All-Star Sisters Rely on Each Other and Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute to Excel

Sports are an important part of life for the Roth family. All four of the Roth siblings play multiple sports. Fifteen-year-old Allentown Central Catholic High School (ACCHS) sophomore Sammy and her 18-year-old sister, Julia, a recent graduate of ACCHS, both participate in basketball, soccer and cross-country. In fact, Julia earned 16 varsity letters during her time at ACCHS, more than anyone else in the school’s history.

“Sports was always something we could do together,” says their mother, JoAnn Roth. “For us, family vacations were tournaments and eating WaWa in the back of the car, but it was great because we were all together.”

Because Sammy and Julia both had a passion for sports, they looked forward to playing on the same team in high school for the year that they would share the school. However, Sammy suffered an injury during basketball that left them wondering if they would be able to play together after all.

“I was at a basketball tournament in Tennessee, and I turned the wrong way and heard my knee pop. I knew right away that it wasn’t good. We came home and I went to see Dr. Luchetti, and he told me that I tore my ACL,” Sammy says.

“As soon as it happened, I took her right to Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute. We saw how well Sammy’s recovery went, so we knew that Julia would do well too.”  JoAnn Roth

Although upset with the diagnosis, Sammy says that her team at Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute and orthopedic surgeon Wayne Luchetti, MD, with LVPG Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, kept her spirits up. “I could feel that Dr. Luchetti was really confident, and that helped to make me feel like I could get through this,” she says.

Sammy had her surgery two weeks after her injury, to allow the swelling to subside. She was surprised how quickly she began physical therapy. “At first I was really nervous because I thought I would hurt myself again, but after I got started and it went well, I was able to relax,” Sammy says.

Sammy spent the next several months in physical therapy, building up her strength so she could play at the end of her soccer season and be ready for a full basketball season. She says physical therapist Katie Drayton was largely responsible for her success.

“Katie really helped me to be more confident and pushed me to be better,” she says.

All her hard work paid off when Sammy took to the field along with her sister Julia in Hershey and scored the winning goal in the 2A State Championships in November, less than a year after her injury.

“It was something I’ll never forget. It was an amazing experience,” Sammy says.

While Sammy was almost fully recovered, Julia experienced the same injury during a basketball game. Fortunately, JoAnn knew exactly what to do.

“As soon as it happened, I took her right to Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute. We saw how well Sammy’s recovery went, so we knew that Julia would do well too,” she says.

As a senior, Julia was understandably upset to miss out on the rest of her senior basketball season but tried to remain optimistic. “I was glad I got to play a few games with my sister, and I had already decided on a college,” Julia says.

Julia also had the benefit of going through her sister’s recovery and relied on her for advice and support. “It was nice because if I had questions, I could just ask Sammy and I knew what to expect,” she says.

Despite her ACL injury, Julia had a great senior year, which was topped off when she won Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute’s Athlete of the Year, an honor she wasn’t expecting.

“I was shocked. I still can’t believe it,” Julia says.

Although she is still recovering, Julia plans to attend Susquehanna University in the fall and play basketball. She credits Lehigh Valley Orthopedic Institute with helping her achieve her goals.

“Even though this experience has been tough, I’m grateful that I had my sister, Dr. Luchetti and Katie to help me through it. I know that I’ll be ready in the fall,” Julia says.