How did pickleball find you?
I don’t remember when I first heard about pickleball, but it was before 2013. Our family learned how to play padel in Europe in 2010 and loved it. We couldn’t find anywhere to buy the equipment or play it in the United States. My guess is I may have learned about pickleball when I was trying to find out if we could play padel somewhere.
In 2013, I did my pediatrics rotation for PA school in St. George, Utah. I remember being so excited that I was selected to go there because my #1 goal, besides learning how to treat children, was to learn how to play pickleball. I had no idea who I was going to play with or where to play.
I bought a cheap wooden paddle, a couple balls, and hunted down where all the pickleball courts were on Google Maps. After driving around for a bit and talking to some locals, I learned they had drop-in play at the Little Valley Pickleball Complex so I stopped in. I played pretty frequently for the next six weeks and taught my family how to play about six months later when we went back to St. George on vacation. For the next eight years, I just played once or twice a year when we went down there.
In April 2021, my oldest son decided to play in a tournament in the Salt Lake area so I registered with my daughter as my partner. We hadn’t played in over a year, were clueless about tournament rules and format, and laughed through our first two games as we got killed. By game three we remembered how to play and hit the ball but still lost.
Then we watched some guys stack on the next court over. We had never heard of it but thought, “Oh, cool. We’ve kinda got engineery-like brains. We can do that.” Stacked and boom. Won against the #2 seed. We had a blast that day! Pickleball had finally been “found” in the real world, in our family, and the rest is history… :-)
What did you think of first when you started playing pickleball?
That it was easier to breathe compared to when I play tennis. So much easier. I could focus more on learning the game and less on what my heart and lungs were doing.
I still love tennis, but it’s harder on me physically. And, no, in case you’re wondering, I don’t have a favorite. I always tell people tennis and pickleball are like having two kids. You don’t pick a favorite, you just love them both for different reasons.
What is your favorite dessert?
Just about anything with chocolate or cheesecake in it. I’ll admit I’m a chocoholic.
Favorite place to play pickleball
I don’t really have a favorite place yet because I travel so much between Idaho and Utah. My favorite setting, no question, is outside with full sun in 70 degrees.
Are you planning to enter any tournaments?
I’m playing in one this Saturday. The catch is you have to be single and over the age of 35–no married people allowed. I’m just going for the pickleball, but I’m guessing someone there is probably hoping they’re going to pick up more than a trophy. Haha.
If you are not playing pickleball, what are you doing?
I love to learn so I do some kind of research almost every day–medical literature, religious study, financial strategies, mental health, etc. I also enjoy singing and joke around that it’s the only thing my lungs are good for. In addition, I enjoy spending time with my friends and family, working on advocacy projects, real estate investing, and serving in my church.
Do you have any superstitions?
No, I’m not superstitious at all.
What was the last pickleball skill you mastered?
I’ve been working on dinking more consistently. It’s not just about muscle memory–it’s just as much about developing patience.
What was the last lesson you learned - either in life or in pickleball?
In life: That God expects us to “flexibly plan.” He wants you to put in the effort to make a plan and work towards a goal, but still be willing to trust Him and remain flexible if circumstances change. That really works for me.
In pickleball: That it’s still a legal shot if the ball hits your hand when it’s in contact with your paddle.
How was your college experience?
Academically or athletically? I couldn’t play sports in college, even recreationally, because I was so short of breath with exertion. I hadn’t learned how to play tennis yet either. I basically didn’t exercise at all and never really had up until that point.
Academically, I was probably the person you didn’t want in your class. I was a little bit of a curve killer and I didn’t have time for study groups; I felt like they slowed me down. I remember having an upper level anatomy and physiology class where the professor allowed us to drop a test. I already had 106% in the class coming into the final so I walked into his office to let him know I wouldn’t be taking it because I was taking 23 credits and had too many other finals to study for.
If I took the last exam, it wouldn’t help me because my grade couldn’t get any higher, but it might hurt the rest of the class because he set the top score as the new “100%” mark. So, I let him know that for my sake as well as my classmates I was going to sit this one out, but that he was a phenomenal instructor and I wasn’t blowing him off. I just felt it was the best decision for everyone.
Apparently, he wasn’t very pleased because I heard he changed the grading policy after that. I did get all A’s that semester, though. The next semester they asked me to teach the labs for that class even though I wasn’t a biology major so he apparently wasn’t too bent out of shape about it. Teaching university students without ever having trained for that definitely stretched me out of my comfort zone, but I’m glad I did it.
When did you start playing tennis?
At 23 years old after I had three miscarriages and then went into heart failure during the next two pregnancies. Five pregnancies, but only two live births and I was swollen clear up to my eyeballs. Something had to change and I knew it was the condition of my heart. Any sustained exertion was out of the question, so I chose tennis because I could take a break every few seconds.
Do you still play tennis?
Yes, and I still compete in leagues. I was on tennis teams in both Idaho and Utah at the same time last summer. I would just schedule my matches around my travel schedule, which revolved around my oxygen pickups. I played either pickleball or tennis almost every day except Sundays last summer. It was SO good for my health.
Where do you think the sport of pickleball is headed?
There’s no question in my mind we’re going to continue to see explosive growth in the number of participants. The physical, financial, and chronological barriers to entry are low which makes it more accessible and equitable than the vast majority of sports. The threshold for becoming proficient enough to play and enjoy it is low enough at the beginning levels that people can do it quickly–before they become frustrated and give up. Then they can build on their skills from there.
Not only is it less physically taxing at the entry level, but it chews up less real estate than most sports. A lot of small spaces can fit a full pickleball court. It doesn’t take two plus hours to finish a match or game so people can drop-in and drop-out for the amount of time that works for them. Overall, there’s just a lot more flexibility with it.
I own four tennis courts in Idaho. I was never able to get friends to just try out tennis during a barbecue–no matter how many people showed up to the party. A lot of my friends are willing to wing it with a pickleball paddle even if they’ve never held one. The low bounce and small court are a lot less intimidating.
I find it interesting that the hours I play pickleball now greatly outnumber those I spend playing tennis. It’s a function of accessibility, cost and time even in my own life.
If there was any place you could travel and play, where would you go?
I choose not to think about that because it’s not an option for me. 90%+ of the oxygen suppliers in the country have quit supplying liquid oxygen and I can’t play without it. I have all the equipment but if I can’t fill it anywhere besides Idaho it doesn’t matter. At 10 liter/minute, my oxygen requirement when I exercise is so high a little electronic concentrator or an oxygen cylinder won’t cut it for me. I’m restricted to liquid.
I’m incredibly grateful my hometown is one of the few places that still supplies it. I drive places in Idaho and Utah to play but that’s it because a little bit leaks out of my reservoirs every time I hit a bump in the road. If I could travel further and refill my oxygen, there’s no question I would. You would see me playing all over just because I could. Every tournament would feel like Christmas.
What is your pre-game routine?
Oh, man. What a question. It’s a project. I could write an entire book on this. I’m going to spare you most of the pathophysiology of what I deal with and how I counteract that.
I have to start planning a minimum of four hours, preferably a day, in advance or else I play with chest pain and am more short of breath. The biggest problems I face are not having enough cardiac reserve to eat AND exercise, preventing fluid overload from my heart failure, and my electrolytes can easily get out of whack from all my medications. Just the process of digestion alone increases strain on my heart, wears me out, and can make me fall asleep. So I basically play hungry and just eat small doses of glucose as I go.
Four hours before I play I eat a small meal, and two hours before I play I stop eating except for maybe a handful of trail mix or a banana. Next, I check my pump to make sure I have enough medication to get me through the next 3-4 hours. Then I mix more medication if I don’t. That takes me an extra 20 minutes if I need it. (I literally almost killed myself once mixing my meds right before a match because I was in a hurry. I didn’t realize a new pump I had just been sent was programmed at 65 times my normal rate. That can be fatal within a couple minutes and it almost was, so now I double check all that because it was pretty frightening.)
Getting back to my normal routine, 30 minutes before I play I have to take 8 medications. Then I have to mix my own sports drinks because I can’t tolerate sodium like most people can. It causes fluid retention and exacerbates my heart failure. After that, I load things in my bag that are easy to digest like applesauce or baby food.
Next I round up all my special medical gear: waistband for my pump, oxygen backpacks, etc. Last of all, I fill both my oxygen tanks off my reservoir. By the time everything is loaded, I have 40-50 pounds of stuff to take with me and I’m still worried about what might be missing.
I can’t imagine what it would be like to just throw on some shoes, grab a drink, pick up my paddle and walk out the door. I really can’t even comprehend it. It takes about 30-40 minutes if I’m fast to get through everything I have to do. It’s a very intentional process and I have a checklist because I can’t afford to miss a step.
What is your favorite shot?
A slice from the baseline. It just feels good when I hit it.
What is the best part of pickleball for you & what makes this game so special.
That it’s FUN competition! Really, other players are so willing to help each other improve. Maybe it’s something about being part of an up and coming entity–we all want to see it succeed and we recognize that happens by banding together and contributing to the whole.
Plus, I enjoy puzzles, analysis, etc., and so I’m drawn to the mental strategy of ball sports. I love improving and working on myself and that’s what sports really are. It’s not about whether or not someone else beat you; it’s about if you’ve risen to the level it takes to win. And winning is always “winning”--it’s knowing you knuckled down and played as good as you can. That doesn’t happen without work. So, I guess it’s a proving ground.
The most special thing about pickleball is its spirit of inclusion. Whether you’re 9, 19, or 90, you can be playing on the same court. I love watching grandparents play with little kids.
What is one area of your game you are working on & what is one area of your game you are most proud of?
I definitely need help with blocking shots. I’ve been nailed hard with a few tennis balls, including in the eye, and I’m still getting over the fear of getting hurt. I’ve known more than one person who was knocked unconscious by a tennis ball–including a family member. A pickleball is totally different, though. It just kind of stings rather than really hurts so I recognize my fear is probably irrational, but my brain is still trying to process that. When someone winds up and hits a shot right at me my brain goes on the fritz.
I’m not proud of my game–I’m proud that I’m out there playing it. Seriously. There are so many things that could have stopped me.
How important is health and wellness?
I’m very passionate about this topic. I’ve spoken as a motivational speaker and this is always part of the discussion. Again, this could be another book.
Having both practiced medicine and been the patient, I’ve determined health is relative to what your normal is. What is considered healthy for me would probably put the average person in tears.
Consider if you felt short of breath walking up the stairs tonight and went to your doctor tomorrow thinking you might have a cold. What if you were told your heart was only pumping at 25-40% of normal and would never improve much beyond that, you were going to need oxygen for the rest of your life, they needed to immediately put in 24-hour central IV which would also be permanent, you would be sent home with a dozen different prescriptions and you are going to need a double-lung transplant? You would feel and believe you’re sick. But I don’t. That’s my life. It’s my normal and I feel healthy.
I’m healthy because I know I’m doing everything I can to maintain my body and, by extension, my mind, in the best condition I can. I can’t do more than is possible given the body I have. I can only do my best.
Knowing you are doing your best is what leads to mental wellness and, in turn, the ability to persevere and maintain your physical health. It’s cyclical. To start the cycle, I had to undergo the grief process to understand my new normal. I learned from my patients that’s the case with anyone suffering from chronic disease. They taught me so much.
It’s the decisions you make coming out of the grief process that change you. Accepting your NEW normal AS normal is key. I chose to view maintaining my health as a part time job. Literally. I had to tell myself it was okay to assign it about 15 hours per week. It takes six to eight hours per week to mix meds, deal with pharmacies, and drive back-and-forth to pick up oxygen. That’s before sports.
But, you know what? The hormones released with exercise decrease both physical and mental stress. My heart, lungs, and mind need them. By assigning additional time each week for pickleball as a prescription, I’m taking the guilt away that I might be playing it too much. Complete justification right there. :-)
What is your sports background?
Played a little bit of volleyball in middle school. Got cut from all sports tryouts in high school–my heart and lungs were worsening but I didn’t know why. I just couldn’t keep up with the other girls anymore. Gave up on sports until I went into heart failure during my pregnancies, as mentioned above. Then it was literally do or die time, for real.
I can hike if I just walk, but the concept of running, swimming, or anything requiring sustained exertion boggles my mind. My heart’s racing and literally feels like it’s going to explode after 15-30 seconds. I’ve been like this since I was born so I don’t know anything different. I watch other people and think, “Wow, how do they do that and not feel like they’re going to pass out and puke?” Kudos, folks.
What are some of your goals?
Increase liquid oxygen access
Mandate patient centric labeling on electronic oxygen concentrators to reduce patient confusion
Minimize discomfort of patient’s suffering from chronic disease through development of patient centric equipment and information
Avoid a lung transplant (Haha. Legit goal.)
Extend my life expectancy.
To stay happy now. I decided I’m not going to wait for someone or something else to make me happy. I’ll just BE happy.
Have you had any sports related injuries?
A scaphoid fracture and a bunch of abrasions when I tripped on a heave in a tennis court while sprinting for a ball. Ironically, I was the team captain and had already warned my entire team that court had a heave in it and to be careful. And who should get the court and turf it, hard, but me?
Corneal abrasions, vitreous detachment, and bruised retina from an eye injury when I was hit by a tennis ball.
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