Alexis Bazos

My name is Alexis Bazos and I am a rising senior on the University of Notre Dame Softball team. I am also a member of the Greek National team. This summer I underwent my fourth surgery. This sport has a crazy way of challenging me to overcome injuries time and time again, but I am a firm believer in the value of battling through adversity. I tore my right ACL my sophomore year of high school, and am proud of my record-tying 3 month recovery time. I was hoping my one major sport related injury was in the past, when I broke my left ankle the summer heading into my freshman year at ND. The break required micro-fracture surgery which was incredibly untimely. Once again, hoping my last surgery was behind me, I felt a crunch in my right knee during practice my freshman year. I did everything I could to mask the pain for as long as possible, getting numerous cortisone shots and ultimately getting my knee drained once a week during the fall of my sophomore year. After my sophomore year it was clear that I needed surgery and I received my second micro-fracture procedure, this time in my knee. Although the surgery was a success, I struggled with brutal knee pain throughout my junior year. I had also learned that my ankle will require a second micro-fracture procedure, as there is a new bone chip that is causing pain. As time went on, the pain hindered my ability to live normally. Walking to class became a real struggle and walking down stairs was entirely out of the picture. A month ago, I underwent my fourth surgery, this time, to fix a torn meniscus in my knee. Although it has been an incredibly challenging, and oftentimes painful, run, I could not be more appreciative of the lessons I have learned through the struggle. I am proud of the tenacious outlook I have adopted as a result of the circumstances. Although I am still lined up for one more ankle surgery post-grad (this will be my fifth, and fingers crossed, final surgery) I am very excited and ready for my senior year at Notre Dame!