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From the start of the track season I
struggled to run times that I had easily run in previous years.
After months of frustration I visited the Olympic Medical institute
(OMI), at Northwick Park Hospital. Immediately I was referred to Dr
Greg Whyte and his team, who ran the CRY centre there.
I figured it was just a routine check.
Greg and Mat discovered an abnormality with my heart rhythm while I
was on the treadmill test and that same afternoon Greg took me to
see the top cardiologist there, Dr Nigel Stephens. The initial
thoughts were that I had what was commonly known as 'sudden death
syndrome'. I can remember Dr Stephens telling me this, and
immediately I thought he was being a bit dramatic and taking
precautions by telling me not to run. I mean, I was the fittest
person I knew and here he was telling me that I head a problem with
my heart! However, as he continued my ego gave in to my brain and
then fear set took over - the tears soon followed.
After weeks of further tests and an MRI
scan I was told by Dr Stephens that I had RVOT - a less
potentially-fatal problem than was initially thought. What was
happening to me was that my heart was beating very fast at times,
followed by a very slow beat. The abnormality of the heart rhythm
was obviously a worry - track and field was out of the equation;
devastation for any elite sports person.
I was given a course of medication,
which after around 8 months had not cured the problem. After
consultation with Greg, Dr Stephens and Dr Roberts (another leading
cardiologist), it was suggested that I undergo an operation. All the
doctors involved worked tremendously hard to get this operation
completed as quickly as possible. It was only a few weeks of waiting
before I was admitted for surgery, to be performed by Professor
Peters and Dr Stephens. |
Tracey at the
2007 CRY
Parliamentary Reception |
The operation was radiofrequency ablation and
was used to kill the dead tissue in the heart that was causing the problem.
It worked.
The moment when I was told that I was healed was
almost as fear-provoking as the moment when I was told I was ill. Why?
Because all of a sudden I was forced to make decisions that I had previously
taken for granted. Did I want to continue with track? Was I prepared
to start all over again? What would I do if I quit?
For a while I did quit
track and took time to set up my academic career - I work in marketing now.
However, it is hard, if not impossible, to get track out of my system. I
started training again at the end of 2006 and on 8th July 2007, I
ran in the 4x400 metre relay for my athletic club, Woodford Green, for the
first time since 2004. It was the slowest time I have ever clocked for the
distance and even slower than most of my 400m hurdle performances but,
strangely, I enjoyed it and I was proud of myself.
It's hard to explain how I
feel now or how this entire situation has affected me because I still feel
as though I am getting over it. Physically the body has healed remarkably
quickly but mentally the battle continues. It has taken me a while to park
the memories of how good an athlete I once was and, honestly, sometimes
these thoughts still haunt me. For now I am hopeful that things will fall
into place for me in the future. I have my marketing career to focus on and
I have discovered there is so much to do when you don't train 6 days a week!
Tracey Duncan
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