Swimmer delays brain surgery to help team

BREA – As Alec Boliver waited patiently behind the starting block for his race, his smile shined across the crowded pool deck.

Swimming is a passion for the Brea Olinda senior, even though the next minute and about three seconds of butterfly would cause him an almost unbearable amount of pain.

Even the most in-shape swimmers feel pain during races, but Boliver encounters more than sore muscles.

He has cysts in the central part of his brain.

The cysts, and the pressure they create, have caused Boliver severe headaches for about three years.

The pounding increases when Boliver holds his breath under water, something he does regularly and strategically as a swimmer.

But Boliver hasn't let the pain stop him from racing.

He is in his fourth season swimming at Brea Olinda. He has come back from brain surgery as a sophomore and, this week, he isn't letting a planned second operation stop him.

Boliver has rescheduled brain surgery so he can race with his teammates against Villa Park Wednesday on senior day at Brea Olinda. The teams — tied for 10th in the county — are undefeated and seeking momentum for next week's Century League finals.

"I put it (the surgery) off so I can swim against Villa Park," Boliver said at a recent meet. "I love swimming. It's definitely my favorite sport."

Wednesday's showdown figures to be close. In dual meets, each race and each swimmer matters in the scoring.

But Brea Olinda, the defending league champion, already has received a boost from Boliver.

"We definitely look up to him," senior co-captain Cale Engelage said. "We're all complaining about practices and stuff and he's in here (swimming) with that kind of (condition). ... That's unbelievable."

Boliver sometimes takes himself out of practices when his head hurts. He also might race only individual events at meets. But he has continued to race and has earned his keep.

"We raced a 50 fly and he beat everybody on JV, so he got the varsity spot," Brea Olinda coach Gil Rotblum said. "He's tougher than those guys and is willing to go all out."

When asked after a recent 100-yard butterfly race to describe his level of pain, with 10 being the highest, Boliver felt he was at a "9 or 10."

"I usually try to tough it up for the races because I know my team needs me," said Boliver, an older brother to two sisters.

The surgery is scheduled for Friday at UCLA after being moved from last Friday. The surgery will be complex and will end Boliver's season. With the guide of an MRI, part of his skull will be removed so a cyst can be drained.

Boliver is suffering from headaches, body twitches and mood swings.

"(The surgeon) was OK with us postponing by a week," said Boliver's father, Scott, who swam at West Covina High. "According to the doctor, the swimming is probably adding to his pain.

"(The pain) bothers his mother and I a lot but at the same time, we know it's something he loves to do. The doctor said, 'Don't stop unless it's so painful that you have to.'"

Boliver first started having headaches as a sophomore during water polo practice.

"After that, I just noticed headaches every time I got my heart rate up," he said.

An MRI revealed that a cyst was pushing against his brain, Scott said. Boliver had his first brain surgery in October of his sophomore year. A small hole was cut to access another cyst the size of a golf ball. The cyst has decreased in size since being drained.

Boliver said the headaches seemed to go away but returned this fall.

The hope is that Friday's surgery brings similar results to the first one and will make Boliver feel better, his father said.

Boliver also hopes to recover in time to watch his team race at the Century League finals May 6.

"I don't really know how I deal with it," Boliver said of his condition. "I just try to think about other things like swimming and just live life instead of getting sad about it."

Contact the writer: dalbano@ocregister.com