Stan Camin could feel something was wrong.
But the then-junior — ever the competitor —not only continued to swim through the increasing pain, he swam at a competitive pace.
So when doctors delivered the news he had suffered a fractured back, Camin was stunned.
" I was shocked," he said. "I just thought it was a muscle problem or sometime. A fractured back was the last thing I was expecting. It was tough."
But after nearly a full year out of the water, restricted to a back brace and twice working through physical therapy, Camin has returned as a captain for the undefeated Andover High swim team.
"He is so happy to be swimming again," said his mother, Naoko Camin. "He loves to swim and he loves this team. It was tough being away, so he is so happy to be in the water."
A member of the Golden Warrior varsity team since his freshman season, Camin began to struggle with increasing discomfort last December.
"There was a lot of pain in my back over the Christmas break," he said. "Sometimes the pain was pretty bad. But I never thought I broke something."
Camin continued to compete for Andover, despite the pain hindering his performance.
"He wanted to make sure he did all that he could to help the team," said Warriors coach Mark Taffe. "We told him any time he didn't feel comfortable he could stop. He said he was fine."
But in late January, doctors informed him that he suffered from "spondylolysis," or a fracture in his lower back.
"There were a lot of factors that caused it," he said. "Genetics, overworking, not taking care of it. Even tight muscles. All those together made the fracture happen."
Camin was able to compete in the Merrimack Valley Conference meet, swimming on the winning 200 medley relay, but he had to sit out North Sections and Division 1 states.
"The doctors told me to stay out of the pool completely for four months and I needed physical therapy," he said. "I couldn't really start swimming on a limited bases until the summer."
But the worst part, he said, was having to wear a large and uncomfortable back brace.
"It was horrible," he said with a laugh. "Sleeping in it was the worst. I had to wear it 23 hours a day for six months. It was especially bad in the summer."
Finally out of the back brace, Camin began to work himself back into shape, keeping a positive attitude despite a late setback.
"It took almost a full year to heal," said Naoko, a native of Japan. "He was getting better, then had to go back for more physical therapy. It was tough, but he handled it very well."
Camin was finally cleared to return to competition in late December, and two days after Christmas swam on two winning relays in the Golden Warriors' victory over archrival Central Catholic.
"The toughest part has been catching up to where I was," said Camin, whose brother Vincent is also swims for the Warriors. "I can definitely feel the decrease in endurance. But in some events I was surprised how little I lost. I am feeling pretty healthy right now."
With the pesky back brace gathering dust in his closet, Camin has his eyes set on finishing with a bang.
"Pretty soon I'll be back to where I was," he said. "Hopefully I'll be better than before."
VIDEO TEASE
For video of Stan Camin talking about his injury and fight back, visit andovertownsman.com or rallynorth.net.
