My 17 year old nephew, Alex Olsen, can bench press 430 pounds! (The photo at left was in the Deseret News this month.) He's a dedicated athlete and gives his heart and soul to Highland Football. But lately he's been experiencing problems where he gets dizzy and faints during practice. After a battery of tests they discovered a hole in his heart that seemed like the cause of the problem. But after surgery last Friday they decided something else must be wrong. When the game intensity goes up the oxygen levels plummet for Alex. After high hopes that the surgery would fix the problem they are now back at square one trying to figure out WHY!
Needless to say, it has been very discouraging for Alex. He is a wonderful kid and is so frustrated (wanting desperately to play at 100%). It reminds me of how sick we felt when Paige made a great debut in her first NCAA Cross Country Meet at Pepperdine and then suffered a stress fracture the next week and missed the rest of the fall season!
The following quote (attributed to someone named Bill Shankly) could easily have been said by Alex: "Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I don't like that attitude. I can assure them it is much more serious than that." Since Alex is totally commited and has worked so hard to have a great football season we've really been praying that they'll be able to solve the mystery behind the the fainting spells. Even if "it's only a game" to the rest of us.....that "game" represents a ton of work that Alex has invested to be his best! Hopefully the doctors will find some answers soon so he can play at full intensity when the season starts!
