Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
Smith Making the Most of his Second Chance
December 17, 2019 04:22 PM | Men's Swimming & Diving
In honor of Aplastic Anemia Awareness month, which is celebrated each December, today we feature redshirt senior diver Austin Smith, who was diagnosed with this rare autoimmune disease a little over a year ago.
Sponsors, donors, supporters and fans collectively turned their attention to the high dive on Friday, Nov. 1, as they watched with bated breath, waiting for a single dive to mark the beginning of something special.
For the West Virginia University swimming and diving teams, it meant the two squads could finally call the Aquatic Center at Mylan Park home after years of planning and waiting. For Morgantown, W.Va., it meant the community would finally have an Olympic-sized swimming pool and indoor community pool, a vast need in the area for the last several years.
But for redshirt senior diver Austin Smith, that single dive meant so much more.
A year ago, Smith wasn't sure if he'd have the chance to take flight off a platform like that ever again. When he returned for his senior campaign in the fall of 2018, he found himself struggling to make it up a flight of stairs or jog one lap around the track without feeling winded. As a Division I athlete, this was an immediate red flag.
"Initially I just shrugged it off," Smith said, "thinking I was just trying to get back in the swing of things. I went to see my trainer, and we just chalked it up to being dehydrated and kind of out of shape since we were out of season."
But his symptoms persisted, and eventually, WVU diving coach Michael Grapner encouraged his senior diver to get some blood tests done to see if something was wrong.
"Eventually, after further testing, they diagnosed me with severe aplastic anemia, which is essentially an autoimmune disease that prevents the body from making cells within your bone marrow," Smith explained.
With his bone marrow unable to produce the necessary number of new blood cells, he was in need of a bone marrow transplant. After going through the process of searching for a donor, Smith's sister, Lindsay, became his donor.
"I went through a week of chemo to knock out my entire immune system and essentially acquired hers, so now I am 90 percent woman, which is kind of my joke," he said with a smile.
As the Fishers, Indiana, native was undergoing treatment, transplants and recovery at J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, he was missing his senior year on the diving team. Although the support from his teammates and coaches was incredible, it was difficult to sit on the sidelines while the others were putting together a successful 2018-19 campaign.
After six weeks in the hospital and a two-month stay at the Rosenbaum Family House, Smith finally moved back home in January, which was one of the only gifts he wanted that Christmas. He was slowly able to return to normal and was cleared to go back to practice, as long as he took things slowly.
"It was a very frustrating year because I went from being so competitive and feeling like I was the strongest I've ever been and feeling so invincible, then something like this happens, and what was I supposed to do?" he said. "It really is like a climb. It's been one of the hardest things, but also one of the most rewarding things that I think has ever happened to me."
The multidisciplinary studies major got back into the swing of things last winter and into the spring, but he hadn't achieved the peak performance level he knew he could reach. After attending the Big 12 Championship with the team in February as an "assistant coach", he made a goal to get his competition dives back to form over the summer so he could return for a second chance at his senior year in the fall.
And here he is, back on the team, making the most out of that second chance.
"Any time that I do get frustrated (with myself this season), I just remember that this is all I ever wanted," Smith said. "The fact that I'm doing what I want to do after everything that happened is rewarding enough for me."
Not only is Smith back on the team with a "do-over" opportunity, but a little over a year after his bone marrow transplant, he had the honor of performing the first-ever, ceremonial dive to officially open the Aquatic Center at Mylan Park.
"That was such a rewarding moment," Smith said. "Any time I can represent my school and university in that way is such a cool thing, regardless of my history, but being able to do that first ceremonial dive in front of all of those sponsors and everyone who made this possible after everything I've been through was such a special feeling."
With that dive, a new era began for WVU Athletics and the Morgantown community, but it also marked the beginning of Austin Smith's second chance for a senior year at WVU.
"This time last year, I wasn't even sure if I was going to be able to dive again," Smith said. "We had no idea what my future held, so any win that I can get is huge in my book. I am just so glad to be back and able to compete and represent my school."
From exhaustion and blood tests to a bone marrow transplant and months of recovery, Smith's journey to get back to himself culminated at the top of the diving well at the brand new Aquatic Center at Mylan Park on Friday, Nov. 1. He balanced in an arm stand and collected his thoughts, then pushed off the platform, flipping into the senior season he never thought he'd have.
Sponsors, donors, supporters and fans collectively turned their attention to the high dive on Friday, Nov. 1, as they watched with bated breath, waiting for a single dive to mark the beginning of something special.
For the West Virginia University swimming and diving teams, it meant the two squads could finally call the Aquatic Center at Mylan Park home after years of planning and waiting. For Morgantown, W.Va., it meant the community would finally have an Olympic-sized swimming pool and indoor community pool, a vast need in the area for the last several years.
But for redshirt senior diver Austin Smith, that single dive meant so much more.
A year ago, Smith wasn't sure if he'd have the chance to take flight off a platform like that ever again. When he returned for his senior campaign in the fall of 2018, he found himself struggling to make it up a flight of stairs or jog one lap around the track without feeling winded. As a Division I athlete, this was an immediate red flag.
"Initially I just shrugged it off," Smith said, "thinking I was just trying to get back in the swing of things. I went to see my trainer, and we just chalked it up to being dehydrated and kind of out of shape since we were out of season."
But his symptoms persisted, and eventually, WVU diving coach Michael Grapner encouraged his senior diver to get some blood tests done to see if something was wrong.
"Eventually, after further testing, they diagnosed me with severe aplastic anemia, which is essentially an autoimmune disease that prevents the body from making cells within your bone marrow," Smith explained.
With his bone marrow unable to produce the necessary number of new blood cells, he was in need of a bone marrow transplant. After going through the process of searching for a donor, Smith's sister, Lindsay, became his donor.
"I went through a week of chemo to knock out my entire immune system and essentially acquired hers, so now I am 90 percent woman, which is kind of my joke," he said with a smile.
As the Fishers, Indiana, native was undergoing treatment, transplants and recovery at J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, he was missing his senior year on the diving team. Although the support from his teammates and coaches was incredible, it was difficult to sit on the sidelines while the others were putting together a successful 2018-19 campaign.
After six weeks in the hospital and a two-month stay at the Rosenbaum Family House, Smith finally moved back home in January, which was one of the only gifts he wanted that Christmas. He was slowly able to return to normal and was cleared to go back to practice, as long as he took things slowly.
"It was a very frustrating year because I went from being so competitive and feeling like I was the strongest I've ever been and feeling so invincible, then something like this happens, and what was I supposed to do?" he said. "It really is like a climb. It's been one of the hardest things, but also one of the most rewarding things that I think has ever happened to me."
The multidisciplinary studies major got back into the swing of things last winter and into the spring, but he hadn't achieved the peak performance level he knew he could reach. After attending the Big 12 Championship with the team in February as an "assistant coach", he made a goal to get his competition dives back to form over the summer so he could return for a second chance at his senior year in the fall.
And here he is, back on the team, making the most out of that second chance.
"Any time that I do get frustrated (with myself this season), I just remember that this is all I ever wanted," Smith said. "The fact that I'm doing what I want to do after everything that happened is rewarding enough for me."
Not only is Smith back on the team with a "do-over" opportunity, but a little over a year after his bone marrow transplant, he had the honor of performing the first-ever, ceremonial dive to officially open the Aquatic Center at Mylan Park.
"That was such a rewarding moment," Smith said. "Any time I can represent my school and university in that way is such a cool thing, regardless of my history, but being able to do that first ceremonial dive in front of all of those sponsors and everyone who made this possible after everything I've been through was such a special feeling."
With that dive, a new era began for WVU Athletics and the Morgantown community, but it also marked the beginning of Austin Smith's second chance for a senior year at WVU.
"This time last year, I wasn't even sure if I was going to be able to dive again," Smith said. "We had no idea what my future held, so any win that I can get is huge in my book. I am just so glad to be back and able to compete and represent my school."
From exhaustion and blood tests to a bone marrow transplant and months of recovery, Smith's journey to get back to himself culminated at the top of the diving well at the brand new Aquatic Center at Mylan Park on Friday, Nov. 1. He balanced in an arm stand and collected his thoughts, then pushed off the platform, flipping into the senior season he never thought he'd have.
Players Mentioned
Diving
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