Eating, Sleeping, and Breathing Soccer

Kiana grew up eating, sleeping and breathing soccer from the age of 4.

When she was 14, Kiana was a star in her region. She was one of the best 18 players in the province of Quebec and was a phenomenal center forward. She had speed, physical strength, and above all the spark in her heart and fire in her eyes.

However, after a tough season that was very demanding both mentally and physically, Kiana suddenly did not feel so invincible. “Sports impacted my life in the most beautiful way; it showed me what freedom, victory and courage felt like. However, I was about to learn what it was to be held back by both fear and physical limits,” recalled Kiana.

She had a bothersome pain in what she thought was her groin area, which quickly developed into an injury that threw her off the game and left her sleepless most nights. She had no choice but to take time off. From that point on, Kiana faced a year of despair, visiting multiple therapists, chiropractors and supposed “gurus,” only to find herself confused by all of their hypotheses and diagnoses. She was told that her pain – which felt much deeper than the groin at that point – was a pulled muscle in her groin, a sports hernia, and a variety of other assumptions. Nevertheless, the multiple MRIs and ultrasounds showed nothing of that sort.

“I had lost all hope, until I spoke my frustration and pain to my uncle, Paul, a brother of the Masons. He encouraged me to get to Shriners Hospitals for Children. I was eventually referred to Dr. Pauyo, who found an issue within an issue more complex than anyone I’d visited had caught onto. He teamed up with Dr. Saran to carefully analyze my MRI and X-ray taken at Shriners.. They had found that my labrum on the left side had suffered a hip labral tear, which never really healed,” explained Kiana.

The factor behind this tear was actually a result of hip dysplasia – a condition she was born with but was never diagnosed. After explanations were given, Kiana understood that it was her hip socket that was too shallow to support the ball of her hip joint, which resulted in cartilage tearing.

“Dr. Saran explained it all to me, and all I could do was blankly stare into his incomprehensible sketch he drew on the examination table paper next to me. He ended his explanation with a proposition. I could receive the surgery necessary to delay hip replacement or I could let time wear out my hips more and more. My only question in that moment was, 'will I be able to keep playing soccer'? Dr. Saran answered me with honesty, saying maybe not at the same level, but that he would certainly do everything in his power to allow me to get back to it. I could not really speak, I just cried in silence, overwhelmed by it all. Without really processing anything, I decided I would go through with the surgery, and from that moment on, Shriners took me in for the long run and showed me I had nothing to be afraid of,” said Kiana.

A week before surgery, a physiotherapist evaluated Kiana’s physical capabilities, from flexibility to hip mobility to muscular strength. Then she met with Dr. Saran’s assistant, who explained every detail, from the importance of sanitizing her body to only being allowed to consume water a few hours before the operation. Kiana then took a tour of the magnificent ocean-themed room she would be staying in after surgery. The day of surgery, she thought fear would hit her once she reached the hospital, but it was quite the opposite.

"When the time came for my surgery, I had Dr. Saran, his assistants and the anesthesiologist come to explain the procedure and how I would be asleep throughout the entire seven hours of it. Everything was exactly as they’d told me, as all I recall is laughing gas, and then nothingness,” said Kiana.

In order to avoid the pain she experienced in the left hip, the right hip also had to be operated on three months later. She went through physiotherapy with an exceptional woman named Naudira, who pushed her through her weakest days when she could not even lift one leg off the ground. “She believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. She saw me cry with frustration and was there to get me through it. Naudira never let me have it easy. However, as soon as she saw me getting comfortable with an exercise, she would push me to a new limit. After an entire summer of rehab, I was quite literally up and running come the fall. Dr. Saran told me that I had healed extremely fast and had more strength than I should have at that point in time.”

Seeing her desire to return to the game, Dr. Saran gave her permission as long as she would listen to her body and respect the limits. X-rays supported his decision as the bones in both hips had healed! Today, Kiana is back on the field playing at a semiprofessional level. In 2021, she was awarded by her native city (Laval, Quebec) the prestigious Prix Pierre-Marchand for her perseverance and determination to get back to playing soccer. She is currently in a recruiting process, looking to study and play soccer in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for a Division I or II team in the U.S. Nevertheless, in order to pursue her dream, Kiana will have to fundraise to pay off her tuition/expenses.

“I am beyond grateful for just the fact that I have come this far, I owe much of that gratitude to the wonderful Shriners Hospitals for Children — Canada and the brotherhood of the Shriners. They treated me like a priority every moment I spent there, and back home. For a year and a half, I found myself hopeless, and living in both physical and mental pain. The hospital showed me hope, and today I am back on track, working towards the ultimate academic and athletic goal I have always dreamt of,” concluded Kiana.