Offaly's Broken Hearted hurler

[Lone Shark]

I normally don't put my paper pieces up here, but I don't know if this situation is as widely known as it could or indeed should be. I have to say that Eddie was one of the nicest and most decent lads I've ever had the pleasure to meet and I only hope that he finds satisfaction in whatever he turns his hand to in the future. It's also a stark warning about how several players out there at every level could be living on the edge and might just never know.



The feelgood factor surrounding Offaly hurling at the moment is palpable, brought about by two wonderfully encouraging performances against Munster opposition in the qualifiers. Supporters on both days applauded the players warmly, greatly encouraged by the committed and total effort that was put in by the men on the field.

Those players have since returned to their clubs, their home parishes and resumed their regular daily lives with words of praise ringing in their ears. Fans have used words like wholehearted, little realising how for one Offaly hurler, that phrase has a particularly harsh resonance.

Eddie Bevans could be described as wholehearted. He was a wholehearted and committed hurler when he played the game, but now his problem is that his heart is fuller than most – he suffers from a condition known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Put in layman language, this means that the heart muscle, particularly around the left ventricle, is enlarged. However unlike most muscles where larger means more powerful, the thicker wall of the heart means that there is less space within the heart itself so when the human body is put under pressure, the heart may fail to pump blood fast enough, resulting in dizziness, shortness of breath, chest pains, and in severe cases, blackouts or even sudden cardiac death.

As anyone who was in the Gaelic Grounds or Semple Stadium the last few weeks will tell you, intercounty hurling is a setting that is all but guaranteed to get the heart racing. Yet despite having hurled intercounty at all levels for Offaly, Bevans displayed none of the symptoms usually associated with HCM and instead only learned of his condition by pure chance.

“Last September I got a letter from the GAA saying that they were doing this random study of 400 intercounty players and asking if I would take part. I agreed and went up to the Mater to get checked out, where they did an ECG, an electrocardiogram. I heard nothing on the day but a few days later I got a phone call saying that they wanted to do more tests and telling me not to do anything in the meantime. So I went back up to Dublin a few weeks later to do an MRI scan and they just told me there and then about my condition and that I couldn't do much else after that.”

Since first featuring for the Offaly minor hurling team in 2002, Bevans has been a regular feature on county teams as well as playing an ever more prominent role for Shinrone as he grew older. A life that revolved around hurling has lost it's fulcrum, it's axis. It's not something that the 23 year old is finding easy to get used to.

“I don't know what to do with myself, I've come from training seven nights a week and now I've nothing at all. I can't do any strenuous exercise, no heavy training. I can still go for a walk or go swimming, maybe go for a round of golf, but that would be about the most of it. I still go to training just to keep an eye on the lads, I go for a swim, or I could go for a puck around in the evenings but that's about it, I can't do any more than that.”

Such a change of pace would be a shock to anyone, but Bevans was particularly unprepared as he had none of the warning signs that are traditionally associated with heart defects such as HCM.

“It was complete shock to me, particularly because I had none of the symptoms. Usually lads with this condition would complain of blackouts or chest pains but I never had any of those symptoms, I never even used to feel dizzy. For that reason I'm low risk. I only have to have a check up once a year and give up strenuous exercise while medium risk would mean being checked once a month and high risk individuals would have to have a pacemaker fitted.”


With his interest in the game undiminished, the first thought that comes to mind is coaching. As a young man with experience in the modern game and time on his hands, Bevans would be a huge asset to any club if he set about working with their younger players, but right now he's happy to put that plan on the back burner until he feels the time is right. “Maybe in a few years time, not straight away. But down the line I'd certainly like to get involved in coaching or management.”

Four hundred players were tested in this random GAA survey and three cases of HCM were revealed. Prior to the death of Cormac McAnallen, sudden cardiac death was not something that crossed the minds of many Irish athletes, though cases such as this one and that of Kilkenny hurler Conor Phelan have emphasised how the condition continues to be an issue for even the healthiest of young sports players.

Yet half a generation ago Irish hearts were no different, meaning that many hurlers and footballers and indeed players of other sports continued with their sporting hobby, blithely unaware that every time they took the field they were risking their lives. In the overwhelming majority of cases, these men and women played out their careers unharmed. With this in mind, it would be entirely understandable if Bevans wished that the random letter had gone to another player and that he could have continued to hurl in blissful ignorance of the state of his heart.

“That's the thing, I'm sure there are lots of lads playing out there that have the same condition. I was told that I could play hurling for the next fifteen or twenty years and nothing might happen, but at the same time next week I could drop dead. In that situation I have to be sensible, it's just not worth the risk. I miss playing, but I have to be glad that this got found.”

Through the quietness of his voice, the pain is audible when Bevans talks of how he misses playing. A talented player who grew up a closely knit and hurling mad community, the hurt is understandable.

“I do miss the training but it's on the big days that you really feel it. You talk to some of the lads that are involved coming up to championship and you wish you could be there and then on the match day itself it hits you very hard. The Shinrone games would get to me more than the Offaly matches. I was always on the Offaly panel but I was in and out of the team, I was never a regular whereas with Shinrone I was always playing, always taking part. It's true for almost all players but certainly my club Shinrone will always be my team, more so than Offaly.”

Offaly never got the chance to become his team, since he was forced away just as he began to hit his peak. Bevans shares the optimism all around the county that the county team is on the way up, just as he takes a back seat.

“Joe Dooley's doing a really good job this year and I think that in the next five years they should be back competing for All Irelands. Kilkenny are miles ahead of everyone else but after that it's much of a muchness, there's not a whole lot in it.”

Not a whole lot can still make the world of difference. A centimetre or two is not a whole lot to most people, but then they don't have that extra centimetre on the wall of their heart, where it just could change your life. Ask Eddie Bevans.

[turk]

Hi,

I read this in the Offaly at the weekend - I had no idea of any of this. Best wishes to Eddie

[the bare biffo]

Surely there must be a way for the GAA to put the energy and intelligence of a man like this to good effect.

Best wishes to Eddie Bevans

[athlumneyboy]

Was involved with Eddie for most of his underage hurling with Offaly can i say he was always a true Gentlemen he gave everything to the cause and was a credit to his Family and Club.

I would like to wish him the best of luck and hopefully he will make a full recovery to hurl at some level again. Eddie is one of the nice guys and would be great if they County had him coach underage teams because he is very skillful.

[Phoenix]

I always admired Eddie Bevans as a hurler because he had a touch of class about him. He was a bit unusual in his style the way he would solo and knock the ball ahead of him. Great with the sideline cuts as well!!

I didn't know about this until I read the article in the Offaly Indo. I thought he must be travelling or carrying a leg injury or something!

Best of Luck to Eddie in the future!! I wish him all the best!

[black and red exile]

The very best of luck in life eddie. As somebody with a heart condition and a pacemaker I have every sympathy in what eddie is going through. All sorts of emotions will go through his mind, anger, depression and sorrow that his sporting career has been stopped in its tracks at such a young age of 23 years old and there will be many days when he will ask WHY ME, but remember there is no reason why you can't live a long and prosperous life if you look after yourself and with the help and support of you're family and friends you will come through this with flying colours. GOOD LUCK EDDIE AND GOOD HEALTH FOR THE NEXT 60 ODD YEARS.

[Kevin]

Best wishes Eddie.

May new opportunities present themselves to you at an overwhelming pace.