SPORTS FEATURE

Beckett bounces back to success

BY SPENCER BECKETT In the middle of July in 2017, freshman Olivia Beckett received news that could change her life entirely. Not only would her athletic life be impacted, but so would her academic and social lives. She learned that she had to undergo another surgery that would set her back to the beginning of her swimming career. 15-year-old Olivia was scared and had no idea the challenges that she would soon face later that year.

Her back was crooked at around fifty-three degrees and she was diagnosed with a back brace that she wore at night for a total of eight years until her surgery.

Her last swim meet was in January, and after recovering from her surgery it meant more to her than anything. Three years ago, on December 7 2017, she went into surgery at 6 am for a total of two surgeries that amounted to eight hours on the table at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus Ohio. Many years prior, Olivia learned that she had a back issue called Scoliosis. She had a spinal fusion which involved the placement of two rods and twenty-four screws as well as having her spinal cord untethered from her pelvic bone. While the surgery itself was monumental to her life, her recovery was excellent.

“You have to just always realize that there’s always the chance for hardships to present themselves,” Olivia said. “You just have to be prepared to roll with them when they happen.”

Olivia is now a senior captain for the varsity swim team and is hoping to finish her career strongly. She is well liked and many of her teammates look up to her not only for her swimming skills, but also her academics and even her social skills. However, it was not always smooth sailing when it came to jumping back into the water after her surgery. Her surgery included a very long recovery.

Because her surgery was in early December, she was unable to swim that year. She would have started for the varsity team as a freshman, and would have received her varsity letter as well.

She fully recovered over a span of 3 months, attending physical therapy so that she could walk again and eventually be able to jump back in the water. Over the summer of 2018, months after the operation, she swam for Moundbuilders Country Club out of Newark, Ohio, where she would eventually start coaching and become a certified lifeguard.

“I had to miss my freshman year of swimming and I would have been on the varsity swim team my freshman year,” Olivia explains. “So it was really really devastating to have to miss out on swim meets and swim practices.”

After the surgery was done, she stayed home until the end of the semester and started home-schooling in early January. With nothing to do because swimming was out of the question for her, she took to excelling in school.

Because her grades were so good, she was exempted from all exams. Her Spanish teacher, Tracey Salinas, and her U.S. History teacher, Elizabeth Muhlenkamp went out of their way to make sure Olivia understood all of the information. Whether it be FaceTiming and having a face-to-face conversation, or even coming over to her house to talk with her, Olivia’s teachers eased her recovery and transition back into school.

“My teachers were very understanding. They were very easy to communicate with,” Olivia said. “I felt comfortable explaining my situation, and they were very accommodating and helpful.”

Not only were her teachers very helpful, but her friends and family were by her side the whole way. She always had someone with her. Her boyfriend was over every single day that he was available and helped her get what she needed. On top of her parents, her brother who was a sixth-grader at the time, her grandparents, and her close friends, all cared for her and kept her in their thoughts while she recovered. Olivia’s mother made a Facebook post on the day of the surgery, and everybody who saw the post offered to bring over dinner one night, sit and talk with her to give her company, or even bring her a gift or two to help cheer her up. She was truly helped by everybody who knew her and that made it so much easier to bounce back after her operation.

“When you need something, the people that really really care about you will be there in a heartbeat,” Olivia said. “You just can’t be afraid to ask for help.”

“There are some battles you just can’t fight alone and as much as I wanted to get out of it strongly and be like ‘Oh, I did it all by myself,’” Olivia said. “You can’t be afraid to reach out for help with something like that.”

Senior Olivia Beckett swimming the backstroke during a race. Photo courtesy of Spencer Beckett.