After being diagnosed with MRSA and having to undergo countless surgeries, most people would have given up. Samantha Hodge is not "most people".
Her will to overcome was apparent to anyone who knows her story. The Western Carolina women's soccer player was determined to get back on the soccer field. Her physical therapists worked tirelessly to improve her leg strength and teach her how to walk again. After a few weeks of extreme therapy, Hodge's leg was still not getting any better. Her doctor decided to go back in for surgery number five to clean out built up cartilage and check on the infection she had developed. Despite that surgery being seemingly successful, she needed her sixth surgery a short time later.
Hodge had completed those six surgeries, was gaining weight, and was beginning to walk a little bit more without her walker. However, these big strides forward soon came to a halt, and it was again time for another surgery. After her seventh surgery, Hodge had a conversation with her doctor, physical therapist and mom. It was determined that if she had another surgery and physical therapy recovery was not successful, she might not be able to ever run again. Her final surgery was on June 22, 2010. Eight surgeries in six months; a total of 35 days - five full weeks - in the hospital, and she still showed up for school that fall. She didn't stay quiet though. Hodge was determined to make a difference in Cullowhee, a goal that hasn't changed.
Hodge is now the president of WCU's SAAC and has made the "Pink Zone" breast cancer awareness campaign her biggest effort. Her passion for the cause is personal and it has become contagious throughout her campus. Last fall, her leadership of the Pink Zone effort raised over $4,300, doubling the money earned in the previous two years.
She is also passionate about her school. She is a true Catamount and her campus loves and appreciates all that she has done for the university, as much as she loves her campus.
Hodge has had to overcome things that most student-athletes could never imagine, but because of all she has been through, she has a powerful story that affects many people. It's a story of strength and perseverance; of passion and of drive; of a true student-athlete.