Whitehorse's Alexandra Gabor was in the throes of injury when she arrived on athletic scholarship to Stanford University this fall.

The former Glacier Bear has been suffering from bilateral thoracic syndrome, when the collarbone pinches nerves in the shoulder, since April. Six months before, she signed a letter of intent to Stanford, based in Palo Alto, Calif.

Since training with the Standford Cardinal's women's swim team, Gabor has been forced to focus purely on kicking in the pool.

"When I swim, my hands go numb and it's really painful,” she said.

Gabor is undergoing tests with doctors and meeting with support staff to remedy the situation, heightened by the pressures of meeting scholarship expectations and classes.

On her busiest day of the week, usually Wednesday, she said, she's in the pool from 6-8 in the morning, followed by class from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and then training again from 2:30 to 5:30 in the afternoon. She finishes the day with class.

But that's a schedule she can deal with.

"That's not everyday,” she said.

"It's a little different, but I think it's going really well so far. I'm just trying to get the hang of it, with fitting swimming in and finding all my classes and everything. It's different but it's a lot of fun. So I feel like that's really not a big problem right now.”

More difficult is her condition, which as of this morning continues to be day-to-day.

"It's been a long process. Going through this has been really frustrating for me, because I can't swim everything they're swimming, I'm not doing the same sets, and I wish I was a part of that and working hard like them,” Gabor said.

"But I know that if I try and push through it now, it's just going to aggravate it more later. Not pushing it now is going to make it better later, and I'll be able to work with them and do all the same things that they're doing at some point.”

Gabor was offered the scholarship following a youth of success in the pool.

She has held five Canadian freestyle records, 21 British Columbia swim records and 72 Glacier Bear Swim Club records.

That resume was good enough for Stanford.

But Cardinal's head coach Lea Maurer said it's Gabor's attitude and work ethic that are impressing the staff and teammates.

"She's a trooper,” Maurer said. "I think it hasn't been her ideal beginning, but it's a marathon, so we don't have to sprint. I'm trying to convince her of that, just because we're not winning right now, doesn't mean that we're not going to have our happily-ever-after this year.”

The coaching staff looks to improve the situation by being patient and reassuring with the swimmer, Maurer said.

And in her seven years as head coach of the Cardinals, Maurer knows how to get the most out of her athletes.

In her time there, Maurer has lead the team to top-five finishes at the NCAA meet, including a runner-up finish in 2010 and a third-place finish in 2008. The Cardinals are also back-to-back conference champions who boast such swimmers as 15-time

All-American sprinter Sam Woodward, a three-time top-nine finisher in the 50-metre freestyle, and 14-time All-American sprinter and backstroker Betsy Webb, the 2010 national runner-up in the 50 free.

Maurer said, based on her "amazing” attitude and work ethic, Gabor has the potential to be a front-runner on the high-profile team.

"It's a big adjustment at Stanford, just in general; there's a lot of people who are very accomplished in the pool and socially and obviously academically,” Maurer said.

"Her fortitude, her work ethic, her drive, is palpable. She's someone who prides herself on her strength and her tenacity, and she can't show it, so that's her struggle. It's OK, we know it's in there, you don't have to prove it right away to have us be excited about you. And she just feels like, ‘You don't know me, and I want you to see me at my best and at my biggest and my brightest.'

"She wants to put her best foot forward, but I think she's beginning to feel more calm about the culture of the team and that it's all going to be fine.”

For Gabor, the culture of the team has relieved some of the stress.

The dynamic of the swimming program, mixed with the support from the coaching staff and fellow swimmers have helped with the transition, she added.

"They're all amazing. Everyone on the team is very, very good,” Gabor said.

"Everyone's training fast and you want to race people beside you, so everyone steps up there game a little bit every day, so everyone gets faster little by little.”