leaving it untreated can be high.
In the end, says Worlds, “the biggest thing was making sure she was OK, physically and mentally.” Herron had the surgery in August and arrived on campus a month after the semester had begun.
She’s receiving cardiac rehabilitation and doesn’t know when she’ll be cleared to play. But that doesn’t mean she isn’t part of the team. Wildcats coach Kyra Elzy is emphatic on this point.
“I think what we have to offer at Kentucky is that we’re truly family,” she shares. “We’re here through the good and the bad. Injured or sick, you are still valued on this team.”
Herron remains involved, taking on responsibilities akin to being another assistant coach.
“I’m always at practice,” she says. “I look at film and help my teammates, tell them what I see from the sideline that they possibly can’t see.”
Elzy says Herron “is like another coach on the floor. She has a great feel for the game. She’s very talented, so her peers take what she has to say seriously. Sometimes peer-to-peer feedback can be very effective.”
And while Herron can’t yet train with her teammates, she gets plenty of conditioning as part of her cardiac rehab program. “We tell her to treat her cardiac rehab like practice,” says Elzy, who takes a holistic approach to her players’ health.
“We talk to her about the mental aspects,” Elzy adds. “She’s been through so much in such a short amount of time. We want to make sure her mental state is where it needs to be. And we talk to her about nutrition, about how to fuel her body to reach her goals. These are things she needs for herself, but also to be a good member of the team.”
Herron, who is working toward a degree in public health, said she is fully committed to