patient story

patient name: Aniya Cooks

age: 13

seen in: orthopedics

providers: Carla Bridges, MD and Nicholas Gajewski, MD

Aniya is a vibrant teen with a strong zest for life – she loves roller coasters, acting and playing sports. Starting in December 2022, back-to-back injuries caused Aniya to become a “frequent flier” at Dayton Children’s Hospital. 

When Aniya was 10, Aniya had an accident, and went to an adult emergency room. After hours of waiting and an X-ray, Aniya went home with a diagnosis of a sprained ankle, and an ACE bandage to support the ankle while it healed. Days later, Aniya was still hurting and her ankle didn’t seem to have improved at all. Her mom, Andrea, took Aniya to her pediatrician, who recommended they go to Dayton Children’s and get a second opinion.  

Andrea and Aniya made an appointment with orthopedics at Dayton Children’s and saw Nicholas Gajewski, MD, an orthopedic surgeon. He ordered X-rays and determined that Aniya had a break in her right shin bone (tibia). 

“Going to Dayton Children’s ortho was the best thing we did – Dr. Gajewski talked directly to Aniya, checking in to see how she was feeling, what was hurting her. She was treated like a person, and not just another patient in a hospital. Our visit was so wonderful,” Andrea shared. 

cheering from the sidelines  

Aniya was put in a cast (a pink one, per Aniya’s choosing) and started her path to healing. At the time, Aniya had just started doing gymnastics, so this injury meant that Aniya would have to sit on the sidelines while she recovered. With Aniya’s positive attitude, she thought this would be just a blip in her gymnastics journey.  

“For the first cast, I was just surprised. I decided I’d just take care of it, let it heal, and then I’d get right back to gymnastics,” Aniya said. 

Aniya continued going to practice, cheering on her teammates, first in her pink cast, then in a boot. Aniya kept up with the conditioning as much as she could and counted the days until she could be back on the mat with her teammates. 

a second injury

Unfortunately, just as Aniya was feeling better and recovering, she fell at school. Aniya ended up back in another cast, this time for her wrist. And, devastatingly, it cost Aniya the whole gymnastics season. 

“I felt like I missed out completely, which made me feel empty, almost. I was doing all this hard work for nothing – I’d pushed myself so hard, and it kept shattering,” Aniya shared.

finding a safe space in Dayton Children's  

In fall 2023,  Aniya had another injury, this time to her knee. At this point, Aniya was at a low. Losing out on the gymnastics season was not easy, and she didn’t want to have to go back to the hospital. Beyond that, Aniya was also being bullied at school because of all her injuries – people thought maybe she was faking it. Dayton Children’s became a safe place for Aniya, mostly due to the support, encouragement and acceptance of her care team. 

 “It really hurt to have my classmates not trust me, but then I came to Dayton Children’s and everyone rallied around me. They didn’t judge; they just took care of me. They felt like family,” Aniya shared. 

meeting Megan

The knee injury turned out to be a torn meniscus, or cartilage in the knee. A torn meniscus can be treated with physical therapy at first, but it often eventually ends in surgery. This is when Aniya met her physical therapist, Megan Christoffel, PT, DPT. Aniya and Megan immediately connected. 

“She was like my aunt, like a family member,” Aniya said. “I had days where I didn’t want to go to PT, but if Megan was there, it was like ‘Oh yea, I’ll go!’   

a trusted partner during Aniya's journey

When things weren’t improving with just physical therapy, Aniya began seeing Carla Bridges, MD, an orthopedic surgeon. Dr. Bridges was by their side through the process, listening to Aniya’s concerns and making sure that everyone was comfortable when they decided to move forward with surgery. Even more meaningful, though, was the representation Aniya saw in Dr. Bridges. Aniya said that it was the highlight of her experience to have a surgeon who “looked like me!” 

After surgery, Aniya came home with a wheelchair. Once again, Aniya demonstrated her strength and drive and figured out how to live her best life in a wheelchair. She didn’t go at it alone, though – all along, she had the support of her family and her care team at Dayton Children’s. 

great care with caring people

Aniya went through a lot after her injuries, emotionally and physically. There were times that Aniya felt very sad, but coming to Dayton Children’s was a reason to have a smile on her face. Her care team was “relentless” about their encouragement and support to help keep Aniya positive. They knew how to keep Aniya focused and motivated so she could recover and get back to doing the things she loved more quickly.  

“Hospitals can feel scary, and this time in our lives was scary, but that’s the beautiful thing about Dayton Children’s – it feels fun, it feels colorful, it feels like love here. It’s just an amazing experience to have people support you when you don’t know what to do. Families deserve this great care, with caring people,” Andrea shared. 

moving forward

Now that Aniya is on the other side of her injuries, she can refocus on her passions. While gymnastics is no longer in the cards, Aniya is playing volleyball, thanks to the encouragement of Megan. Aniya is also active in local theatre, doing two local camps this summer.  

“Acting is my favorite thing in the world. It’s the best feeling for me to have the beam of the light on my face with everyone looking at me,” Aniya said. “When I’m acting, I can be myself.”