By Katie Lafferty, Swimming World College Intern.
What do you do when you receive a season ending diagnosis? You come back stronger the following season and show the world that nothing can get in your way. This is exactly what Arkansas native, Amanda Crnic, did after having her first season of college swimming cut short.
After returning home from training trip, Saint Francis University (PA.), had their first swim meet of the semester. However, when Crnic dove in for the meet against Lock Haven University, she started experiencing abnormal pains in her right bicep.
“It felt like my arm was swelling, like it was going to burst,” Crnic said.
The pain she was feeling only occurred when she was doing physical activity. Once she was done working out, the pain would subside. Eventually, the symptoms got worse. Crnic’s arm began to swell and turn purple by the end of her last practice of her season. This was the last time that Crnic swam for several months. A blood clot had formed from her first rib and scalene muscles constricting her vein. The constant overhead motion from being a freestyler had led to the vein constriction.
Photo Courtesy: Ernest Tiberino
Soon enough, Crnic and her mom, Mel, were on their way to Rochester, New York from Loretto, Pennsylvania. Here they got to see one of the top doctors in the country, who confirmed the diagnosis of Paget-Schroetter syndrome, which is a form of Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. Little did the Crnic’s know that they would spend the next three weeks in New York, in and out of the hospital. Amanda said that they were only planning on staying in New York for “maybe two days just to have the first procedure done and to see the doctor [but] obviously we strongly underestimated.”
While in New York, Crnic underwent two different procedures. The first procedure was to “bust” the blood clot out of her vein. While trying to clear the clot out of her vein, Crnic was put on blood thinners to try and reduce the blood clot that was as well. The second procedure was based off of how well her vein did in the first procedure. After she regained some strength, Crnic’s doctor strongly recommended that she go ahead with the second procedure. Going ahead with the second procedure meant that the doctor would have to remove some of the muscle in Crnic’s neck and remove her first rib, which would hopefully prevent any further blood clots. Both procedures were successful and Crnic was on her way to recovery.
Photo Courtesy: Amanda Crnic
Being limited in activity for months did not stop Crnic from excelling. Going into her sophomore season, she was able to get back into the water and start training again. As the season progressed, so did Crnic. She was continuously a part of relays and got back to swimming her specialty events. Each meet that she swam in was a success. Crnic even placed fourth at the Saint Francis meet against Lock Haven University, the same meet that her symptoms appeared the year prior.
As the season went on, Crnic continued to impress everyone. With no signs of another blood clot forming, training continued and the results followed. As the end of the season approached, Crnic attended her first Northeast Conference Championship meet (NECs). At NECs, Crnic was apart of two relays and placed 24th in the 200 free and 21st in the 100 free, with all of her conference times being either lifetime or season best times.
At the end of each swim season, members of the Saint Francis University women’s swim team vote on team awards. One of the awards voted on is the most improved swimmer award, which “is given to the swimmer who has the most significant time drops during the season.” Crnic’s teammates voted her the “most improved” and even called her the “comeback kid” several times.
“Amanda won most improved this past season. Or better known as the comeback kid in Amanda’s case,” assistant swim coach, Leah Neiheisel, said. “It’s incredible to watch a kid that was out for almost eight months comeback with her drive and determination to finish off the year with lifetime bests.” This award is just a testament to what Crnic has overcome over the last year to get to where she is today.
Being a witness to Crnic’s work ethic and determination throughout her entire journey has opened the eyes of many. From a life-threatening diagnosis to being named “most improved” has shown the entire Saint Francis University community what hard work and a positive attitude can do. Witnessing the comeback of Crnic was a story which will never be forgotten by the members of the Saint Francis University women’s swim team.
All commentaries are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Swimming World Magazine nor its staff.
Jane Coffin
Katie, great article and a very inspiring story! Well done!