AVON LAKE, Ohio — For as long as Olivia Slivinski can remember her days have started at the pool.
“Since I’ve been a baby, I’ve been in the water.”
Her parents Dale and Nicole say she took to swimming almost instantly, pretending she was a mermaid among fish.
Today that mermaid is more of a shark, with a mental toughness that is required of all who choose to swim distance events.
“You just have to find a way to lock in, stay connected with your body,” said the Avon Lake teen.
At home, her bedroom wall is a testament to Liv’s success and her passion throughout the years. Swimming photos and medals take up considerable space.
But the display doesn’t tell the whole story.
Swimming her favorite sport, but Liv also enjoyed her spot on the Shoregals lacrosse team.
And it was on the field in March of 2021 that Liv’s greatest battle began.
“All of a sudden, I just felt immense pain. I felt a pop, and I could not get up,” she recalled.
The diagnosis – a torn ACL in her right knee. She underwent surgery the next month, and then physical therapy – but it wasn’t smooth sailing. Two more procedures addressed scar tissue and patellar tendonitis. By June the following year, Liv was in the homestretch of her lengthy recovery, just in time for swim camp in North Carolina.
“On the first night there, we were playing beach volleyball. I misstepped in the sand while going for the ball, and all of a sudden, I felt that pop in my left knee,”
Her “good” knee.
Convinced it was only a tweak or sprain, Liv prepared to swim the very next morning.
“While I’m sitting on the pool deck, I push myself in with my right arm, and it just slips behind me and dislocates.”
Two major injuries within the span of 12 hours, for a young athlete who'd spent the last 15 months rehabbing a previous injury.
The diagnosis: another torn ACL and now a torn labrum in her shoulder. Also damaged:
Liv’s spirit and confidence.
“Some of the work we do, with a lot of athletes, revolves around the perception of the injuries: fear of the movement, getting back. Just the distorted belief that you have in our thought processes that doesn’t reflect reality,” said Cleveland Clinic Sports Psychologist Matthew Sacco.
Setbacks during her first injury brought Olivia to Dr. Sacco. She would need his help again after the ACL tear in second knee and her shoulder injury.
Triggers for Liv included hearing about or witnessing injuries, feeling soreness, pain or pushing her rebuilt knees during breaststroke – which puts added pressure on those joints.
Liv recalled an especially difficult time when she panicked during a breaststroke set.
“I was freaking out the whole time even though I knew I was fine. I just could not get over that mental jump.”
Through cognitive behavioral therapy, Liv was able to express her fears out loud and work through them with professional guidance.
“It really is a matter of building some skills around what happens when I am really having a tough day. Then we have some space to maybe rescript some of that or talk about, “okay, what might be a more healthy, more effective way to think about that.” And it takes time,” said Dr. Sacco.
By her senior year, Liv was back with a rebuilt body and a mind to match. She’s a different person today, grateful and stronger.
“Just getting help is the best thing you can do for yourself,” said Liv who also heaps praise on her family, trainers, physical therapists and her swim coach – for supporting her mental health journey as he rehabbed her injuries. She’s a staunch advocate for building a support system if you find yourself struggling.
For Liv a new chapter is now just a few weeks away. She begins her freshman year soon at The California University of Pennsylvania, where she will also fulfill a dream of swimming at the collegiate level.
“I was just so excited to lock it in place, I’m so excited to go there,” she said.
She plans on a career in physical therapy to help people like herself, and get them on the road to recovery.
Last year the Cleveland Clinic named Liv their Sports Medicine Courage Award Winner for 2023.
Time allows her to laugh about her luck and injuries – all of which occurred on land. It’s clear this “fish out of water” is ready to dive back in – to the big ocean that lies ahead.