Fontana remains optimistic

[PonyPride]

Injuries are part of football — those who play it know that before they take the field.

But many of those injuries are minor, like sprained ankles and the never-ending bumps and bruises that are part of the game. Even the more serious injuries that can end a player's season, like a torn knee ligament, require shorter recovery time than in years past.

But the injury that ended SMU offensive lineman Joey Fontana's freshman season in 2009, when his left knee got blown up when a teammate rolled into it just days before the team flew to Hawaii for the Mustangs' first bowl appearance in 25 years, was different. Fontana underwent reconstructive surgery right away, but damage to the peroneal nerve in his left leg left him with minimal control of his foot or feeling below the knee. Fontana underwent another procedure April 20 to alleviate the compression on the damaged nerve in an effort to help him regain feeling in his foot.

Fast-forward almost four months, and Fontana has returned to SMU, where he has spent recent mornings by following his rehab work with a walk to the Pettus practice field, where he has watched his teammates as they begin preparations for the 2010 season. Inside his left shoe, Fontana wears a brace designed to help him maneuver his foot.

"It's definitely getting better," he said Tuesday. "The doctor who did my (second) surgery said she expected me to show improvement in five-to-nine months, so that would be September. But I'm already seeing some."

Fontana's rehab includes extensive cardiovascular work and a huge array of exercises, some of which (lunges, squats, wall sits) use his body weight for resistance; others, like calf-raises, employ weights to strengthen his leg.

Fontana has seen tangible evidence of improvement in his leg. After the second operation, he could touch his leg just about anywhere below the knee and not feel it; now he has feeling about halfway down his shin. Likewise, there is a test in which he taps the leg around the knee — when he first had the surgery, such tapping sent a tingling sensation down his leg, through his ankle and foot and all the way into his big toe; now the tingling is reduced.

"I don't have (controlled) movement yet, but I have feeling in two of my toes," he said, "and the numbness has moved about halfway down from my knee."

For someone who has endured such a devastating injury, Fontana remains remarkably upbeat. He is completely realistic about the amount of rehab work that remains, but he refuses to concede that he won't regain full feeling and movement in his leg, and perhaps even return to the field in 2011.

"For a full recovery, I have to not just heal where I got hurt, but heal all the way down," he said. "That's going to take a lot of time, and a lot of work."

Fontana said he has identified a pair of possible scenarios — each of which includes him returning to the field.

"I talked to the doctors, and they said that if the foot gets movement back, I'll be back on the field around the end of December," he said. "Obviously, I'll take everything slow then — I'm not going to rush back and get hurt again and miss whatever bowl we go to this year. I'll have January, February, March and April to get ready for spring ball.

"The worst-case scenario is that the foot movement does not come back. If that happens, they can do what's called 'tendon transfer' surgery, where they take a tendon — from somewhere in your calf, I think — and use five incisions to weave it through the ankle, and that's supposed to help regain movement in the foot."

Fontana said the procedure would require him to go back into a hard cast for a couple of weeks, and a soft (walking) boot for a month after that, but he said he is more than willing to endure another six weeks of walking with the assistance of crutches in order to regain full use of his foot.

"My doctor said it has been done before," Fontana said. "A college football player got it and returned to the field, and some professional soccer players have had it done and they returned to playing — and soccer players obviously have to have full use of their feet."

Fontana said that HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) prohibits doctors from telling him who the other athletes are who have undergone tendon transfer surgery and returned to competition, but the fact that those athletes exist has given him cause for encouragement that he can do the same.

"Someone's going to have to prove to me that I can't play again before I stop believing I will," he said when asked if he had even accepts the fact that he might not play again. "I'll snap for field goals — I don't care.

"I got used to (watching others practice) when I helped out my high school team in the spring. Now I come in and get in my rehab (with the SMU strength and conditioning staff) and go out to the field. Then I lift once or twice every day, too. I can't go eat with them and I can't stay with them in the hotel, because I'm not on the 105-man roster. But I go to practice because they're my teammates — I'm part of that team. It (coming back from nerve decompression surgery) has been done before, and I don't see why I can't do it, too."

[Junior]

Thanks for the update, PP.

Joey, we're all hoping you return to the field, but we'll all be excited to hear that the recovery is 100%.

Best of luck! We're all pulling for you.

[cutter]

good information. thanks.
I hope he continues to heal. great attitude.

[No Quarter]

Go Joey. It is good to hear that you back on campus and I really hope we will see you on the field next year. And thanks to pp for this update.

[MustangFan]

This is exactly the kind of story that we never get anywhere else. Terrific story.

Joey, PonyFans everywhere are pulling for you. Keep working at that rehab, no matter how boring and monotonous it might be. Whether or not you ever suit up again, all the work you're putting in now will pay off down the road.

[Get_Some_Ponies]

What a stud. Sometimes there's a lot of smack going around about the level of effort on or off the field. Joey is showing miles of heart and dedication and he's what, 21? Can't control or feel his lower leg, multiple surgeries and going home for rehab but he's helping out at his high school and ready to start swapping out body parts to get back on the field. What an awesome attitude. I want Joey on the field instead of Alpo and Gluestick because the guy's a horse.

[Charleston Pony]

let's hope this becomes one of those great comeback stories and he sees playing time someday

[redpony]

Hey Joey, the Mustang nation is behind you. Keep up the good work and the great spirits. You WILL be back.

GO PONIES!!!
MUSTANG MANIA LIVES!!!

[ponyscott]

Thanks for the details PP!...Joey you ARE the man....we are so behind you and just love the heart this kid has.......man I am praying for you Joey!!!!!! Keep it up.....Fear The MUSTANG!!!

[Hoss]

Hey Joey, I'm sure the rehab is long and boring, but keep at it. It will pay off in the long run!

[No Quarter]

I'll blame it on a senior citizen mental lapse if I missed it, but I was hoping for another update on Joey Fontana when I saw his picture on the ponyfans home page.

I take it he is in school, still rehabbing, still working so that he might play next year?

Maybe should have started a new thread to get this at the top...

[Fijistang]

I was at the football practice when Fontana got hurt. This was the last practice on the Saturday before the team left for Hawaii. It was a miserable day with cold and damp conditions. I have always felt that Joey's injury might not have happened if we had dry field conditions inside a IPF. This is a huge need for us to get to the next level.

[Junior]

people get rolled up from behind in all conditions.