THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, February 17, 1995 TAG: 9502150192
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 16 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY JULIE GOODRICH, CLIPPER SPORTS EDITOR
LENGTH: Long : 211 lines
PAIN IS Suzanne Humphrey's constant companion.
It greets her when she wakes up in the morning, stays close throughout the day and follows her to sleep each night.
Without pause. Without end.
Imagine what life would be like if literally every move you made caused you pain. The simplest activities - walking with a friend, lying down for a nap, hugging a loved one - become a trial, something to be tolerated rather than cherished.
If these simple activities hurt, imagine what it would be like to be a gymnast, competing in spite of the pain. Tumbling on a 4-inch-wide piece of wood, 4 feet off the ground, as Humphrey does for Great Bridge High School.
She doesn't think about what her life might be like without the pain of two stress fractures in her back.
She can't because, chances are, she will always have it.
``This is the way my back is, and I don't know how it might be in the future,'' Humphrey said. ``I just hope it doesn't stay like this.''
She knew something was wrong more than a year ago when she couldn't even run across the floor during practice at Ocean Tumblers, a local private gymnastics club. But that wasn't the first time Humphrey had felt something was not right with her back.
``It hurt for a year before I even said anything,'' she said. ``I never had problems with my back before, so I didn't know what it would do.''
In November 1993, Humphrey and Great Bridge coach Sharon Ivey went to Dr. Edward Habeeb, who ordered a precautionary bone scan. Hot spots, or areas of inflammation, were found on both sides of the lower part of Humphrey's spinal cord, and Dr. Habeeb diagnosed stress fractures.
``He told me I wouldn't be able to do gymnastics anymore, which I didn't want to hear,'' said Humphrey. ``I thought he could do surgery or something to fix it.''
Rest was prescribed, which Humphrey followed grudgingly. She was not allowed to exercise, for fear of aggravating the injury.
``I didn't want it to hurt anymore, so I didn't do anything,'' Humphrey said. ``I was at the point where I was breaking down because it hurt so bad.''
But for someone so committed to her sport, Humphrey found the time off a bitter pill to swallow.
``She's so used to being in a gym, and then she had all this time off and nothing to do,'' said Humphrey's mother, Judy Dunaway. ``She would rather (compete) and hurt before she would give it up completely, even though the next day she would pay for it.''
After three months off her feet, Humphrey was given clearance to resume training. She came back just in time to compete in Great Bridge's last meet of the season, and later qualified for the state gymnastics tournament on the beam, placing 13th.
Humphrey tried to return to Ocean Tumblers, but the training proved to be too much for her.
A second bone scan in April 1994 revealed that the hot spots had gone away. Humphrey wasn't out of the woods, and as a precaution she didn't take part in any strenuous activity. In August she attended a cheering camp with Ivey and earned her fourth All-America honor.
But after the camp, Humphrey's back started to hurt again.
Even at 16, Humphrey is no stranger to coming back from injury. At an Ocean Tumblers practice earlier in her career, she tore all the ligaments in her right ankle. Within weeks she competed on the beam wearing an air cast, and later she won the Level 7 all-around title at the state competition.
For those who know Humphrey, the quick turnaround wasn't a surprise.
``Mentally, she's very tough,'' said Ray Shackelford, overall teams coach for Ocean Tumblers. ``She's stubborn, and she'll work through the pain.''
Humphrey took up gymnastics at 11, a relatively late age, after seeing her older sister compete in the sport.
``I didn't know how to do anything, but I saw it and liked it,'' Humphrey said. ``When I started the only thing I could do was cartwheels.''
Her sister left the sport, but Humphrey stayed with it. What started as a twice-weekly class snowballed into four-hour practices four times a week as her talent became apparent.
``There have only been two gymnasts around here that I can think of that have been to college and been successful,'' said Ivey. ``If Suzanne had stayed at the level she was when she got hurt, she could have picked her school.''
``She absolutely had the potential for a college scholarship,'' said Shackelford.
When Humphrey finally did come forward with her back injury, she was a Level 8 gymnast with Ocean Tumblers and in training to go to the Junior Olympics national competition. According to Shackelford, her coach at the time, Humphrey ``would have made the team without a doubt.''
Stress fractures are classified as overuse injuries, the type of hairline fracture that occurs because of repeated stresses at a rate faster than the body is able to absorb.
Possible complications from stress fractures include pressure on nearby nerves, ligaments, tendons, blood vessels or connective tissue and complete fracture and spinal cord damage from continued activity after symptoms begin.
``That's a little bit of what probably made her back get so bad - she let it go without giving any indication it was hurting,'' said Shackelford. ``But a lot of kids do that because they're worried about what they might find out.''
As with any athlete who sustains an injury, Humphrey has had to adjust to the rigors of therapy.
Ultrasound treatments last about two minutes. The deep electronic stimulation forces Humphrey's back muscles to contract involuntarily, providing relaxation. Humphrey also uses a hydroculator - a type of heating pad - for as long as she can stand the wet heat.
During competition, Humphrey wears a back brace. Although it's hardly noticeable - only the very bottom shows through her leotard - she says she ``couldn't do anything without it.''
But there are times when even the brace cannot protect her back. Humphrey recently competed in the Miss Great Bridge pageant, performing a dance routine combined with gymnastics for her talent requirement. But even with the brace, tumbling on the hard stage floor took its toll.
On any given day, Humphrey typically takes two 800-milligram ibuprofen tablets. The pain medication is often the only thing that helps her get through the night.
Unfortunately, it doesn't keep her back from popping in and out when she sleeps.
``It's really annoying more than anything,'' said Humphrey. ``It gets irritated and feels like it's tightening up.
``I'm only 16. I don't want to be like this the rest of my life.''
There will undoubtedly be people who think that Humphrey is doing herself more harm than good by continuing. One wrong move can mean permanent injury for any gymnast, but Humphrey's weak back makes the danger even greater.
So why does she continue to compete? And why doesn't anyone try to make her stop?
``Suzanne will tell me what she can do . . . although she's careful about it because she knows if she tells me she's hurting, I'll pull her out,'' Ivey said. ``I never would have put her back on the mat if the doctor hadn't said she could do whatever she could tolerate.''
Ask anyone who knows about Humphrey's condition and they'll tell you that she doesn't like to talk about it. She shrugs off concerns by saying that the injury is ``no big deal.''
``If she ever does say anything about her back, I know it must really be bad that day,'' said Nadia Amen, who has competed with Humphrey since their days at Ocean Tumblers. ``She likes to keep her injuries to herself.''
``They all know it's hurt, and I know it's hurt. I don't want to call attention to myself,'' Humphrey said. ``I don't need to complain, because it was my choice to do this.''
Although Ivey, the victim of a career-ending knee injury as a competitor, knows exactly how Humphrey feels about still wanting to participate in the sport she loves, she also knows that Humphrey's choice might seem reckless to people who don't really know her.
``You have to understand the competitor in Suzanne. (Competing) is what she likes to do. No one likes practice, but Suzanne did it religiously because she knew she had to in order to compete.
``I know how much she wants this, and I know what it's like to sit there and want to compete and not be able to. It terrifies me every time she gets up on the beam, but how can I - or anyone else - take that away from her?''
During the season Humphrey recorded a 9.4 on the beam, the highest score ever given on the apparatus in Southeastern District competition.
Last week Great Bridge won its 10th consecutive district title. Although the tournament was a victory for the Wildcats, the season might well be over for Humphrey.
After her all-around title in the season-opener, Humphrey was limited to competing on beam, since Ivey saw that her back didn't hold up well under the strain of four events. But when one of her gymnasts didn't show for the districts, Ivey realized that Great Bridge was one person short on the vault.
Even though her back was already sore, Humphrey quickly volunteered.
``We needed a score,'' she said. ``Vault is quick, and I could get it over with.''
Humphrey warmed up a simple vault instead of the one she uses in competition, a difficult full on-half off, because ``doing the vault once would hurt enough.''
Once was all Humphrey needed. The judges awarded her first place on the event with a score of 8.05, and the Wildcats were off and running.
The next rotation was the beam, Humphrey's specialty. She began her routine solidly, but lost her balance on a back tuck and fell from the beam. It was the first time she had fallen all year.
After remounting, Humphrey attempted a split leap, but the trick was off center right from takeoff. Her foot slipped when she tried to land, sending Humphrey crashing to the beam as the crowd gasped.
Humphrey finished her routine and qualified for regional competition with an 8.05.
According to Ivey, the fall strained Humphrey's back so much that ``if she had another bone scan now, we might see those hot spots again.'' Ivey is withdrawing Humphrey from the vault competition at Saturday's Eastern Region tournament at Warwick High School in Newport News, but wouldn't decide until Thursday if she'll allow her to compete on beam.
``She's going to have to perform for me before I make a decision,'' Ivey said. ``If she had her way she'd tell you today that she's going to compete. That's just how she is.''
It has been a season of highs and lows, but regardless of whether she competes at regionals, Humphrey wants to come back next year for her senior season. ``I might have to hold myself back a little,'' she said. ``I wanted to go to college and do gymnastics, but I don't see it happening anymore.''
Living with constant pain would be an ordeal for anyone, but it's especially difficult for a 16-year-old who never imagined her body would betray her.
But in some small way, Humphrey may be better for her suffering.
``Suzanne is the type of person who has to be in control and have everything go smoothly. But this has been something that she can't control,'' said Ivey. ``She can't fix this, and it's probably the first time in her life she's realized that there are some things you have to accept, and go on.
``Through all of this, she's learned a lot about herself.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Cover]
MIND OVER MATTER
Humphrey took first place in the vault event with a score of 8.05 in
district competition.
Staff photos by STEVE EARLEY
Ultrasound treatment soothes gymnast Suzanne Humphrey's injured
back.
Staff photos by STEVE EARLEY
Suzanne Humphrey gets a back rub from teammate Nancy LeMaster.
Great Bridge coach Sharon Ivey, left, talks with Humphrey at
warm-ups.
by CNB