Head shot of a young man with mustache wearing a trucker's cap

A man, shown from neck down wearing Lacrosse gear, stands on a field

A man in gym clothes walks down a hallway

A man wearing a Lacrosse helmet, in front of field lights at dusk, looks off into distance

Two men in Lacrosse gear face off on a field at dusk

“If it was easy, everyone would be good at fixing knee injuries. If it was easy, everyone would recover really fast.”
- Tom Pouliot

Young man doing physical therapy at a gym

Tom’s Way Forward: An Athlete's Comeback

What happens when a top-level college athlete almost has their entire sports career taken away in a single moment?

At 20 years old, that’s what Thomas Pouliot experienced when one wrong step on the lacrosse field tore his ACL and meniscus. It was on the first day of practice at Keene State College, and he can still hear the loud “pop.”

Now 23, Tom has recovered. But this isn’t just a story of injury and recovery. It’s a story about how hard work and perseverance shaped Tom’s mental outlook, and how the sports medicine orthopaedics team at Dartmouth Health’s Cheshire Medical Center had an integral role far beyond the playing field.

A game of honor

Quick thinking, cutting, fast breaks, and footwork are all part of what makes lacrosse a standout sport. These skills, matched with its physical intensity and strong sense of brotherhood, are the qualities that made it click for Tom.

He knew it was the sport for him during his first year of high school when he joined a practice session and was able to make a perfect pass.

“I just knew then and there that this sport was going to be something that I could really grow into,” he said.

By his junior and senior years of high school, he was excelling, and he continued to play into college at the University of New England. Junior year, he transferred to Keene State College, where he earned a spot as captain of the team. Almost as soon as the opportunity was granted, his future as a player was cut short with one step.

“I knew something wasn't right when I couldn't put any weight on my left leg,” he said, recalling the day of the injury.

He was rushed to the Emergency Department at Cheshire in Keene, New Hampshire, where he waited for answers.

Man standing in full Lacrosse gear at dusk, with field lighting behind him

The moment of truth

A few weeks after the accident, Tom met Neal B. Goldenberg, MD, MA, an orthopaedic surgeon and director of sports medicine at Cheshire. That’s when he was told he needed reconstructive surgery for his knee.

Tom connected with Goldenberg “right off the bat,” he said. “I could talk to him like I'm talking to my friends.”

The biggest question on Tom's mind was whether he could play lacrosse again. He didn’t want Goldenberg to sugarcoat anything. He wanted to know what he needed to do to get back on the field.

That’s when he started to see Goldenberg as more than just a doctor who provided treatment and information, but also as a coach.

That said, the timeline for recovery was daunting, ranging from 9 to 15 months.

“That was like a knife right to the heart,” Tom said. His entire junior and most of his senior years were gone in a flash.

Fear set in, not just for losing the seasons, but also for losing a future vision. Tom wasn’t sure if he'd be able to run again or feel comfortable crawling around on the carpet with his kids someday.

“I want to be a family man,” he said. “I was not only thinking about lacrosse in my college experience; I was thinking about 10, 15, and 20 years down the road from now.”

Two men wearing Lacrosse gear face off on a field at dusk

The first quarter

Recovery from an injury like this is a two-part process: before surgery and after. In the weeks before his knee operation, daily living for Tom became a challenge.

He couldn’t get into the car without using a crutch. He couldn’t sit for long periods, and always needed to focus on getting blood flow to his knee.

Walking, showering, even going up and down the stairs was time-consuming and frustrating. Thankfully, his parents and teammates were there to help.

In these moments, he remembered something that Goldenberg told him.

“If it was easy, everyone would be good at fixing knee injuries. If it was easy, everyone would recover really fast,” Tom recalled.

These words echoed something he’d heard before from another important person in his life.

“My dad always said to me growing up, ‘If everything was easy, everyone would be good at it,’” Tom said. “Dr. Goldenberg said the exact same thing to me. It resonates with me a lot.”

Keeping this advice in mind helped build Tom’s patience and gave him a sense of control over the effort he could put into recovery.

The final quarter

After knee surgery in late 2022, Tom entered the second phase of recovery.

Not only did he have to relearn to walk, but he also had to learn how to find his gait, strengthen his legs, rebuild his core, and fire up all the muscles that contribute to mobility and balance.

“The longer you let your muscles just sit there, the quicker they just go away,” he said. He began a long journey of physical therapy right away.

Even so, some of his biggest fears about the future persisted.

“There were times that I thought it would be impossible to come back,” he said. “Dr. Goldenberg always told me, ‘Learn how to walk, learn how to run, then you can learn how to sprint,’” Tom said. “‘Then once you learn how to sprint, then it's possible to be back to being a lacrosse player.’”

Goldenberg gave Tom clearance to play in September 2023. But it didn’t mean he could immediately get back on the field.

“Being cleared is just the first step,” he said.

It took until April 2024 to get to game-ready speed. But the fact that he knew it was possible kept him going.

After completing physical therapy, Tom’s total recovery time was 10 months. He was named team captain his senior year and played two final games with the Owls before the season’s end.

Beyond the lacrosse field

These days, Tom is finishing a master's degree at Post University, where he was also able to play a full year of lacrosse. He ran the Clarence DeMar half-marathon in September 2024 and continues doing his physical therapy exercises nightly to maintain his comeback as an athlete.

Looking back, his injury taught him the power of mental toughness and also helped him to appreciate the little things.

“It’s an honor to be able to get up every day and walk,” he said.

He’s hoping to stay involved with the lacrosse community at Keene State College, and to mentor young players about what a privilege it is to play. He also hopes to be part of the Armed Forces one day, in which he sees several parallels with lacrosse: honesty, accountability, and selflessness.

With his injury behind him, Tom still sees Goldenberg as a friend and follows up with him to this day. He gives him credit for showing him the possibility of being an athlete again.

“He never once told me it was impossible,” Tom said. “I was really able to see light at the end of the tunnel.”

Thomas's Way Forward

Orthopaedic Patient

Treated by
Neal B. Goldenberg, MD, MA

Treated at
Cheshire Medical Center

Two men and a woman playing golf with a lush mountainous backdrop

Karen's Way Forward

Brain Tumor Patient

Treated by
Matthew R. Vernon, MD / Nathan E. Simmons, MD / Joseph Shin, MD / Krzysztof A. Bujarski, MD

Treated at
Southwestern Vermont Medical Center / Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center

A young woman stands smiling in front of a helicopter ambulance in its hangar

Caroline's Way Forward

Hypothermia Patient

Treated by
Caleb A. Moffatt, RN, CCRN, CFRN, NREMT / Jeremy C. Patten, NRP, FP-C / Brian L. Jones, MD, PhD / Jay C. Buckey, Jr., MD / Pam Hannigan, RN

Treated at
Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center