Nicole connects with the Center for the Female Athlete

Nicole, 16, is a busy teenager playing three sports--basketball, golf and tennis--for Franklin County High School in Brookville, Indiana. Despite excelling on and off the court, lettering in all three sports and performing well academically, Nicole’s self-esteem was beginning to suffer.

Born with a sacrococcygeal teratoma, a tumor that develops in utero and grows from a child’s tailbone, Nicole was starting to feel self-conscious of the scar left behind from the surgery done to remove it. She worried what others might think of her scar and whether anyone would ever love and accept her. Her mom, Marisa, was worried about her mental health and sought out a counselor who might be able to help.

After several attempts at counseling, Nicole hadn’t found a therapist that she connected with, so Marisa and her husband continued their search and came across the Center for the Female Athlete at Dayton Children’s Hospital. The Center for the Female Athlete is an innovative, multidisciplinary program designed to tackle barriers and gaps in female athletes’ physical, nutritional and emotional health. The center is the only one of its kind in Ohio and is led by an all-female team that works with female athletes, ages 11-18, to give them the tools and resources to understand their bodies' unique needs.

They made a call to the program, hopeful that “maybe this will work.”

Nicole and her family traveled more than one hour to Dayton Children’s Springboro campus, where the Center for the Female Athlete sees patients, for Nicole’s first appointment with the team. Right away, they knew they had found the right place.

“Nicole connected with the team right off the bat,” said Marisa. “She’s been able to relate to the Center for the Female Athlete team, since they’re all former athletes and understand what she’s going through.”

Nicole has made a special connection with Linh-Han Ikehara, MSW, LISW-S, behavioral health therapist with the Center for the Female Athlete team. Linh-Han has helped her to accept her story and start to love herself again.

“We’ve already noticed a change in Nicole, not just in sports, but in her day-to-day life. She’s definitely getting the help she needs,” said Marisa. “For families considering the Center for the Female Athlete for their daughter, take the leap and make the drive.”

To learn more about the Center for the Female Athlete, families can visit www.childrensdayton.org/centerforthefemaleathlete. Athletes can also schedule a free 30-minute consult with one of the center’s athletic trainers to learn more about the program and see if they are a good fit.
book a consult today.