Babia was in the throes of a career-defining 12 months, which included a HART Premier Netball League Ruby premiership, Sapphire division debut, Queensland First Nations representation, Australian First Nations Black Swan honours and Firebirds Futures selection, when her time on a netball court drew to a sudden halt.
“It was June 15, Round 2, we were playing Jets, I’d just rolled into wing defence and felt a little twist but thought nothing of it,” Babia said.
“I kept playing, but the next centre pass I extended out to reach for the ball and that’s when it happened. I had a scan the following day and received the bad news, a full rupture to my right ACL.”
A little over 360 days later, Babia has returned to the court for her beloved Carina Leagues Club Tigers, whom she credits for supporting her during what was a somewhat unorthodox rehab.
“We were referred to a knee specialist doing a lot of research around non-surgical ACL repair,” Babia said.
“My ACL had ruptured near the top, where the blood flow is better and there’s a greater chance of healing. I didn’t know where my head was at, I think it was in a haze to be honest. If I needed surgery at the end of the three months, so be it, but it was nice to go a different path.”
What directly followed was six weeks of wearing a knee brace at a 30-degree angle, six weeks without the brace, and then a follow-up MRI.
“The result came back and it was a ‘good heal’, so fully reattached,” Babia said.
“I started running again around maybe the start of November, and we took the same rehab steps as if I’d had the surgery to make sure it was safe to return. I could have come back earlier but I didn’t want to risk it.”
Babia’s positive mindset and ongoing connections with her Tigers teammates have assisted with more than just her recovery from injury.
“Another part of my journey, and rehab story, is that my mum (Margie) has had cancer,” Babia said.
“In 2022, she was diagnosed with a rare form of lymphoma, so my biggest inspiration and supporter was very sick throughout that whole time. There’s now no abnormal cells in her blood, so no cancer in her blood, but that’s been a big part of our lives in recent years.”
Family and culture are priorities to Babia, who is a Goemulay woman from the tribe of Panay, Mabuyag Island, with a connection to the Aidth Koedal tribe from Saibai Island in the Torres Strait.
In February of last year, prior to the knee injury, she became the first Torres Strait Islander to play for the Black Swans, which was both a “privilege and honour”.
“I felt like I was holding a lot on my shoulders to represent my family back home and in Brisbane,” Babia said.
“My family and culture are everything to me, so it was so special and I was grateful to be chosen.”
These milestone memories have been used by Babia as motivation, particularly during her more isolated moments on a notoriously lonely rehabilitation path.
“I’ve been thinking about getting back there into the Black Swans as soon as possible,” she said.
“I’m thinking about it a lot, and the squad for the Queensland First Nations team comes out next month so I’m hoping my name is in there. I’m hoping to represent my family again but, also, netball is fun and it’s great to be amongst my best mates again.”
Babia returned from injury to the Sapphire level during last week’s defeat to the Gold Coast Titans.
It was a surreal moment, pulling on the black and orange dress showcasing artwork she had designed, with the assistance of her father, Eric.
“It was such an honour to represent our culture, specifically the Torres Strait too,” Babia said.
“Dad is my biggest cultural inspiration so he helped me navigate what each symbol means, which I combined with the Tigers’ culture to make it cohesive.”
The Tigers are at Nissan Arena for this weekend’s first double-header of the Sapphire season as they search for points to close the gap on the top four sides.
Round 5 sees them play the Kedron-Wavell Cougars on Saturday at 4pm, followed by a Round 6 clash with the Brisbane South Wildcats on Sunday at 4pm.
“That loss last week hit us pretty hard, and we were all quite disappointed in our performances,” Babia said.
“But our energy will be up again, and we’ll work hard as that’s what we do. Double headers are always fun. Cougars will be a hard one, and we’re looking to conquer the Wildcats, but whatever the challenge is we’ll go full steam ahead.”
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