Kelsey Mitchell performed till her wheels fell off. Actually.
There’s a merciless little bit of irony that this Fever season got here to an finish as a result of their star participant skilled a “once-in-a-lifetime” damage, as she described it. Within the second half of Tuesday’s Recreation 5 towards the Aces, Mitchell suffered rhabdo, formally referred to as rhabdomyolysis, which is a situation the place muscle mass break down and launch proteins into the bloodstream.
It’s a really critical damage, however one Mitchell was thankfully in a position to stroll away from, figuratively and actually, as she rejoined the workforce on Tuesday night time. By then, although, the Fever had misplaced the win-or-go-home contest in additional time, having lastly run out of gasoline.
“I really feel fantastic,” Mitchell stated throughout her exit interview on Thursday. “I don’t assume I may play in an actual sport…I most likely ought to simply take a while to sort of reset as a result of I misplaced a variety of fluid. I believe in that have alone, I sort of felt scared as a result of, for some time, my legs have been so numb and so paralyzed, so to talk, that I couldn’t really feel my toes.”
Mitchell stated the damage was probably the results of overusage, citing that she had by no means performed as many video games or gone as deep into the postseason as she did this 12 months. Throughout the common season, she performed a career-high 1,381 minutes earlier than including one other 261 to her physique within the playoffs.
Contemplating how taxing these minutes are for Mitchell, which regularly embrace her working across the court docket off screens earlier than even receiving the ball, it’s not arduous to imagine that performed a task. That being stated, it was additionally not one thing she may have actually ready for, both.
“Once I bought accomplished with the Vegas docs and our docs, they have been like ‘That’s a once-in-a-lifetime factor,’” Mitchell stated. “No person thought (about rhabdomyolysis) in Recreation 5 or something like that. For me, it was nearly, going ahead, figuring out what my physique wants however I believe, particularly, any athlete, aggressive, if you wish to be on the high of your sport, you sort of simply bought to maintain pouring in.
“So I wouldn’t have modified something from me, if I’m trustworthy.”
Mitchell had a a lot lighter, joking tone on Thursday — together with playfully suggesting the variety of practices from head coach Stephanie White prompted the damage — which was a lot completely different than how issues felt on Tuesday as Mitchell was on the ground.
She described feeling her “abdomen drop” to her legs after the made 3-pointer. On the subsequent possession, after a foul name, Mitchell stated her legs locked up. She admitted to panicking at first after not having the ability to really feel her legs. However a mix of regaining feeling in her toes and her teammates being by her aspect helped calm her down.
“With out them, I don’t even assume I’d have gotten by way of it as a result of after I was on the ground, I used to be emotional,” Mitchell stated. “I believe again to Aliyah Boston praying over me. I believe again to Lexie Hull holding my hand. I believe again to Bri Turner, she was like ‘Kels, (your legs) are going to ultimately transfer. They’ll ultimately transfer.’ It’s nice to have the ability to play with the group that I play with. I can actually say I’d go to struggle with them on any sort of day.”
Across the identical time she started to relax, these watching the sport realized the severity of the state of affairs as a stretcher was wheeled onto the court docket. It was a stretcher, although, that Mitchell had no intention of leaving the court docket on, even when she nonetheless couldn’t elevate her legs.
“We’re not doing a stretcher man,” Mitchell stated of her response when she noticed it wheeled onto the court docket. “Strolling out of right here on a stretcher is simply not going to occur. Not doing that. I used to be like, ‘If you happen to guys simply get me off the ground so you’ll be able to end the sport, I’ll be fantastic.’ However I don’t know if you happen to guys noticed my toes, however they have been like dangling as a result of I had no blood movement.
“I wasn’t going to make use of the stretcher as a result of I didn’t deem it becoming. Like, you have been going to see me go away by myself. I believe that was simply making an influence on myself to say like ‘You’re going to rise up and also you’re going to determine it out with no stretcher.’”
Ultimately, Mitchell did make her method off the court docket and into the locker room the place she was in a position to watch a part of the tip of the sport whereas receiving an IV earlier than being transported to the hospital for extra fluids. With out her, the Fever fought valiantly, improbably forcing additional time earlier than developing brief.
Mitchell stated that there have been no long-term results and that she would use this as a studying expertise relating to her physique and how you can greatest put together bodily sooner or later. Nonetheless, even figuring out the end result, she would have accomplished it once more to compete together with her teammates if given the chance.
“I wouldn’t have modified something I accomplished, any follow, any exercise I accomplished previous to as a result of it was price it,” Mitchell stated. “I assume I performed till my wheels fell off…I wouldn’t commerce any of it in any respect. It was a once-in-a-lifetime expertise and I’d commerce my physique in each time.”
