Summer Melena has been playing softball for most of her life.
Heading into her last semester, Sprague High School’s shortstop already had interest from recruiters and was signed to play in college.
But a torn shoulder muscle derailed the 17-year-old athlete’s plan, forcing her to miss her senior season as she recovered from surgery. Melena struggled to adapt.
“I love those girls so much and I want to be around them,” she said of her teammates. “But it’s just the thought of not being a play, I only can watch … I guess in the beginning. I didn’t think there was much for me to contribute.”
Melena quickly proved herself wrong, said Kimo Mahi, Sprague’s athletic trainer and sports medicine teacher.
“She really embraced a new role that I don’t think she anticipated or wanted. But life threw a curveball,” he said. Post-injury, she supported her team, attending practices and games and offering help and advice to other players.
Sports have defined Melena’s time in high school, and she’s frequently found in Sprague’s training room.
Besides softball, she played basketball and is a leader in the sports medicine program. She and other advanced students help Mahi tend to athletes, taping them up before games.
Last year, she traveled to the Portland area for a football playoff game. It took hours for her to warm up after spending the game in a downpour.
“She’s out there in the pouring down rain helping on the sideline when other students who are at home are doing something else,” Mahi said. “She’s dedicated to the program and dedicated to the teams.”
Melena first hurt her shoulder during her junior year. She recovered somewhat and continued playing softball over the summer.
But at a travel softball game last fall, she dove to make a catch and landed on her arm. The impact tore the cartilage around the shoulder joint.
Initially, she thought she could play through it. But it became clear to her that if she didn’t have surgery and take time to recover, she’d continue re-injuring herself and likely end up sidelined in college.
She played through her senior year basketball season with an injury, but decided to go ahead with surgery and sit the softball season out.
“It’s kind of like an ultimatum where I had to choose … you either push through the pain and everything. Or you just actually take your recovery seriously,” she said.
It wasn’t an easy choice.
“I was recruited for softball at the time and I was committed … so like, my whole life future was kind of planned out,” she said.
Melena changed her college plans. She’s now going to attend Grand Canyon University in Phoenix to study nursing. She has no immediate plans to continue sports as she recovers.
She’s like to be a neonatal nurse, she said. She was born premature, as was her younger sister.
“Seeing my sister in that state makes me want to help other babies who are going to be in that state,” she said.
Melena hopes to someday play softball again. She said she was surprised to see that teammates and coaches still valued having her in the dugout as a senior, even when she couldn’t play.
“It definitely was an eye opener,” she said. “The girls really wanted me out there and the coaches wanted me out there. And as much as it hurt, I actually did want to be out there with the girls even though it took me like a long time to realize it.”
“She’s shown so much resiliency and tenacity,” Mahi said.
He said Melena has set herself apart in class with her inquisitiveness and knowledge of the body, memorizing every bone and almost every muscle.
“She’s amazing. She’s going to make an incredible nurse,” he said.
Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.
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Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers city news, education, nonprofits and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for a decade. Outside of work, she’s a skater and board member with Salem’s Cherry City Roller Derby and can often be found with her nose buried in a book.
