How a Coach's Awareness Saved a Young Athlete's Life

By Robin Gee

Last January, Summit Country Day eighth grader and Hyde Park resident Kate Kroner was at winter soccer practice. An elite level athlete with six seasons at Kings Hammer Youth Football Club, she was often at practice, in a game or working out. She had a substitute coach that day, but Coach Ryan Schaeffer knew her well.

It was lucky he did, said Kate’s mother Emilie Kroner. He was the first to recognize that something was wrong, and his awareness may have been the first step that saved her daughter’s life.

Her voice breaks as she tells the story, which started as every parent’s worst nightmare.

Schaeffer called Kate aside and asked what was wrong. She told him she felt a little light headed, dizzy and she had tunnel vision. When he asked if that had happened before, at first she said, “no…” but he pushed her a bit, imploring her to tell the truth. He suspected it might not have been a one-time event.

Kate then admitted it had happen seven or eight times in the last season. The coach made her promise to tell her parents once she got home and have them message him about it. Because her daughter knew the coach well and trusted him, Emilie said she opened up about what had been happening, and it was the first of several “serendipity” moments that helped change the outcome.

A devastating discovery

At first Emilie said she was not alarmed but a little concerned. The prior year Kate’s grandfather had died from cardiovascular disease. In fact, Abby, Kate’s older sister, had become a Teen of Impact for the American Heart Association to honor her grandfather. The teen fundraising campaign was scheduled to kick off the next week.

The Kroners had already had a doctor’s appointment scheduled that Thursday for Kate to take her yearly athletics physical. By then she seemed fine, and the checkup went well. As they were preparing to leave, Dr. Jennifer Ringel asked if there were any other questions or concerns. That prompted Emilie to mention the incident at soccer practice. The doctor referred Kate to the cardiology department to take an EKG. It seemed fine, but the doctors said they wanted her to come back and get an echocardiogram just to be certain.

After that test, Emilie dropped her daughter at school. Within a half hour, she got a call from the hospital to inform them that Kate had a congenital heart defect, an anomalous coronary artery. Basically, this means that her artery was in a location that was different than normal and it was causing dangerous problems. The only remedy, and it would have to be done fast, was open heart surgery.

“We were devastated, shocked. I had to tell her as we were driving home that day, because she knew something was wrong. So we picked her up, her and her sister. My husband, Kevin, rushed home. That’s the day that everything stopped for her.,” Emilie said.

Finding help

The moment was also the beginning of intense research for the whole family. Little had been written about the topic. They combed for information on what could be done for Kate’s specific anomaly. They consulted Stanford Children’s Hospital and Texas Children’s Hospital, known as the best for cardiac issues.

At Cleveland Clinic they found Dr. Hani Najm who had created the procedure that addressed Kate’s specific issue. She had open heart surgery on May 21 and is making good progress in her recovery. Her mother said she hopes to return to soccer next year.

“I truly believe that is the gift that we were given, that she listened to her body, and she spoke with somebody she trusted, her coach Ryan. And, we had the means. That’s one of the things we talk about a lot. We are very lucky because we’re a strong family unit, and we have the means to find the people that have done this before, experts in her particular case. And we have access to Cincinnati Children’s who could help us connect the dots,” said Emilie.

“That’s one of the reasons we’ve gotten so involved in the American Heart Association as a family. It’s become so important to us. I want that level of access and research and awareness to be felt by everybody. That’s our renewed mission as a family…to give back so this doesn’t happen to another athlete.”

Abby Kroner continued in the teen fundraising campaign after learning of her sister’s diagnosis. Her mother said it made the cause even more important to her. She raised $35,000.

Emilie Kroner is an executive for Master Card. Her employer is working with the American Heart Association on a retail fundraising program, Shop with a Heart.

Kate Kroner’s classmates and team mates and the staff at Kings Hammer, have all stepped up to embrace her.

“Kate’s story is our story, but so many have stories, and many that are way worse than ours. Our story gives us light, and it gives us opportunity to help others. And so that’s what we are trying to do — balance the fact that we are incredibly lucky, despite this being a hard year, with the fact that we have an opportunity to help others.”

The family is speaking out about awareness and in support of efforts to ensure athletic facilities have AEDs, training and plans in place.

The Kroners will be honored at the Greater Cincinnati Heart Ball on February 21.