"Heart." It's a word frequently used in sports to describe the tenacity an athlete or team demonstrates in the face of adversity. Although she's had five surgeries on her's, there can be no questioning Logan Ewing's heart. The Perryville High senior made her first appearance in the MPSSAA track and field championship meet Saturday, May 29.
Ewing, Katelyn Broughman, Christen Dodson, and Jasmyn Strong teamed to place second in the 4 x 100 relay in 52.31 seconds. “It felt really good, like an accomplishment,” Ewing said. “I’m really proud of my relay because we PR’d in regionals and again at states and if we had run what we were running at any other meet, we wouldn’t have medaled. So we all really came wanted it and came through when it was needed.” Not only was it her first trip to the state meet, it was also the only time Ewing has been healthy enough to complete a full track schedule. Three times she started the season, but her heart would not allow her to continue. Ewing has tachycardia Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, a heart rhythm disorder that causes a rapid heartbeat. Symptoms include dizziness and light-headedness. Ewing first learned she had the illness when she was in third grade. She was sent to the nurse's office where it was determined her heart was beating over 200 times a minute even though she had been sitting in a classroom. As one would imagine, Ewing was fearful prior to the first operation. The second surgery was scheduled to take three hours but took 10 instead. She woke up during the third one. By the time she underwent her fifth operation in May of her sophomore year, Ewing was no longer afraid but was becoming increasingly frustrated. Other short-term solutions like standing on her head or placing her face in cold water weren't working either. Things changed in August, 2015, when a doctor prescribed Verapamil, a calcium channel blocker which relaxes the muscles in the heart and blood vessels. "That's why I've finally been able to finish out the season," Ewing said. She said her doctors and mother, Jessica, were somewhat reluctant for Logan to return to the track, but she was determined. "I like running," she said. "I like the adrenaline rush you get and I like sports in general." They all reached an agreement whereby she would compete in vertical jumps, but no races longer than 200 meters. The result has been a successful season for Ewing and the Panthers. Perryville won its fifth straight region championship. Ewing and her teammates won a region title in the 4 x 100 relay to earn a state meet berth. "It feels really good to win the region and be on a strong 4 x 100 team," Ewing said. A few months ago, simply completing a season would have been satisfying enough. "It's cool to see my myself finish the season," said Ewing, the daughter of Jessica and Daniel Ewing, who has an older brother, Dylan, and a younger brother, Gavin. "It upset me when I had to leave the team my first three seasons. It's definitely a good feeling to know I've been able to go all the way." Perryville coach Raissa Moore was thrilled to have Ewing on the team. "Logan is a kid who really helps all of us put our own daily stresses and troubles into perspective," Perryville coach Raissa Moore said. "While she has dealt with a lifetime of this heart condition, it makes you take a step back to be thankful for your health and what you've got. Since she joined the team as a freshman, she has been nothing but happy, energetic, and fun to be around. You would never know that anything was different about her. Even in the times when her heart has held her back from practicing or competing, she handles these moments with grace and patience. Ever resilient and determined, she comes back out to the track as soon as she is physically ready to go later day or the next. Where so many teens are eager to make excuses as to why they cannot do something, Logan is the perfect example of a kid who lets nothing be an excuse to hold back from achieving a goal. Though she has been at it for four years, she has greatly helped this team as a senior this spring with her contribution in jumps and especially being the anchor on the 4 x 1. We're all very proud of her and thrilled to have had her in a Perryville uniform." Ewing's future is bright. She is able to enjoy a normal life and will attend the University of Maryland in the fall. She plans to major in biomedical science and become a cardiologist, something she says she first considered when she was diagnosed back in third grade. "I've liked both of my doctors and they told me they loved their job," she said. "I've seen people much worse off than I am and that upset me. I thought, 'I'd like to help them'." Comments are closed.
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