BEATING THE BATTLE Athletes, trainers reflect on experiences with surgeries, recovery process AUSTIN GUO STORY
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rooke zurcher, member of women’s swim team and senior, knew something was wrong when she was training with the swim team. Her heart was beating unusually fast during workouts. When she consulted a cardiologist, her cardiologist diagnosed her with supraventricular tachycardia (SVT). “My heart rate will go up too high. When your heart beats too fast, your body isn’t getting enough oxygenated blood so it basically means I get fatigued very easily and I could possibly pass out. Luckily, I have not yet,” Zurcher said about the effects of SVT. February is American Heart Month, dedicated to promoting cardiovascular health. While Zurcher is an athlete who regularly exercises her cardiovascular system, she still had to undergo heart surgery.
Zurcher said, “When (the cardiologists) got inside my heart, they did a catheter ablation. So they basically (inserted a tube) through my leg and went up to my heart and they diagnosed me with atrial fibrillation.” Zurcher said she was not anxious prior to the surgery because of the surgery’s low mortality rate. “I actually was really calm because these types of procedures are extremely low-risk,” Zurcher said. “There’s almost no chance of me dying, which is awesome. It’s minimally invasive so I’m not going to have a big scar or anything.” Fortunately for Zurcher, she was able to resume training soon after the operation. “Since (my surgery) was minimally invasive and they went through my leg, I just needed a Band-Aid on it for about a week or
TAKING THE SHOT: Maddie Quigley, women’s soccer player and junior, prepares to kick the ball during a match against North Central. Quigley said she has missed three seasons due to hip surgeries. She said, “Missing soccer is definitely very draining ... It’s very hard to watch people play and not be able to.” MADDIE QUIGLEY SUBMITTED PHOTO
so just to make sure it didn’t get infected,” Zurcher said. “After about a week, I went back to practice and I was basically back to normal. Nothing really that special.” However, some athletes have had to undergo more serious surgeries on other parts of their body and miss out on playing for extended periods of time. Maddie Quigley, soccer player and junior, said she has undergone multiple surgeries on her hips and as a result has missed out on entire soccer seasons. “Missing soccer is definitely very draining. I’ve played soccer since I could walk, so not playing was very different. It’s very hard to watch people around you play and not be able to,” Quigley said. To aid in her recovery, Quigley has gone through physical therapy
