2008 Woodie Awards
A heart for the game
By: Jonathan Batuello
Issue date: 2/12/08 Section: Sports
It isn't his typical attire. He sits on the bench now wearing a business suit, laughing, cheering and even yelling out to the floor like a coach. It's not what he's used to, though.
For sophomore basketball player Erik Hagen, the days of donning his DePauw jersey have been put on hold after he suffered a heart attack two months ago.
On Monday, Dec. 10, Hagen noticed a pain in his chest during basketball practice. Even as he talked to head coach Bill Fenlon after practice he still felt pain. Within a half hour of talking to the coach, Hagen had been taken to the Putnam County Hospital and couldn't believe what was happening
"At first they said it was a heart attack and I was like, 'I'm 20, what are you talking about? It has to be something else,'" Hagen said.
Hagen's diabetes may have contributed to the heart attack, though it is not thought to be the primary cause.
He was eventually taken back to a room where he was hooked up to an EKG machine and IV. It was at this point Hagen began to realize how serious the situation was. As he described the situation, at first one nurse was with him and then a few minutes later five or six were by his bed.
Hagen was then transported to the Indiana Heart Center in Indianapolis. The hospital administered a cardiac catheter and put a stint in one of his arteries. By this time the team had already received word.
"I was the first person on the team to know so immediately. I called Coach, and we drove that night to the heart center to check-up on him," sophomore teammate Tom Callen said. "He's from Arizona, so he didn't have any family around."
Within the next few days the team sent Hagen a card, a signed basketball from everyone on the team and according to Callen, more than half the team had made a trip to visit Hagen in the hospital. Three days later, Hagen was released, but getting out of the hospital didn't mean a return to his normal life.
"It's different mentally," Hagen said. "I'm thinking I could go to practice right now, but my body tells me after walking around a little, 'Okay dude, you aren't ready for that' and it's tough… I'm 20 years old, I should be doing all that… it's all been difficult, you know just coping [with the fact that] I had something like this happen … and, you know just making that adjustment."
For sophomore basketball player Erik Hagen, the days of donning his DePauw jersey have been put on hold after he suffered a heart attack two months ago.
On Monday, Dec. 10, Hagen noticed a pain in his chest during basketball practice. Even as he talked to head coach Bill Fenlon after practice he still felt pain. Within a half hour of talking to the coach, Hagen had been taken to the Putnam County Hospital and couldn't believe what was happening
"At first they said it was a heart attack and I was like, 'I'm 20, what are you talking about? It has to be something else,'" Hagen said.
Hagen's diabetes may have contributed to the heart attack, though it is not thought to be the primary cause.
He was eventually taken back to a room where he was hooked up to an EKG machine and IV. It was at this point Hagen began to realize how serious the situation was. As he described the situation, at first one nurse was with him and then a few minutes later five or six were by his bed.
Hagen was then transported to the Indiana Heart Center in Indianapolis. The hospital administered a cardiac catheter and put a stint in one of his arteries. By this time the team had already received word.
"I was the first person on the team to know so immediately. I called Coach, and we drove that night to the heart center to check-up on him," sophomore teammate Tom Callen said. "He's from Arizona, so he didn't have any family around."
Within the next few days the team sent Hagen a card, a signed basketball from everyone on the team and according to Callen, more than half the team had made a trip to visit Hagen in the hospital. Three days later, Hagen was released, but getting out of the hospital didn't mean a return to his normal life.
"It's different mentally," Hagen said. "I'm thinking I could go to practice right now, but my body tells me after walking around a little, 'Okay dude, you aren't ready for that' and it's tough… I'm 20 years old, I should be doing all that… it's all been difficult, you know just coping [with the fact that] I had something like this happen … and, you know just making that adjustment."
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