Around campus, you may have seen the small Filipino girl who seems to always have a smile on her face. Many know her as a star water polo player both on and off of school teams, the choir’s dedicated piano accompanist, the band’s talented first-chair clarinet player, HWA-DC’s dance instructor, and next year’s Korean Culture Club President. She is the one and only: Amy Bacay.

Amy was recently diagnosed with Lax Joint Syndrome, in which the space and tendons around her joints are loose, meaning that places like her shoulder, knee, and ankle have a high chance of dislocating.

“I was diagnosed with it around the start of the 2018 water polo season when I dislocated my right shoulder around the third time in the span of a couple of months. The previous times it happened, I was able to shrug it off and keep going, but when it happened the last time, I couldn’t even move my arm without immense pain,” Amy recounts.

Despite her difficulties, Amy still keeps her positive attitude both in and out of the water.

“The love that I have for my sports is my driving factor to push through this hard time. Water Polo is my favorite sport and not being able to finish the season was one of the hardest things I had to do. In my mind, I would tell myself that I’m doing all of this to come back for the next season as the best me I could be. I knew that if I let my injuries take over, then I wouldn’t go back into the water, so I did all I could to try and keep a positive mindset,” she says.

Amy has not let her injuries get the best of her, either. Despite having to go the extra mile in order to keep herself safe, she continues to pursue growth as a swimmer and a water polo player.

“I had to relearn certain strokes in swimming because I had to execute it in a way that was the least painful for my shoulder and knee. I also had to do physical therapy to help tighten up my muscles so that I wouldn’t dislocate my shoulder again, and I also had to get a procedure done on that shoulder. I also dislocated my knee while dancing during the talent show, but I was able to rest my knee and no recent problems have arisen from it.”

Amy’s infectious personality has gotten her close with many students at Ripon High, and her countless stories about her crazy family and her cats always leave a smile on people’s faces. To them, she gives these words of advice:

“If you’re going through a difficult time, it’s okay to reach out for help. It’s okay to cry over it just a little, but if all you do is sit back and cry about the problem, you’ll never get up and try to find a solution. I took steps to find a solution and with the support of my friends and teammates, I was able to push through.”