I never thought I'd be sharing stories of my son limping online. But after what happened over the past six weeks, I had to share this with other parents watching their young athletes struggle with the same heartbreaking problem.
My name is Anne Schmitz. I'm a 41-year-old mom from Orange County, and for over a year, I watched my son Jake transform from a confident soccer player into a kid who was genuinely afraid of running.
The moment that really got to me?
Watching Jake hesitate for what felt like forever at the edge of the soccer field, clearly terrified that his heels would hurt the second he started moving. When he finally tried to sprint, he lasted maybe ten minutes before walking off in tears.
That's when I realized this wasn't just about heel pain anymore. This was affecting everything about who Jake was as a kid.