Sweet Home diver recovering from scary fall
by PATRICK J. NAGY Reporter

Sweet Home junior Alex Pason is recovering from a serious diving injury that he suffered in warm-ups in a home meet against Orchard Park on Feb. 1.

Sweet Home's boys swimming team closed out the regular season portion of its schedule with a 140-39 loss against Orchard Park on Feb. 1 at Sweet Home but the bigger story is the health of junior Panther diver Alex Pason.

Pason was attempting an inward 1.5 dive in warm-ups when he struck his face on the diving board and fell into the water. OP diver Patrick Ring jumped in the pool to offer Pason some assistance but Pason was able to pull himself out of the pool.

Pason was immediately attended to by Sweet Home assistant coach Vince McCarthy, who kept him still. Sweet Home trainer Mike Maisano was able to control Pason's bleeding before Twin City Ambulance arrived minutes later to place him in a cervical collar and on a backboard. Pason's mother, Pat, said one of the Twin City emergency medical technicians was a former Sweet Home swimmer who talked to Alex about swimming while on the ride to Children's Hospital.

Pason was released from Children's Hospital a few hours later.

Pason is recovering from a severe concussion, broken nose, cuts on his face and a cut to across the roof of his mouth. Doctors have told Pason he should make a full recovery. Pason returned to school on Monday.

"I feel a lot better," said Alex Pason on Friday. "I don't remember much other than sitting there and wondering what was going on. I don't remember the actual dive." Pat Pason said Alex has also seen a dentist because his teeth were jarred loose and the lacerations on the inside of his mouth had to be stitched.

"It's a miracle that he wasn't more severely injured," she said. "A lot of prayers went up for him."

"Sweet Home didn't have a winning season as far as numbers of wins but they're winners as far as I'm concerned," she added. "They have called, text messaged and e-mailed him. It's been unbelievable….( At the meet), the support both teams showed Alex was tremendous. They each gave him a standing ovation. Alex does remember that."

Pason attended last Tuesday's ECIC Championships held at Sweet Home and handed out the diving awards. Pason was scheduled to dive at the event before he was injured. Dan McLaughlin of Williamsville North was the scheduled presenter.

"It really felt good that they made feel included with that because I couldn't compete," said Pason.

He also qualified for this week's Section VI Championships but will be unable to dive.

Pason has been diving for only three months. He joined the Sweet Home swim team last year and competed on the 200 free relay. Midway through this season, Pason was asked by Sweet Home coaches to try out diving.

Pason also recently joined Wings diving, a club program at the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Despite this horrible ordeal, Alex Pason said he will get back on the diving board when he's healthy.