HBF provided peace of mind when Georgia needed it most

Georgia remembers being around eight or nine years old when she would tell people, “Hi, I’m Georgia Wilson and I’m going to play for the Australian Hockeyroos team.”

She describes herself as “just this kid from Perth Hills with a big dream” – but her passion, hard work and dedication paid off.

When she was selected for Australian Hockeyroos team, it was a dream come true.

She was representing her country on the field, but the dream soon became a nightmare when a shock ACL injury left her needing surgery.

"I fell over a stick during training and I found out later that it was, in fact, an ACL rupture, which means a complete 12-month break from sport," she says.

Georgia’s journey to recovery

Ten days after her injury, Georgia underwent reconstructive knee surgery.

When she woke up after surgery not being able to move her leg, she realised that getting back in the green and gold was going to take time and a lot of hard work.

"I was really overwhelmed and saddened,” she says. “One of the hardest things was not being able to accept how I was feeling.

"I thought that I should be feeling a different way, and as a result, I felt even worse about myself and what I was going through. There were a lot of breakdowns."

Support when she needed it most

Luckily for Georgia, she had the support of her family and her teammates every step of the way.

As an HBF member, Georgia had peace of mind knowing her rehabilitation would be covered, giving her time to focus on her recovery.

"I was able to access physio and have a lot of that covered, which is why I choose to be with HBF,” Georgia says.

“It definitely was a huge relief knowing that side of the injury would be taken care of."

Sharing her passion for hockey

Being off the field gave Georgia time to develop and evolve new passions. That’s when she started Activ8, a hockey training camp for kids.

"To be able to have created something and bring hockey and these kids’ heroes to them; that for me was a very proud moment I was able to achieve off the field," she says.

"I would never have been able to have that experience had I not done my knee."

Georgia worked tirelessly over the next 12 months, never giving up, and is now back in the squad wearing the green and gold, representing her country.

"To share my love of hockey, that's the main thing."

Please note: This blog was originally published on 12 December 2019 and has been updated to include the latest information.