If you've seen the Elk Lake Lady Warriors play this season, especially at any length, you would have to agree, Madi Casselbury is one of the premier defenders in the district. Not to mention the facilitator of the most potent offense in the league.

The athletic Lady Warrior junior is a talented basketball player, but hearing of Casselbury's nearly two year journey to this point, makes it all the more impressive.

Casselbury had spinal fusion surgery on March 30th, 2023 to correct a severe curvature in her spine, nearly two full years after her diagnosis.

In April of 2021 she was diagnosed with idiopathic scoliosis, which was discovered during a routine swim test at the school.

Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis is a disorder in which the spine starts abnormally curving sideways between the ages of 10-18 years old. Generally it occurs during the growth spurt associated with adolescence.

Hearing your child has a condition that could require spinal surgery is not easy. "The diagnosis was tough because we never really experienced scoliosis and didn't have a history of it," Meghan Casselbury stated.

Doctors initially tried the less evasive approach of fitting Casselbury with a custom brace, which she wore until fall of '22, however it proved ineffective.

With spinal fusion surgery being the only viable option left for correction, the then freshman Casselbury elected to play that year of basketball and have the surgery in March of '23.

Her medical team at CHOP told her she needed to be mentally, physically and emotionally ready for surgery. Upon hearing of what the surgery entails, it maybe easier said than done.

Spinal fusion surgery typically involves, an incision in the back or side of the spine, removal of curved vertebrae and placement of metal rods or screws.

Undergoing surgery also meant no activities all summer and missing school for a month, but doctors assured her that she'd be ready to play basketball her sophomore season.

On March 30 2023, Casselbury went into the operating room to have S spine titanium rods installed to stabilize her spine.

The surgery took just over five hours, then included four hours of recovery time, in what her dad Jason Casselbury described as, "the longest nine hours of my life." Confessing, "the hardest part was knowing that her spine was in the hands of the surgeon."

As her parents waited in the recovery room for Madi to come around from the effects of the anesthesia, they all smile when they recall the first thing she said was, "Am I taller." 

After surgery they had to travel to King of Prussia for a week long checkup, that consisted of three nights and four days. After which she had three month checkups.

Meghan admitted, "the recovery was hard to watch her not be able to do anything. Even the smallest things like sitting up and bending, was challenging for her in the beginning."

By late April Madi would start taking three mile walks everyday and on May 17th she was able to bend over for the first time in nearly two months.

On top of her daily walks, she began physical therapy with Matt Cuomo at Pivot as they started working on building her strength back.

In addition to her PT routine Madi said, "I focused on dribbling and endurance." As they worked towards her August 16th appointment with the doctor.

At that appointment they got some very unexpected and somber news, the doctor said no basketball her sophomore year.

For a competitive athlete that had already missed AAU basketball and soccer season, who said the hardest thing about not playing is, "not being able to be there for my team," that answer wasn't acceptable.

Madi went into overdrive to rebuild her strength and prove to her doctors she could play before the end of her sophomore campaign.

Offering this advice to any other athletes recovering from injury or surgery she said, "do whatever you can while and as you can."

She returned to the doctor on Dec. 20 of 2023 and was elated when the doctor told her she could start easing back into basketball.

On Jan. 6 2024, she played in her first competitive basketball game, playing against Old Forge in a JV contest. Then returning to varsity lineup on Jan. 26 against the Lady Eagles.

With another full year of recovery under her belt, Madi has had a solid junior season. She is an elite defender with a knack for shutting down an opposing team's lead scorer.

She admitted her approach to the game has changed since her surgery, "It made me play more aggressive, and focus on being able to read people better on defense and their moves."

Being new to covering Elk Lake basketball I was impressed with Casselbury's skill set from the get go, but after hearing about her journey and determination to this point it's really a story that deserves some recognition as a weaker individual would've gave in.

Her parents have been her biggest fans through the entire process, "It's amazing watching her play so hard. Watching her go through surgery and recovery, and come out so strong mentally and physically is an amazing feeling as her parents. She didn't let this break her, she grew from it."