During senior year, students are often excited for a new chapter in life; every last moment is spent with friends and memories of each moment within the last four years flashes by. However, for Simpson College senior and men’s gymnastics team member, Alex Catchpole, there was a bump in his road that led to an unexpected turn. 

Catchpole described his senior year as “up and down,” especially after a medical emergency early in November. 

“Yeah, I felt normal and healthy, and then there was one night in November where I had a seizure in my sleep,” Catchpole said. “My roommates found me, and they called the ambulance, and I didn’t know what was going on. I was unconscious, I don’t really remember it.” 

After being taken to the hospital, doctors discovered an abnormality not commonly seen in someone so young. 

“The doctor came in and told me they found a mass in my brain, and, you know, it really was scary, because I’m young and healthy and I didn’t have anything wrong with me before that,” Catchpole said. 

From this day, life began to move at a faster pace. After undergoing scans and learning more about the issue, Catchpole returned home to meet with doctors and prepare for surgery. As the incident occurred around the holidays, his surgery ended up being pushed back further than wanted, which added even more unpredictable moments to an already stressful situation. 

“The surgery got pushed back until after Christmas, I think it was right around New Year’s,” Catchpole said. “This was like the first surgery I ever had, so I was just terrified, I was scared of just going to sleep.” 

While the surgery went well and doctors were able to remove the mass, the hardest part of the procedure was the waiting period afterwards. Catchpole was told information from a doctor which changed his feelings about the whole scenario.. 

“She just kind of looked at the scan and was like, I think it’s going to be, like the worst case scenario, and we’re going to have to do radiation and chemo.” Catchpole said. 

This was overwhelming for Catchpole.

“I was just devastated,” he said. 

However, Instead of coming to terms with this answer, Catchpole and his family took it upon themselves to look for a second opinion; in the end, this changed everything. After meeting with a specialist, they were given much better news. 

 “He was shocked, this is nothing like any of the bad ones they’ve seen,” Catchpole said. “Luckily, those came back good, it wasn’t cancerous, it wasn’t bad, it was a low grade.” 

Hearing the information brought a sense of relief for him, but after a major surgery, the recovery process wasn’t going to be easy. For someone who spent their time being active and involved in sports, having to take a step back was a challenge. 

“My biggest challenge was just not being able to do anything, I just had to sit on my couch, I couldn’t see my friends or talk to anybody, it was pretty isolating.” Catchpole said. 

Being in this state had a physical and mental impact on Catchpole. 

“I felt like I couldn’t really do anything, I’d walk around my house, and I’d get out of breath, I felt kind of bad about myself,” Catchpole said. 

From being involved in gymnastics for many years, Catchpole believed his gymnastics career might be over, but he pushed the thought into the back of his mind and never fully gave up. Catchpole switched his mentality and stayed optimistic, only focusing on what he could control. 

“I kind of weirdly accepted it, I have faced it and moved forward with it,” Catchpole said.” I can’t think negatively, I just had a positive attitude, even though it was pretty scary.” 

Having that mindset is what helped him to continue to work hard. After spending weeks recovering and slowly gaining his strength back, Catchpole was cleared to return to gymnastics, one week before the team’s senior night. 

Despite having minimal time to prepare, he didn’t take the chance for granted. He quickly got into the gym and worked hard, both physically and mentally. 

“‘What do I need to do to be ready and mentally prepared for it too?’” Catchpole thought to himself while getting back into training..

By the time senior night came, he was able to compete on the pommel horse in front of a home crowd, and represented the challenges he faced and the work he put into coming back and competing. 

“It was really emotional, all these people came up to me, telling me how excited they were to see me compete,” Catchpole said. 

While the routine wasn’t his ideal performance,  it didn’t change the importance of it. Having to go through this experience has also changed his perspective on life. 

“I kind of learned to live in the moment. Before this, I would always just look forward to the next goal, life’s too short.” Catchpole said. 

His twin sister, junior and women’s gymnastics member Nicola Catchpole, said the situation  was just an equally emotional experience for her. The situation seemed very uncertain as soon as she heard about it. 

“So my initial reaction was pretty shocking and scary,” Nicola Catchpole said. 

She described how fast everything happened, and how little information they knew. Though she knew her brother was a fighter and had a positive mindset through it all. 

“He remained pretty positive throughout the whole thing,” Nicola Catchpole said. 

Seeing him come back and compete on senior night meant a lot to her and her family, as it was more than just a performance. 

“It was a very proud moment,” Nicola Catchpole said. 

What started off as one of the most unpredictable and frightening moments of his life turned into a story of resilience and determination. Alex Catchpole is back on campus and continuing his senior year before graduating in May.