Saki Shudo: The Steps That Stayed With Me

After a gymnastics injury, Saki Shudo learned the importance of appreciating one’s health.

In a split second, my world shattered. In one wrong landing, a sharp pain hit my body like glass breaking under pressure. The sudden force of the bar threw me off balance, and the air seemed to escape my lungs in a sharp gasp. I tried to move, but my body wouldn’t respond.

I lay there frozen, as if trapped in stone, knowing something had gone terribly wrong but not yet understanding how bad the damage was. Just minutes before, everything had felt normal.

The gym smelled like chalk and sweat as I stared down the bar, fidgeting with my grips. I had done this routine so many times before. It’s no big deal. I felt strong and steady… until I didn’t. After one wrong step, the peace I had felt in that moment was torn apart by the pain.

At the hospital, everything felt like a recurring dream. The beeping of the machines sounded distant and hollow. Then a tall man with a clipboard walked into the dark room and informed me, “You’ve fractured your back.” The words cut through me like a knife and shattered the last piece of safety I was holding on to. I didn’t know how to react, because I had never imagined something like this could ever happen to me.

With just one wrong step, the sport that shaped my identity was taken from me. Yet in its place, a clearer understanding began to take shape. Before my injury, I measured my life by how perfect my routines could be. I chased the spotlight, believing that was what made life whole. But these few moments changed how I see everything. I have learned to appreciate the little things, like simply being able to stand, to walk, to move forwards. Before, I would’ve wanted to make even my walk perfect.

Now, every step I take reminds me how close I came to losing that ability and how grateful I am that it still continues to carry me forward. After that day, I may have never stepped foot in that gym again, but I walked away from a life full of gymnastics with a newfound knowledge that the strongest place I would ever stand in is gratitude. With a Perspective, I’m Saki Shudo.

Saki Shudo is a 14-year-old student at Menlo Atherton High School.