IMAGINE. (wsl)

𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 - 𝗵.𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗼

𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘳𝘦: 𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘧𝘧, 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘵 (?)       

𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘦, 𝘪 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘧!
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𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟴

match day.

i was a physio for the game, on call to assess any injuries that would pop up. the game was portland thorns against washington spirit that day. i remember sitting on the sidelines for the majority of the match, an uneventful first half with minimal injuries.

portland had scored to make it 1-0, but when the second half began it only took thirteen minutes for something to go wrong. i saw hayley raso go down after what looked to be a knee to the back. we were friends, and when i had told her i was on call for the game she was ecstatic. so it was a no brainer that i was the first on the scene when she went down.

"hayley can you hear me? squeeze my hand, hayls."

my heart sunk when she nodded but there was no movement from her fingers. i shook my head at the medics and they knew to call the ambulance. everything was a blur from there, i knew that hayley was transferred to a stretcher and carried off the field. i knew that i was adamant on going with her. everyone knew we were close so no one protested.

it was a short drive to the hospital, the paramedics keeping her as still as possible. it was an emergency when we got to the hospital. i waited in the lobby for an hour before they called me in. after all that i remember is hearing what i feared the most.

"you've broken your back."

it was everyone's nightmare, not just soccer players. breaking some of the most critical bones in your body. but after a week in the hospital, hayley was transferred to a rehab centre that would help her to walk again. her family came to see her almost every day, but it was me who practically slept at the centre. i was there for everything she needed.

she made progress, slow, but still progress. it was a wheelchair at first, then taking small steps with a walking frame. even if she could never play soccer again, i was still immensely proud of her.

three months after the accident, she was walking perfectly. four months after, she was almost running properly. it was a miracle to watch and help her get to this point.

𝙛𝙚𝙗𝙧𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝟮𝟬𝟭𝟵

the players all jogged out onto the pitch, my eyes landing on hayley. when she told me she'd been selected to play for the cup of nations game, i had screamed through the phone. i was so proud of how far she'd come after the accident and how hard she'd worked to be here.

it was a nerve wracking game to say the least, i kept having to calm myself, hoping hayley wouldn't cop another knee to the back. but when she scored a goal to put australia in the lead i knew she was right back where she belonged. playing for her country.

𝙟𝙪𝙣𝙚 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯

i walked into the stadium, sporting a blue matilda's jersey with 'raso' printed across the back and a number 16. it had been five years since hayley broke her back and so much had happened. i was there through all her rehab and her journey to start walking and running again. then she was back at it, playing for her country and her new club. we didn't see each other for at least a year or two and could only text every so often. but then i applied for a physio job at her club, manchester city, after i finished my degree and was accepted.

now, three years after we met again, i was her girlfriend and was watching her play on the worlds' biggest stage. australia had made it to the quarter finals against france thanks to a couple of goals from hayley in the group stages.

it was the longest game i could remember going to and was almost two hours long, hayley playing almost the whole ninety minute leg.

i had a feeling it would need penalty shootouts, the french defense was good. when we finally won with courtnee's miracle shot and macca as our brick wall, the whole team was on the field and i couldn't be more proud. the crowd was going wild, i think i went dead because of it. afterwards, the friends and family were allowed on the pitch to celebrate so i walked down.

i found hayley easily and she picked me up in a giant hug, spinning me around.

"you did it!"

i was practically screaming because of the cheering in the stadium.

"we did it!"

it was the best day of both of our lives.