' anymore, I just like watching her play ball, so.
>> I'm extremely happy I chose HSS.
I think this is one of the top doctors in kind of the country, and you know,
especially you know, Dr. Hannafin.
She really took care of me as far as my Achilles', and I couldn't be more happy
that I did let her and allow her to, you know, do the surgery.
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