Chan 1 Yin Mei Chan Gardner Hon.

English 10 1 22 January 2013 From Water, Emerged a Life "Never cross the midline axis of your body," said Coach Marie, tracing an invisible line down the middle of her body with her hand. "Never." A group of nine to ten year-old swimmers, threading water in what seemed to be immensely deep at the time, all simultaneously turned their heads to stare at their spots of vulnerabilitytheir shoulders. I was amongst that group of curious children; we called ourselves the "D4's," representing the fourth level of Petaluma's swim team, "The Westside Aquaducks." I was nine at the time, possibly the youngest one amongst my peers. What was I supposed to care about the detriments of crossing my midline? To be honest, my only care was to possess the ability to maneuver my little body from one wall to the other. Thus, every week, when it came time for Marie's reminder to never cross your midline while swimming, I ignored it. "Crossing your midline can cause long-term injuries to the shoulders and shoulder blades," Marie lectured. "Trust me, you don't want that experience." Truly I did not. But again, at nine years old, I was oblivious of all the things that could alter a life: not a heart attack, not a broken leg, and especially not a shoulder injury. I continued to swim for the next two years two hours a day, five days a week. Little did I know I have been crossing the midline of my body during freestyle, backstroke, and butterfly. In two years,

Chan 2 the only stroke I managed to swim correctly was breaststroke. However, did I understand the repercussions of crossing the midline yet? To be honest, I did not. Though my technique lacked improvement, my speed continued to increase. That same year, I moved into the next group up; they called themselves the "purples." Yet, the weekly lectures about not crossing your midline were not left behind, unfortunately, neither was my stubbornness. I continued to swimtwo hours a day, five days a week. The next words I was about to hear were not "do not cross the midline of your body" however; instead, I heard the words (signal phrase) "here is a referral to Dr. Eric Schmidt, a shoulder specialist." Swimming was no longer an option for me. Instead of swim practice the next day, I found myself sitting in a room at Dr. Schmidt's office reading People, whilst ironically, Britney Spears's "Stronger" resonated through the surrounding speakers. I prayed my shoulder pain was nothing but tired, building muscles. "Unfortunately, you have a diagnosis known as 'shoulder impingement syndrome,' or SIS. This is where impingement occurs at the tendon, or bursa, by the surrounding bones and joint of the shoulder. Typically, this will affect everyday life: lifting, putting on a jacket, brushing your hair," he informed. "If the injury is preset for an elongated time, weaknesses in the shoulder will occur and tendons will begin to thin or tear if not treated in time. Strongly, I recommend physically therapy until full recovery." Did I understand the importance of not crossing your midline now? No doubt. I researched the injury, even reading about Olympic gold medalists, Natalie Coughlin and Missy Franklin's recovery from SIS. Journalists of the Biography Channel stated that (signal phrase)

Chan 3 "Coughlin didn't give up, though. She continued to practice, honing on her powerful kick." I was determined to follow Coughlin's pathway to recovery. For the next six months, I found myself at Dr. Regina Randiva's office, my physical therapist, instead of in the water. I returned to the pool after realizing physical therapy made me stronger, but did not cure the constant popping and cracking resounding from every movement of both my arms. I was overwhelmed to be reunited with the water, but of course, I struggled. I was not strong, nor fast; I was weak and out of shape. Streams of frustration ran through me every practice, as I was only capable of swimming twenty minutes before I found my fingers numb, before the pain was too drastic to tolerate, and before my range of motion was minimized. I spent the remaining hour and a half of all practices threading water in the deep end, while the rest of my teammates continued their workout nonchalantly. Many times, I felt like Nick Kincaid in Something's Lost, where his character, a successful track and field athlete, suffered an exasperating injury and fought for recovery. Alone, I watched my teammates swim right by me. I thought of all the times my past coaches have repeatedly told me to "never cross the midline of my body." My third year of swimming, I finally knew the importance behind their words. Currently, at sixteen years old, my shoulder injuries have not yet been healed. When I am walking around at school, the mere weight of my own arms causes tiredness within both shoulders, when I am sitting at the dinner table, they become restless as I slowly begin to feel numbness in my fingertips, and when I am painting every Saturday, my elbow rests amongst my thigh as I am incapable of holding my arm up to the canvas. Even just the simple drive to

Chan 4 Petaluma High School for swim practice will my shoulders feel feeble, and will my hands be forced to grasp the steering wheel at the "4 o'clock and 8o'clock," instead of the typical "2 and 10." My lifestyle has changed: my capabilities, my future. With a load of ignorance as a nineyear- old, five years of limitations and struggles came, and even more to come. But can you now sincerely say I have learned not only the intricate techniques of swimming, but also to eliminate my incompetence? Let's be honest, I have.

Chan 5 Works Cited "Natalie Coughlin Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 17 Jan. 2014. "Shoulder Impingement Syndrome: Symptoms, Treatments, Causes, and More." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 18 Jan. 2014. "Shoulder Impingement/Rotator Cuff Tendinitis-OrthoInfo - AAOS." Shoulder Impingement/Rotator Cuff Tendinitis-OrthoInfo - AAOS. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Jan. 2014.