GOING THE DISTANCE
( continued from page 11 )
points , one rebound and one turnover for the entire year ; I couldn ’ t fathom why he would want me to remain on the team . Regardless , I told him I was going out for the swimming team and that was the end of it . I walked out of his office and down to the depths of the athletic building . The pool was in the basement and when I got there all of the lights were off except the head coach ’ s office . I don ’ t remember what exactly I said , but years later he told me I barely said anything . I told him I was going to try out and then walked out the door . There wasn ’ t much of a conversation .
When I look back at that decision it ’ s easily the most defining moment of my life until recently when I became a dad . I can ’ t imagine how different my life would have been had I stuck with basketball . The next three years were a blur . When day one of practice started , I was in the “ slow lane ” again , something I was all too familiar with . But every day I showed up , and every day I got better . I started improving like I was going through puberty , getting stronger , faster and shaving time at each meet . By the time the conference championship meet came along , I somehow managed to win an individual event . I felt on top of the world . That next year , I trained even harder . I qualified for the Division III NCAA Championship meet in several events and became an All-American . When senior year rolled around all of a sudden , I saw myself as a contender to win an NCAA title . I trained the summer before senior year with the University of Louisville swim team in my hometown . I got to know the swimmers and coaches quite well . At the end of my senior season , I set the Division III NCAA record in the 50 free and won that national title I had coveted . I even got to compete in the 2008 Olympic trials that summer . While I was in no danger of making the Olympic team , it was an honor to participate in that meet .
Now all of this leads to how my athletic career shaped my career in medicine . I always knew I wanted to go to medical school . I even knew I wanted to be an orthopaedic surgeon . My dad is still to this day a practicing orthopaedist . He loves his job and I saw his love for it as a child . I remember rounding with him in the hospital on weekends . I remember coming to the office from time to time . I even shadowed him in high school as part of a job shadow project . When I interviewed at University of Louisville School of Medicine all my interviewers wanted to discuss was my swimming career . When I told them I intended to swim for UofL with my last remaining year of eligibility , they practically told me I was accepted . I left the interview day feeling like I was on cloud nine . I had worked hard in school , sacrificed a lot and studied hard . But the barrier to medical school entry was lifted by my swimming accolades . It got me in the club , it gave me the opportunity to become a doctor .
I did swim that first year of medical school . Practices were at 5 a . m ., cadaver lab lasted until 5 p . m . and then I would go to the gym to lift afterwards . It was a grueling yet rewarding year . Every moment was spent studying , swimming , training or travelling for swim meets . But the effort was well worth it . I set or helped set several pool and school records that year . We went to the Division I NCAA Championships . I didn ’ t win any titles that year but had the honor of becoming a Division I All-American . Thankfully as year two of medical school rolled around , I was out of eligibility . Although first year was tough , second year was brutal , and I know I could not have swum and passed my classes .
I may have always known I wanted to be an orthopaedist but getting into residency wasn ’ t going to be easy . I felt like I was one of the smartest people in school growing up and even felt similarly in college . But medical school was humbling ! There were people so smart it made my head spin , smart enough I had no chance to beat them with hard work alone . So try as I may , no matter how many Friday and Saturday nights I spent in the library , I was never going to be top of my class .
When I applied to residency , I only had a small number of interviews , somewhere around eight . And each one got harder as the pressure to gain acceptance kept growing . And then I went on my Hawaii interview . The only reason I even applied to Hawaii is because I applied to every program in the country ; I was hoping someone would take a chance on me . So when I got the invite to Hawaii , I bought my plane ticket and took a chance . I was the only person not from Hawaii , California or Las Vegas at the interview . I felt wildly out of place until I met the program director . And as fate would have it , he had been a former college swimmer and even swam in the Olympic trials back in the 80s . My swimming background had gotten me in the door . I had never been so laser-focused in my life as I was that day and at the end of it , I knew I had done everything I could . It was the last of all my interviews .
When Match Day finally arrived , I remember opening the envelope , but I already knew if a program was going to take a chance on me it was going to be Hawaii . I was elated to match there . Living in Hawaii was challenging , but they were five of the greatest years of my life .
When I look back at how my athletic background paved the path to my career in orthopaedics , I feel incredibly fortunate and lucky that things played out the way that they did . If I hadn ’ t switched to swimming in college , I cannot imagine how different my life might be . Something I ’ ve thought about recently is what a COVID-19 shutdown during my college career would have meant for my life , potentially never making it into orthopaedics . Whatever it was , fate , luck , hard work or perhaps a bit of all three , I count myself fortunate every day when I wake up and go to work . No one loves what they do as much as I do . I feel like I was born to do this job and truly enjoy every moment of it . I would not change any part of my journey for the world .
And much like my dad ’ s records , my college and medical school records have been broken as well . But that ’ s a good thing . I hope those following me have the same fortune in athletics and academics . I know for sure as soon as my daughter is old enough , I ’ ll be teaching her to swim , dribble a basketball , hit a golf ball and whatever else I can . I want her to experience just how powerful sports can be in shaping the person you become and how much fun you can have when you go along for the ride .
Dr . Sweet is an orthopaedic surgeon at Louisville Orthopaedic Clinic specializing in hip and knee replacement surgery .
12 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE