The heart of the matter
Lincoln-Way East's Nellie Kosola fights back for '06 form
Heart, for ages, has been the ultimate compliment applied by girls basketball coaches. Heart was something Lincoln-Way East High School's Jim Martin never worried about before in regards to senior guard Nellie Kosola.
Brought up to the varsity by Martin as a freshman, Kosola established her "Oh, Nellie" niche for the Griffins as an outside shooter and 3-point threat -- swishing the bull's-eye better than Cupid with a bushel full of arrows and battling for loose balls like a warrior.
(Michael R. Schmidt/Staff Photographer)
(Michael R. Schmidt/Staff Photographer)
She was all heart.
But last winter, in the moments preceding the recently concluded Medieval Classic, the adjective that represented the pivotal part of Kosola in Martin's plan, plus as a leadoff hitter for East's softball team as well, began to critically define her. Heart, for the longest week, was all that mattered.
"It was terrible," Kosola recalled. "Really, I was out for what seemed like forever, just sitting in a bed. And at first in the hospital, they told me I probably wouldn't be able to play anymore."
Probably developed into the complement to the challenge Kosola has accomplished. Because one year after a seven-day stint in the hospital with SVT, or supraventricular tachycardia, the staunch 5-foot-7 recruit of Grand Valley State for softball continues to swing for the Griffins' fences in basketball.
According to the Advocate Health Care Web site, doctors define SVT as the general term in describing any rapid heart rate originating above the ventricles or lower chambers of the heart. It is an arrhythmia or abnormal rhythm. Kosola summed it up best, noting "it's when your heart beats really fast."
As a sophomore in 2006, Kosola got off to a fast start, earning all-tournament honors at the Medieval Classic. However, 2007 kicked off with the unexpected condition. While a surgical procedure failed to clear up the symptoms, medication eventually resolved the abnormal rhythm and she returned.
Still, beyond her heart, the rhythm Kosola always showed on the court came back in a frustratingly slower fashion for No. 15. And the yarn about going to a hospital and it making you sicker put her further behind the curve.
"The first procedure didn't work, so obviously I had to stay in the hospital for seven more days to find the right medicine that would fit the problem," Kosola said. "It took time to recover from that, but I'm good now. I'm fine."
