Less than a month ago, Natalie Oshin stepped into the Palestra to support Quaker basketball -- not as a fan, but as a member of the Penn cheerleading team.
Just like any other home game, the Red and Blue Crew filed into the stands anticipating a Quakers victory over visiting La Salle and maybe some cheerleading stunts to heighten the atmosphere.
But by the end of the game, the crowd would be occupied with much more than just the win.
During a second-half timeout routine along the baseline, Oshin fell to the Palestra floor. In front of stunned Quaker fans, she began to convulse briefly before being taken away on a stretcher. She was treated for undisclosed head and neck injuries at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania until she was discharged after about a week.
Now the cheerleader is staying at a hotel on Penn's campus with her father. At the advice of her parents and physicians, Oshin might not return to school until next year.
"I was encouraged by my doctors and my parents" to take the rest of the semester off, Oshin said. "They came to the decision together. I didn't really have much say in it. At first that's not what I wanted to do, but now I see that it is for the best."
Those who witnessed Oshin's fall left the Palestra with no doubts about the accident's severity; nevertheless, the resilient, strong and peppy junior expresses how difficult it has been to convince herself of the gravity of her situation.
"I'm not ready to say that I'm very sick, but things are worse than I'm willing to admit," Oshin said. "I'm frequently dizzy and have headaches, but all of it's pretty minor considering the severity of my injury."
Still, she remains optimistic about her condition. Oshin even alludes to greater potential harms that she was lucky to avoid, given the type of injury she sustained.
"I'm feeling very very well considering what happened. I'm in high sprits and very thankful that nothing worse happened," Oshin said.
The junior expressed gratitude to the people who have supported her.
"Everyone's been so, so supportive -- I'm incredibly thankful for everything that has been done for me. It is really going to help my recovery -- it already has."
Cheerleading coach John Ceralde did not return repeated phone calls.
