Simply unstoppable

By her high standards, ski cross athlete Sami Kennedy-Sim did not achieve the best of results on the slopes for the 2012/13 season, despite notching a top-16 finish at the world championships.

The 25 year old carried a knee injury into the season but stated that while that didn’t help, it wasn’t the main factor; she simply wasn’t able to capture the same form from previous years.

Following the end of the season, Kennedy-Sim said she was keen to spend some time during the Australian winter to ramp up her preparations for a shot at Olympic selection in early 2014.

The ongoing knee issue was fixed with minor surgery only a week after returning home, but just two days after surgery, Kennedy-Sim’s immediate future, sporting or otherwise, was seemingly thrown into chaos. She suffered an infarct stroke.

“It happened at about 6:30am when I kicked the cat out of bed, because she was trying to attack my foot,” Kennedy-Sim explained.

“I felt bad, so I went to get her and bring her back to bed. In my mind I felt weird but I thought I was just sitting on the bed, trying to get into bed and act as normal as possible. 

“Then I felt things weren’t right, my face started to feel really weird and I couldn’t control the left side of my body. My hands were curling over and I had trouble breathing.”

Luckily for Kennedy-Sim, her husband Ben Sim, an Olympian in the sport of cross country skiing, was on hand to take control of the situation.

“Ben said I sort of dropped the cat and collapsed onto the bed, but I couldn’t tell him what was going on,” Kennedy-Sim said.

“He then saw I was trying to turn on my bedside lamp but couldn’t, and when he turned on the lights he saw I had a full facial droop on my left hand side.”

Kennedy-Sim recalled the moment, saying, “At that time I felt there was no blood in my face and it was really confusing, but as soon as he saw my face was distorted he called the ambulance.

“We live literally two minutes away from the hospital, so the ambulance was there within five minutes and I was in hospital within 15 minutes.”

Kennedy-Sim credited her husband’s quick action in assessing the situation was one of the most crucial aspects of the ordeal, and ultimately made a huge difference in the severity of the stroke and time it took Kennedy-Sim to recover.

“The best thing was that Ben acted fast, and did exactly the right thing in calling an ambulance and getting me to hospital.

“I’m so lucky, if I hadn’t got to hospital in time then things could have got a lot worse. I could have ended up in a nursing home and that’s not somewhere for a young person to get better. It’s quite shocking to think that could have happened.”

Medical staff at the hospital ran a series of tests to find out what happened, with the suspicion being that a blood clot from the knee surgery had become loose and travelled to Kennedy-Sim’s brain. However, once the staff located the blood clot in her brain, further tests determined that had a clot travelled from her knee it would have ended up in her lungs. Doctors then tested Kennedy-Sim’s heart before she was given the all clear.

“Everything else pretty much came back normal, and by the sounds of it its quite common thing in young people,” she said, before explaining that about 30 per cent of young people who have strokes don’t know why they have them.

A positive that Kennedy-Sim has drawn from the experience has been the opportunity to learn more about strokes through her work as an Ambassador for the National Stroke Foundation (NSF). While her involvement with the NSF has so far been limited because of her recovery schedule and preparation for the upcoming season, Kennedy-Sim is keen to help raise awareness about strokes, especially in young people.

Through social media she has been able to connect with a 19 year old American girl who suffered a stroke. Kennedy-Sim said her newfound online connection came off a lot worse than she did, but having someone to talk to around the same age who’s experienced the same thing was a rewarding experience.

“It’s been really nice getting an email every now and then from this girl. If that’s all that happens then that’s all that happens, but stroke is one of the leading causes of death in Australia, and the NSF receives no Government funding for research into why, so if I can help in any way then every little bit helps.”

Extended time away from training and competition was not what Kennedy-Sim had envisaged, especially with the Olympic Games less than a year away, but luckily she did not experience any further complications. Kennedy-Sim spent nine weeks not allowed to raise her blood pressure, and when she did return to training there was naturally a period of readjustment to being back in the game.

“I was pretty nervous in the beginning, that I wouldn’t be able to function how I’d like, but it’s just like riding a bike,” Kennedy-Sim said. A return to the gym in June allowed her to activate the nerves and muscles that had been rested, before her first foray onto the snow in August.

Sport psychology played a key role for Kennedy-Sim in her return to the slopes, with a strong support network including her husband also being available to help where necessary.

“I’ve been really lucky with Ben, he’s one of the most patient people I’ve ever met and his support has been outstanding. He’s gone above and beyond to make sure I get back to where I’d like to be, and where I should be.

“On a great day when there are blue skies and it’s warm, training goes fantastic, but when the weather comes in and I can’t see I sometimes begin to doubt myself.

“I might say ‘I’m not very comfortable with this’, and my coaches will say ‘Well you need to be because it rains in Russia,’ so working through that has been really good.”

A hectic schedule means Kennedy-Sim will have to find her rhythm fairly quickly if she is to cement her spot in the Australian Olympic team, with the final deadline for selection being January 20, 2014.

A series of world cup events prior to that date will determine selections for the team, with Kennedy-Sim’s fellow NSWIS athletes Katya Crema and Jenny Owens also in line to represent Australia.

The Olympic hopeful has not put an expectation or goal before her, other than earning a spot on the team, because after the events of the past eight months she simply doesn’t know what she’s capable of when back in the competitive environment.

However, being back in the thick of racing is undoubtedly a welcome change for the naturally competitive Kennedy-Sim. Well on the road to 100 per cent health, she is looking forward to enjoying a successful season from a personal point of view, as well as witnessing the continued rise of Australian athletes competing in winter sports.

“We’ve got four world champions and everyone else is up there as well. I had an average season and I’m still 23rd in the world,” Kennedy-Sim outlined.

“We aren’t just a small nation that occasionally wins something here and there. We’re steadily progressing to be a force to be reckoned with, and I think it’s a good thing we’re constantly underestimated.”

“There are a few people in a range of sports who are ready for gold. It’s going to be a cool season to watch.”