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Megan Helton is one of the newest additions to the University of Louisville women’s tennis team. Although she isn’t making a huge splash on the court, she has made a remarkable recovery in the past months from when she was confined to a wheel chair recovering from a surgery to remove a brain tumor. Since then the sophomore political science major has made incredible leaps and bounds to rejoin her team.
Helton walked on the tennis team as a freshman in the fall of 2005.
“I’ve played at U of L’s tennis center since I was eight years old and I was always around. I grew up watching U of L tennis and got to know the coaches, and when I heard that they were looking for some walk-ons I decided it would be perfect for me,” said Helton
However, her tennis career was almost cut short.
While at Male High School, Helton complained to doctors about migraines and neck pains, but they blamed it on stress and her excessive serving while playing tennis. It wasn’t until the winter break of 2005 that she had two severe migraines four days apart that she began to worry. When she came back to school for the spring semester, she collapsed on her dorm room floor just two days into the semester, ironically the same day she was going to visit the doctor.
“My RA found me and thought I was having a seizure,” said Helton, “so she called EMS and they took me to the hospital, ran a CAT scan and found a tumor.”
After two surgeries to remove the tumor and intense physical therapy over the summer, she learned to write, eat and walk again. Helton is back to the courts, just nine months after the surgery.
“The first time I played was Memorial Day and I was absolutely terrible. It was like I had never picked up a tennis racquet before. My coordination was really bad and I didn’t have the mobility to move on the court,” said Helton
Now that she is fully recovered, Helton has started to put her game back together. She is slowly regaining her mobility and is currently working on serving.
“Obviously I won’t be in tip top shape like I once was, but my ultimate goal is to get as close as I was before surgery as I can,” said Helton
Right now Helton is hoping to play in a few matches before the season is out, but as the team is already 10 girls deep and only six are allowed to play in matches, she said that the odds aren’t terrific. One will still find her on the court as a practice partner because it isn’t the competition she needs.
“I love that tennis is good exercise and it keeps me in shape, but I also love the wonderful people I have met because of it. My teammates and the coaching staff are amazing and I’m just so thankful for their support through this whole ordeal.”
