Sidelined by eye surgeries, UCI grad gets a commencement all his own

After having surgery on both of his eyes, Christopher Swieca hoped he would heal in time for his UC Irvine graduation day.

But when the 23-year-old UCI water polo player found out he needed a third surgery to save his vision just two days before the June 10 commencement ceremony, he knew his hopes would be dashed.

Swieca’s grandmother Sandra Schrader was heartbroken by the news. She wrote a letter to UCI Chancellor Howard Gillman asking if something could be arranged for her grandchild to receive his diploma from Gillman.

Gillman and UCI staff and faculty members one-upped the request.

Schrader’s letter led to a surprise commencement ceremony for Swieca on Tuesday in Gillman’s office, including Swieca’s friends, family and three of his teammates with whom he would have sat at graduation.

Swieca thought he was just going to go in and pick up his diploma.

He and teammates Jared Osborn, Dylan Peterson and Larson Pfeil stepped into the office with caps and gowns on. The others had told Swieca the attire was meant for pictures they would take later.

Soon, Swieca’s eyebrows rose and his eyes grew wide when he realized he was getting a personal ceremony.

UCI men’s water polo head coach Marc Hunt read the names of the players present, and they ceremoniously turned the tassels on their caps to the left.

Finally, Gillman handed Swieca, who studied business economics, his diploma.

“I’m overwhelmed at what they’ve done for him, knowing that this is a big university,” Schrader said. “I am sincerely appreciative.”

Six weeks ago, Swieca needed surgery on his left eye when the retina — the layer behind the eyeball that triggers impulses to the brain to form visual images — detached. Had he not gotten surgery right away, he would have gone blind in that eye, doctors said.

“We asked the doctors for a second opinion and they told us, ‘You don’t have time,’” said Swieca’s father, Tom.

A week after the procedure to reattach the retina in his left eye, doctors told Swieca that his right eye was beginning to follow suit.

After both surgeries, Swieca needed to sit in a specially designed chair where he leaned his face into a hole — similar to a massage bed — for 10 consecutive days. He would get up only for meals or to use the bathroom.

The chair had a mirror so he could watch the reflection of the television in the living room.

“He could tell you how many threads are on the carpet, because that’s all he could look at all day,” Schrader said.

After the surgeries, Swieca was excited to “get back to normal activities,” he said.

But one night while watching “Game of Thrones,” the vision in his right eye went black. He needed a third surgery, sending him to the chair once more and causing him to miss his graduation.

Candace Osborn, Jared’s mother, said her son was disappointed that Swieca wouldn’t be able to attend the ceremony.

“They are close friends,” she said. “They started [on the water polo team] together. They went to Zimbabwe together to coach water polo for two months. I know they were excited to finish this journey together.”

During the June 10 commencement for UCI’s School of Social Sciences held at the Bren Events Center, Jared made a video call to Swieca on his phone so his teammate could experience the event.

During the personal ceremony Thursday, Jared was the student speaker. He recounted Swieca’s strengths and struggles during his eye procedures, often glancing up to look at Swieca, who was in tears during the speech.

“Through all the joy that graduation week brought, we felt as if we were missing a valuable piece of the puzzle,” Jared said at the ceremony. “Life throws you all kinds of curveballs, but how to handle it is a testament of your character. Chris’ patience was tested, but his character was never fazed.”

Peterson attended the surprise commencement carrying a water polo ball to represent another graduating teammate, Pablo Carballo, who wanted to be there but couldn’t since he had to return to his hometown, Mexico City, after the school year, the team said.

Swieca called the ceremony a humbling experience.

“Nobody had to do any of this, but it shows how many people are here to love and care,” he said.

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Alex Chan, alexandra.chan@latimes.com

Twitter: @AlexandraChan10