Writing in a PlayersVoice piece, the World Championship silver medalist, who had 11 knee surgeries in 11 years.
In the recovery room after her 11th surgery, which happened this past May, her surgeon came to see Bunton.
“He held my hand and said those two words: ‘I’m sorry’,” she said.
“I cried. And it’s probably the first time I’ve showed that level of emotion. As an athlete, failure isn’t an option and I felt like I’d failed.”
It was a heartbreaking moment but deep down inside the 25-year-old knew the situation wasn’t good but at the same time, she was battling with her mind.
“He never said, ‘it’s over’. He said, ‘it’s not good’, and said I had a big decision to make,” Bunton said.
At the end of 2017, Bunton had been selected in the World Qualifiers squad but she knew her knee wasn’t right and after having scans, she was told she would need surgery to realign her bones. They inserted two titanium screws to realign the former Sydney Flames players patella.
However, it was a painful recovery with Bunton, who was on a strict pain relief schedule, ran out of painkillers and five…
