Alexa Knierim's illness involved regular episodes of vomiting, debilitating pain, difficulties with sleeping, eating or drinking, as well as significant weight loss. Already small, she lost 20 pounds and shrunk to just over 80 pounds. Knierim stated that when his wife initially returned to the ice following surgery, she had to hold his hands just to skate a lap around the rink and could only skate for 10 minutes before having to go home for a nap because it was so physically draining on her body. The pair withdrew from both of their Grand Prix events, the 2016 Rostelecom Cup and 2016 Cup of China, and the 2017 U.S. Championships. They resumed full training in January and were named to the U.S. team for both the 2017 Four Continents Championships and the 2017 World Championships.