Many spring sport athletes have been faced with injuries. Haley Shipway, Cassidy Fuller, and Hannah Perkins are three varsity athletes who have, in spite of their injures, continued to make positive contributions to their teams.

Perkins, a senior varsity lacrosse athlete, recently fractured her hand during a game after another girl stepping on it with her cleat. She has been out of several games since her injury. Perkins said, “I was already hurt going into the game because I had fallen off the roof the Monday of the week that we played. We were playing Miramonte and off the draw, I went for the ball and a girl tripped me. I fell down and couldn’t get up fast enough, so a girl ran across my hand.”

As a team captain, Perkins comes to every practice and feels obligated to be there.  “Even if I wasn’t able to play, I’d still be there,” said Perkins. Her passion for the sport led her to cut off her cast so she could play, even though her doctor said she was not supposed to.

Fuller, a sophomore varsity swimmer, is faced with the worst of the swimming injuries. According to Fuller, she has a stress fracture in her foot due to her high arches; in addition, her labrum became loose in her shoulder and slipped off her bone–this injury led to surgery. Fuller said, “Until I got the surgery I had still been swimming in the relays.  It hurt, but I needed to do it for the team. Even though I can’t swim now, I’m still going to go to the practices and will be cheering at DFALs and trying to help out as much as I can.”

Fuller cannot get into the water for another five weeks. Fuller said, “It’s really different not swimming.  I’ve been doing it my entire life and right now I’m not obligated to go to practices so I have all of this free time.” After she gets her cast off, she will need a brace and then 24 weeks of physical therapy until she will be allowed to train again. Ronnie Heidary, the varsity swim coach, had told Fuller earlier in the year that she would have to be there in order for the team to succeed.

Shipway, sophomore track runner, suffered a hip injury due to the repetitive motions of running. She was training hard, and when it hurt, she did not stop. According to Shipway, she has been to several different doctors who said that her hip flexers are rotating. Shipway said, “I contribute to the team by going to all the meets, coming to practice and just supporting the team. I’ve been going to practice and I will sit in the shed and bike or run grass laps.”

Shipway has been going to physical therapy every week and has been getting sports massages; she also says that she has to stretch a lot. Shipway said, “I hate not running, I can’t stand it.”