The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1407083
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021 ■ 45 another one during her day at the pool. But neither of the previous concussions had affected her speech. "It was scary," she remembered. "I couldn't even say the hospital I was in; I couldn't say 'insurance card.' I could only write on my Apple Watch to text my mom little letters out one-by-one. "They told me it was a concussion and to go home and rest. They said to come back if my head got worse or if I went numb on one side of my body." The next morning, her head felt even worse and she lost all feeling on the right side of her body. She went back to the same emergency room and received the same diagnosis. The doctors still suspected she had a concussion. Frustrated, her fam- ily took her to a con- cussion specialist the next day. The specialist agreed that her symp- toms seemed suspi- cious, so the doctor ordered an MRI scan. Midway through her test, she was delivered news that would make even the toughest person's teeth chatter. "The technician came in and said, 'You have to get out right now. We're calling 911. Your brain might be bleeding, and an ambulance is coming right now,'" Ridge- way recalled. "So I tried to stay as calm as possible while my mom was freaking out on the phone calling people. Obviously, we're thinking worst-case scenario when someone says your brain is bleeding." On her third trip to the hospital in four days, Ridgeway was promptly admitted to the ICU, where she was diagnosed with an ischemic stroke. Once she was stabilized, she spent the next week in the hospital as the doctors at- tempted to determine the cause behind it. "My hematology doctors told me I might not be able to play soccer ever again and that I could be on blood thinners for the rest of my life," Ridgeway said. "I was alone in my hospital bedroom just sobbing. My parents couldn't be in there, no one was there, and it was really scary. "Sometimes doctors don't understand the human side of people. They couldn't understand that I was a Division I athlete and had played my whole life. They're like, 'It's not that big of a deal,' and I was freaking out. That definitely put things in perspective." They found several blood clots in her pelvic area and identified that she had a patent foramen ovale (PFO), essentially a small hole in her heart. Fortunately, the doctors didn't determine she had a blood clotting disorder, which opened up the door for a return to soccer. She underwent surgery in October to correct her heart issue and was prescribed blood thinners to be injected twice daily for a six-month period. Medication wasn't the only necessity on her road to recovery. Following her release from the hospital, Ridgeway had to go through months of physical and speech therapy. Her competitiveness helped her get through her physical therapy without is- sue, but she admits that speech therapy was a real challenge. "Mentally, I really struggled," Ridge- way said. "It was hard contextualizing almost losing soccer, not being able to be with my teammates, my friends and being stuck at home." When she returned to campus for the spring semester, she had to sit out of prac- tice for the first three weeks while she remained on blood thinners. Once she was able to return to the field, she felt like she was in the best shape of her life. The Wolfpack returned to the pitch for the first time in more than a year to open the 2020-21 season against Old Domin- ion in February. And for the first time in her career, Ridgeway was featured in NC State's starting lineup. Months removed from suffering a life- changing medical crisis, with her family in the stands at Dail Soccer Field, Ridge- way accomplished another career first by playing the full 90 minutes in the Pack's 2-0 victory over the Monarchs. "I was really motivated because I didn't want something like a stroke to set me back," Ridgeway said. "I realized how easily it could have been taken away from me, whether it was a stroke or an injury. I wanted to come back for my team to show them how strong I was and how strong they are if an obstacle like that gets in their way. " M y p a r e n t s h a d gone through so much in the past year, see- ing me go through my stroke. It was for them, too." Ridgeway went on to appear in seven m a t c h e s , e a r n i n g a start in four. As a de- fender, she played a big role in the team only allowing six goals throughout the Wolfpack's 5-3-1 spring campaign. The fall of 2021 will mark her senior season, and she'll have an additional year of eligibility to make up for the COVID- impacted 2020 campaign. She plans to graduate in the spring of 2022 with a de- gree in philosophy of law and intends to attend law school when her time at NC State comes to an end. Until that day comes, she is maximiz- ing her enjoyment of playing soccer with the Pack. She has appeared in two of the team's first four games this fall, and is thankful for every moment on the pitch after her stroke. "Coming back to soccer, it didn't feel like I had to go to practice every day," Ridgeway said. "I get to do this stuff, and I get to do it with my best friends. People dream about doing this, and I've dreamed about doing this since I was a little girl. "It's helped me be much more present in my day-to-day life and not focused so much on worrying about the next week or next year." ■ " I was really motivated because I didn't want something like a stroke to set me back. I realized how easily it could have been taken away from me, whether it was a stroke or an injury. I wanted to come back for my team to show them how strong I was and how strong they are if an obsta- cle like that gets in their way. " Ridgeway on returning to the field after suffering a stroke in 2020