A Basketball Career Is Suddenly Stopped and a Teammate Is Embraced
Karen Crouse, The New York Times
Tierra Rogers, the most heralded of the California women's basketball team's seven freshmen, did not feel well when she arrived at Haas Pavilion for a late-September conditioning session. She had not eaten, so when she became dizzy, she blamed hunger.
Rogers, a 5-foot-11 guard, willed her way through the sprints and the stretching, but she collapsed as she was leaving the gym. She was hospitalized for two weeks, finally receiving a diagnosis of arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia, or A.R.V.D. This rare heart disorder, in which muscle tissue in the right ventricle deteriorates and is replaced by fat or scar tissue, causes abnormal heart rhythms that can lead to sudden cardiac arrest in instances of physical or emotional stress.
At first, Rogers did not grasp the seriousness of the situation. She pleaded with her doctors to let her play basketball, saying she would wear a padded sports bra to protect her heart.