Kaelin Davies, a sophomore at De Soto High School, has competed in gymnastics for most of her life, but after recurring  injuries, she had to quit the sport she loved.

“I did gymnastics for the Pinnacle Gymnastics team for about 12 years. I first broke my left elbow, then my right heel, then hurt my left foot and finally my right elbow, which resulted in two surgeries,” Davies said.

Davies had to persevere through many injuries during her gymnastics career, the first one happening very early on.

“I remember when I had my first injury in fifth grade, and it was super discouraging because it was my first injury ever,” Davies said.

But throughout her injuries, Davies has had many friends and family supporting her during the process.

“I was pretty shocked and felt bad because I knew how much gymnastics meant to her.  I encouraged her to do PT and reminded her that this happens to people all the time,” said DHS sophomore Ashtynn Pike, a close friend to Davies.

Davies eventually moved to a new gymnastics team after her second injury called the Xcel Diamond team,where she met many new teammates.

 “When I first met Kaelin, we both had an ankle injury at the time and we became close friends considering how much we had in common,” said teammate Raina Christenson.

Although in the end Davies had to quit gymnastics, her friends and family helped her recover and look at the bright side of things.  

“While injured, we both pushed each other to be stronger, which really benefited the both of us in the long run,” Christenson said.

After Davie’s fourth injury and recovery, she received news that would change her life forever.

“A couple months after my surgery, my parents had to tell me I couldn’t do gymnastics anymore.  That news hit me like a bus and it took me a long time to bounce back from it,” Davies said.

Kaelin now enjoys cooking, painting and hanging out with her friends and family.