At first glance, sophomore Caroline Berg is similar to any other high school athlete. She is focused and driven in her diving. But behind her perfect dives and good grades, she fights a battle every day.
Berg is an essential member of the school’s varsity girls diving team. She works hard every day, but she also deals with the reality of living with a chronic illness.
When Berg was 11, she had an unexpected stroke and was a millimeter away from being completely paralyzed. This then led to her having two brain surgeries.
Before Berg started diving, she was initially a gymnast. After her seizure, she had taken a step back and then started back up again after her brain surgeries.
Berg suffered significant body pain and was always feeling sick. She eventually quit gymnastics at the age of 13.
“I was diagnosed with Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder leading to Dysautonomia and Gastroparesis last July, which was four years later,” Berg said.
Berg had been forced to deal with these conditions her entire life and wasn’t able to get a diagnosis until she was 15 years old.
“I couldn’t do a sport,” Berg said. “With my hypermobility, the collagen connecting my joints and tissue is super weak, causing them to overflex.
This made it impossible for me to do gymnastics, which I loved.”
After her gymnastics career ended, Berg moved on to diving and fell in love with the sport.
As Berg started her career, she worked hard to shape her identity as an athlete.
“My identity as an athlete hasn’t exactly shaped yet,” Berg said. “I constantly have to leave practice early, and I don’t practice as much as everyone else. I hope that someday I can share my story about how awesome it is that I am a diver with a third of a brain.”
Berg works hard to balance out being an athlete and dealing with a chronic illness. Her coaches and teammates also have had to learn to work with her and ensure she is always safe.
“I had concerns,” diving coach Steve Hoefferle said. “I was very focused on safe practices, and when things seemed off with her, we slowed things down. It was an adjustment, but I care deeply about my athletes and their physical well-being.”
Hoerfferle has worked hard to accommodate Berg’s conditions. Her medical condition is much different from most, causing a massive change in how he has coached in the previous years.
“We are always prepared to let her get out early, and we keep lots of watch on and make sure we know that she is OK and feeling good at all times.” junior and teammate Adelyn Flessner said.
Having teammates willing to help makes the environment around high school swimming much easier for Berg.
“It is good to know that I have a good team and coach as a support team that is always making sure I am OK and comfortable,” Berg said.
While Berg has an excellent support team and knows that her family, friends and teammates are always there for her and there to help, she still sometimes feels alone.
“My family is always there for me, but the thing is that they will never understand,” Berg said. “I can complain and ask for help, but I will always be alone because many people are not in this position and have difficulty connecting with me.”
Berg has attempted to start a social media platform and worked hard to raise awareness for her condition and others with similar situations.
She is invested in gaining a platform of interested people who want to involve themselves in raising awareness for her condition. Berg wants to teach people about chronic illnesses and their daily lives.
“I love to post online about my chronic illness and feel that lots of people should learn about it, but it is super hard to find people that don’t relate and still want to listen to our stories,” Berg said.
Caroline Berg has never stopped pushing to be the best through every setback and hospital visit.
Her strength isn’t just based on her diving performance but also on her investment in spreading awareness and pushing herself to be the best athlete and student she can be.
