Tagbilaran City, Bohol — Not many expected her to win. Not even herself.
But Melody Perez defied the odds as she not only handed Central Visayas its first gold but also was the very first athlete who bagged a gilt in the National Private Schools Athletic Association (PRISAA) Games 2018, which officially rolled off yesterday here.
Perez bagged the very first gold on offer in this multi-sporting event when she ruled the 3000-meter women’s with a time of 11 minutes and 33.81 seconds, relegating Region 4A and Region 6 to silver and bronze, respectively.
Perez suffered a medical condition just last month and only had less than two weeks of training for this national meet. And, in those few days of training, she couldn’t even finish the training load that was given to her by her coach, Arvin Loberanis, because she continued to feel pain on the left side of her abdomen.
“I feel blessed, thankful. I really felt the essence of the PRISAA. I am hugely grateful to the Lord, It felt like He had accompanied me while running,” said Perez, who is part of the collegiate athletics team of the University of San Carlos (USC) representing Central Visayas.
Last month, while training, Perez suddenly felt pain in her lower abdomen. It was so intense that it made her cry and she had trouble even getting up.
She went for a check-up at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, wherein she was told by a doctor that she had strained that part of her abdomen. Then, she was made to undergo laboratory tests.
According to Perez, she showed the lab results to their school’s physician, who then checked her again and gave her a different diagnosis. She was told that she had hernia. She was crushed because she was really looking forward to this National PRISAA Meet, which is already her third.
According to the WebMD, hernia occurs when an organ or fatty tissue squeezes through a weak spot in a surrounding muscle or connective tissue called fascia.
She was sent by the school physician to the Cebu City Medical Center wherein another doctor confirmed the hernia diagnosis and she was told to get an ultrasound and undergo an immediate surgery. At this point, Perez said she was already very discouraged as she also do not have the finances to go under the knife.
She got the ultrasound with financial help from USC Athletic Director, Fr. Adriano Ocariza, SVD. A ray of light appeared for Perez when the parents of the USC athletics secondary team, who believed that she had potential, referred her for a check-up at the Cebu Doctors Hospital.
A surgeon checked her again, looked at the results of her lab tests and ultrasound and confirmed the first diagnosis that she was given, which was the strain.
Perez said she was very happy because her coach had told her that she cannot compete because of the hernia diagnosis.
“I was not keen on letting her compete because she was diagnosed with Hernia and my utmost concern was her health,” said Loberanis, who is coaching the collegiate division for the first time.
Nevertheless, when Perez presented a certificate that she could compete, Loberanis left her with a training program as he had also to coach their secondary team to the Palarong Pambansa in Vigan, Ilocos Sur.
As she continued to feel pain during her training, Loberanis told her the night before the race to forget about the pain and focus on her race.
Yesterday morning, as she was about to race, Perez said she put all her faith in God and she instantly felt that she could do it. The whole time she was running, God and her family was on her mind. Indeed, she bagged gold in the event for the second time. And, she felt no pain at all the whole time.
“This medal is very meaningful because I had to go through a lot to get to this PRISAA,” Perez mused.
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