Athletes are used to an irritated muscle, torn ligament or broken bones. After a few weeks or months, they are ready to play again. Unfortunately, for former DeKalb swimmer Grace Waller, it wasn’t that easy.

Waller spent nine years of her life as a swimmer at a competitive level, and in 2008, the Monday after the high school state meet of her sophomore year, tragedy struck.

Many people know her story: Waller was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer, when she was 16 years old. After two months of chemotherapy, a reconstructive surgery on her knee and six inches of her femur removed, 18 more rounds of chemotherapy and the help of Dr. Walter Virkus (orthopedic oncologist) and registered nurse Patti Piasecki at Midwest Orthopedic at Rush Hospital, Waller made a return to the pool.