Meet 
Braden Sakamoto

As I stood on second base, I knew a base hit would bring me home and tie up this game.  A crack of the bat from my teammate sent the baseball screaming into the gap in the outfield.  As I raced toward third, I felt a sharp pain in my knee that crumpled me to the ground.  I knew that pain all too well as I had experienced the same thing in my other knee 2 years prior.  A patellar dislocation with meniscal tear required me to have reconstructive knee surgery then, and it was going to be no different this time on my other knee. Same surgery, but the difference was my freshman year in high school started in 2 months.  Baseball season started in 6 months.  Rehabilitation from surgery took 6 months.  Whether it was the stars aligning perfectly or just dumb luck, it was still going to be tough work getting my knee ready for high school baseball. Fortunately, I made the cut and played on the frosh soph team my first year.  It wasn’t easy and I languished on the bench a lot that year.   With determination, practice and an extra year of recovery from surgery, I became the starting first baseman for the JV team the next year.

 

My name is Braden Sakamoto and I am a teenager who once dreamed about becoming a professional baseball player.  Now, I am chasing after a new dream!  I am focused on studying orthopedics to help people dealing with their own injuries as my doctors did for me. I hope this website, Orthopedic Talk, can be a place where we can share our stories, various helpful resources, and hopes to start the journey to recovery and pursuing dreams.     

 

After enduring 2 knee injuries and subsequent knee surgeries, I believe I have special insight to help me empathize with kids with similar experiences.  I know that immediate pain from injury.  I’ve experienced the anxiety of laying on that gurney awaiting to be wheeled into the operating room.  I remember the countless physical therapy sessions and frustrations of not being on the baseball field any sooner.

Despite these road bumps, I still love playing baseball.  Playing baseball as a high school student athlete has been rewarding and beneficial in many ways. Battling for my starting spot in friendly competition or playing against other teams in less friendly competition has taught me how to bring the best performance out of me when I need it.  Learning how to keep calm and maintain composure has been my biggest lesson learned from balancing academics and sports.  Handling pain and rehabilitation after my two knee surgeries, stopping that line drive down the line to save the game or just going through the daily grind of practice and homework has helped me learn how to handle any of life’s curveballs thrown my way. It would have been easy to drop baseball after my second knee surgery from fear of reinjury, lack of patience or motivation to rehabilitate or just to focus on only academics.  The joy given to me from baseball has been all worth it so far.

 

Hopefully, Orthopedic Talk can help to give kids with a similar experience a community to talk, listen and learn.  Thanks for visiting!