UNCA soccer standout plans comeback

On September 6, 2008 UNC Asheville men's soccer senior defenseman Edwin Wotortsi lost more than just the game against the visiting Appalachian State Mountaineers.

"From what I can remember, we were playing pretty well," Wotortsi said. "Ten minutes to go, they had a corner kick and they scored off of it, and in turn we tried to push up to tie the game. We got a corner kick and we sent everybody up, including myself."

Those final minutes would be the longest of his life, he said.

"On the flight of the ball, I remember, I saw it and the goalkeeper looking at it, but I didn't see him coming out for it," Wotortsi said. "It was coming towards me, and so I jumped up. By the time I was in mid air, I realized it was a big mistake, because I saw the goalkeeper coming out with his knee up."

It just happened. Everything just happened so fast, he said.

"I could not brace for impact, his knee just went right through my stomach," Wotortsi said. "I just collapsed and didn't see the ball or anything after that. I was on the ground in pain, and it just didn't feel right."

The trainer came on the field shortly after to check on him and narrow down where the pain was, according to Wotortsi.

He said it was one of the worst pains he ever felt. To him, he said it didn't feel like a typical muscle pain or anything of that nature.

"I couldn't move, because every movement just hurt," Wotortsi said. "The only comfortable position was on my knees and hunched over."

Later, they took him off the field into the training room, where the ambulance soon arrived and took him to the hospital, he said.

"It was a pretty fast ride," Wotortsi said. "My girlfriend was with me the whole time, and she told me stories about how I was screaming from the pain. A couple of times I passed out from it, because it was that extreme. They gave me the normal dose for morphine, and I asked for more, which they did, but eventually they couldn't give me any more."

He said the hospital staff, following procedure, took X-rays that returned inconclusive results. This led the doctors to speculate over his condition, which made him question their ability, he said.

"They got the X-rays back and said there's nothing broken," Wotortsi said. "They said it was probably a deep abdominal tissue bruise and I was like, 'Are you serious? Because I've had bruises and this doesn't feel like it.' They should've done more tests, but they said they couldn't do anything more. They gave me a prescription for oxycodone and sent me home."

The next morning he said pain was a recurring theme. He said he spent most of his time looking down a prescription bottle.

"They told me to follow-up in a couple of days if the pain had not improved," Wotortsi said. "My girlfriend got me the prescription filled, and that whole day I was just on pain medicine, taking two oxycodones every four to six hours. I went through half a bottle."

Wanting some fresh air, he said he went downtown to a festival with some friends and walked around. He said it took all the strength in his body to simply do that.

"The pain was just unbearable," Wotortsi said. "I was taking half a step every time. I just wanted to get some fresh air and just breathe and get out. I'm not a person who, when they get sick, likes to stay indoors. I remember I would walk, and every 50 yards, I would have to sit and rest, because I was fatigued already."

He said the pain and fatigue are all he remembers from that day.

The next day, he said his roommate gave him a ride to campus to see the athletic trainer for a follow-up.

"I talked to Cory, the trainer, about how I was feeling and how the day before was," Wotortsi said. "She told me to go see her superior, Dr. Watts. I went there and she checked up on me, again, by pressing around to see where the pain is so she could determine what's going on. She told me it wasn't looking good and I needed to go back to Mission."

Following the doctor's orders, he went back to Mission Hospital, and they put him right back in the ER. That's when things began to pick up pace.

"They gave me a MRI, and to do that, you have to drink the highlighter, so they can see your organs," Wotortsi said. "I had to sit there and drink this awful tasting highlighter for an hour. When the results came back, everything went even faster. They rushed me back to the hospital room and all I remember is I had four or five nurses around me, telling me they need to get me ready for surgery."

Doctors proceeded to hook him up to machines to check his vitals, he said. They soon returned with the results from the MRI.

He said the results showed that when the knee struck him in his midsection, it crushed his spleen, which smashed into his pancreas and his pancreas smashed into his backbone, in that order. Doctors told him 80 percent of his pancreas was damaged and that they would try to save as much as they could.

"When he was explaining it to me, I was asking, 'Am I going to be alright? Is this safe?'" Wotortsi said. "They said they would try to take care of it and not complicate it in anyway and that they only see this injury from car accidents. This was a freak accident. The doctors told me that I have a high pain threshold, because people who would've gone through this, their vital signs wouldn't have been normal. Their heart rate would've been going crazy and their blood pressure would be off the charts."

Wotortsi said he went into surgery around 2 a.m. the next morning. He said he had a few surgeries, but they were really just all part of one complete surgery.

"It really was just one big surgery that I had and a few other procedures to go along with it," Wotortsi said. "I was very lucky because diabetics use 15 percent of their pancreas and I was able to retain about roughly 20 percent of my pancreas. I got tested everyday at the hospital to make sure I wasn't diabetic."

When he awoke, he could see the results of surgery: 25 staples and three drainage tubes with one leading to his pancreas, to leak out the fluids. Because he only has a small percentage of his pancreas, he said he must receive a booster shot for his immune system every five years.

His stay in the hospital lasted for two weeks, he said. When he left, he said they removed both drains from his stomach, leaving only the single tube to his pancreas.

"I had the one to my pancreas in and I had to get it checked out, to make sure it didn't get infected," Wotortsi said. "I got the last tube out on my birthday, November 12."

The most important question for Wotortsi after his surgery, he said, was whether he would play again. Like most athletes returning from a serious injury, it was the only one that mattered.

"I had to get it clear, because in my hospital bed, the only question I was asking was, 'Can I play?'" Wotortsi said. "The doctors said it's possible. There are a lot of athletes in the NFL that play without a spleen. They said I should be back to normal, but to allow 6-10 months. I got back to training, kicking around without contact and pick-up gradually within two months of my surgery, which is amazing."

Wotortsi said he is cautious with his training so he doesn't irritate his injury.

"I try not to push myself, because certain movements kind of irritate my scar tissue," he said. "Sometimes I have to take a week off, if I irritate the scar tissue. I've done it once during the school week and another time during spring break. That whole week I was on pain medicine."

He said he's really thankful for Dr. Watts and UNCA's athletic trainers. However, he said Mission Hospitals could stand to learn from their diagnosis error.

"I'm glad everything worked out, but I wish for Mission to be a lot more attentive to patients then just patch them up and send them home," Wotortsi said.

Last semester, Wotortsi said he took a leave of absence in order to recuperate from the injury. Although he was able to receive incomplete grades in some classes, he couldn't do that in others, he said.

This semester, he's back trying to finish the incomplete grades he received from last year.

He said he was really looking forward to playing with his fellow seniors last year, and he's currently in the process of getting his eligibility back for next year.

The senior defender said he can't wait to pick-up where he left off. With an even stronger appreciation for the game, he said this time around he'll play it safe in order to achieve his true goal: finishing with a college education.

"I just can't wait," Wotortsi said. "I'm really excited for the fall. My last year, I'm just going to play safe, finish up and graduate. I just want to get my degree."

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