How Jason Got Back in the Game 

Jason had played doubles in his Fairfield County club’s annual member-guest tennis tournament since 1999. But in July 2024, a serious injury put his tradition and his lifelong passion for tennis at risk. A former collegiate All-American who also had the opportunity to play professional tennis, Jason was determined to overcome the challenge and get back onto the court. 
 
Jason’s right shoulder had been bothering him off and on for a year, and the discomfort had worsened in the months leading up to the tournament.  
 
“It was just stiff. I felt like I was losing strength in it,” he said of his shoulder. “There were times when I couldn’t really swing my arm all that well.” 
 
He took time off before the tournament, hoping that rest would fix the problem, but in his second match his shoulder gave out. 
 
“I went for a ball and just heard it pop,” Jason recalled. “My arm went limp, and I realized something bad had happened.” 
 
Jason gamely tried to carry on playing lefthanded, but in the end the injury proved too much to overcome. Following the tournament, he spoke to several orthopedic surgeons who had been recommended to him. After meeting with Dr. Megan Gleason, Sports Medicine and Shoulder Surgeon at Orthopaedic & Neurosurgery Specialists, he knew he had found a surgeon he could trust.  
 
“I really liked Dr. Gleason’s bedside manner, the way she explained what needed to be done. She was very transparent and very thoughtful,” Jason said.  
 
Dr. Gleason diagnosed Jason with massive tears in his rotator cuff and biceps. With the severity of the tears and the immobility of his arm, surgery was his only viable treatment option.  
 
“I explained to Dr. Gleason what was important to me, that I wanted to get back to playing,” Jason said. “I don’t take tennis nearly as seriously as I used to from the win-loss standpoint. I just absolutely love it. I love hitting a tennis ball. I’m happy to just go out and play.” 
 
Jason’s communication with Dr. Gleason helped shape his treatment plan. “When caring for active patients, it’s critical to understand what is meaningful to them, and what kind of activities they’d like to return to,” Dr. Gleason explained. “My goal was to help Jason get back to doing what he loves.” 
 
That July, Dr. Gleason operated to repair Jason’s shoulder. The surgery was a success, but it was also just the first step in his journey back to tennis. Jason committed to his recovery, working diligently with local physical therapists and staying in close contact with Dr. Gleason throughout.  
 
“She didn’t sugarcoat anything,” he said. “She told me when I needed to push harder, and that honesty helped me get better.” 
 
Nine months later, Jason was back on the court. By July 2025—just one year after his injury—he returned to the tournament that had sidelined him a year earlier. Not only did he participate, he felt like he was playing the best he had in years. And to top it off, he and his doubles partner Luke won the event, marking the tenth time Jason had triumphed there. 
 
“I actually had tears in my eyes,” Jason admitted. But it wasn’t the victory that moved him: “If I had lost, I honestly would have been okay with it. I usually don’t like to admit that because I don’t like to lose. But I really felt like had I lost in that finals, I had already won… I’d proven that my shoulder was back. I was back.”