Katie Anthony has come a long way.
After sitting out the entire 2002 field hockey season recovering from open heart surgery, she was medically cleared this week to return to action for the No. 2 Blue Devils. Few have ever revered and reveled in drills and sprints as much as she did Wednesday, her first day back in practice.
"It's so much fun, I don't know how to describe how much fun it is," Anthony said, bubbling with enthusiasm. "You don't realize how much you miss it until it is taken away from you for a while. It is so weird to have shinguards on and a mouthguard in. Yesterday I was looking at myself and I had bruises all over me and turf burn everywhere, but I'm like 'I miss this so much.'"
Anthony was born at St. Anthony Hospital in her hometown of Oklahoma City, Ok. She had a hole in her heart between her left and right ventricles, and lacked a pulmonary artery to connect her right ventricle to her lung. The often debilitating condition is known as Tetralogy of Fallot.
Fourteen hours into her life, Katie's pigmentation was "grey-blue." Her father, Bob Anthony, said that she was soon transferred to Oklahoma University's medical center, where she underwent a six-hour open heart surgery that made it possible for blood to flow into her lungs. Three days later, however, a clot developed. Doctors again opened her chest and fixed the passageway between her heart and lungs. A year later, she had what doctors thought would probably be her last surgery. The complicated procedure involved using cartilage from around her heart to create a passageway for blood to enter the lungs. The doctors would have been right, except they had no idea she was going to be a Division I athlete. In fact, Katie is the only Division I athlete playing with Tetralogy of Fallot.
But why did she play three varsity sports in high school, and why did she come to Duke to play field hockey, knowing that in all likelihood strain on her heart would cause her problems?
"There are so many people that are going through [Tetralogy of Fallot] that are five or six [years old]," Katie said. "For a doctor to be able to tell someone, 'You know there is someone who is a Division I athlete that can do this,' it makes it so parents there won't limit them, and I think that's a really important thing."
Her determination and love for athletics made the news she received one preseason morning last year hard to swallow.
"I was having trouble because my heart was beating very rapidly and I was getting light-headed," Anthony said. "I went to the emergency room. The next day I did some tests and they found that my heart had deteriorated and was very weak. Because it was pre-season and I had no phone or Internet to communicate with my family, I received a note on my door from the Duke Police telling me to call home. I called my mom and she told me that [a doctor] said surgery was a possibility, but that I would need to call and talk with him. I did so. And together we decided it would be better to do the surgery as soon as possible."
The surgeon for her operation was the now-infamous Dr. James Jaggers, who later was held responsible for the death of Jésica Santillán after the 17-year old received a transplanted organ incompatible with her blood type. But Anthony's father affirms to this day his confidence in--and appreciation for--Jaggers' abilities.
With the help of Duke Transportation, which drove her to class in a van while she was recovering, Anthony only had to miss six days of classes. Throughout her recovery, she was as upbeat as possible.
"She always had a goal," said Suzanne Anthony, one of Katie's three older sisters. "Whether it was getting back to playing field hockey or just getting back to being able to go to classes on her own. She always had a goal and always kept going towards that."
Anthony spent the first six months after the surgery in cardiac rehabilitation, which consisted of going to appointments at 7 a.m. every other day at the Duke Center for Living. Anthony gives much of the credit for her successful recovery to her teammates and head coach Beth Bozman.
"To have 20 girls that I could count on, that are basically sisters away from home, it's just great," Anthony said. "They have helped me along the whole way....Beth Bozman has been great. The reason why I'm out here today is because of her. She has encouraged me the last couple of weeks to play club field hockey, and to come out here. She wanted me to be out here as soon as I could."
Bozman even went as far as inventing a new coaching position so that Anthony could stay involved with the field hockey team. Up until this week, Anthony's official title was "student assistant-coach". Her role on the team was to bridge the communication gap between the first-year coach and her players. Anthony also served as a motivator and an inspiration for her teammates.
"It's hard to go out there everyday and not work hard when you know Katie's here," Bozman said.
Since Anthony has come back to practice, she has been showing very good progress. She has participated in drills, taking an occasional break to catch her breath.
"I'm surprised how well she's been for having sat out a year," junior midfielder Johanna Bischof said. "She's only played two practices and she's up with the rest of the team."
Before the season ends, Anthony is most certainly going to see a few minutes of action. But regardless, she has already made huge contributions to the field hockey team--not only with her remarkable story, but with her engaging personality and her positive attitude.
"I don't consider myself unlucky, because I think that through everything that I've done, I've learned so much," Anthony said. "My outlook on everything is so different now. I honestly believe there is a reason for everything, and that God makes things happen for a reason."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.