Cardiologist says Bedell back to full speed

Elk Lake senior Mike Bedell has been cleared to resume running as normal by his cardiologist after months of uncertainly stemming from his collapse at the District II championship in October. PHOTO COURTESY OF KRIS MORAHAN

BY KEVIN WOODRUFF

Elk Lake cross country and track and field runner Mike Bedell has been cleared by his cardiologist to run at full speed, alleviating some fear after he collapsed at the District II cross country finals in October.

Bedell, 18, a senior, was in-line to win the District II Class AA cross country championship held at Elk Lake before collapsing only a few hundred yards from the finish line.

After his collapse it wasn’t clear what exactly was wrong, however, his cardiologist later concluded that it was a circulation problem.

He discovered this after visiting cardiologist Matthew Hutter, who is the head cardiologist for the Boston Red Sox and New England Patriots.

Bedell said that his cardiologist in Scranton recommended he see Dr. Hutter.

“I went up last Sunday and Dr. Hutter said that everything was fine,” Bedell said. “He said that it was a problem with the veins in my legs.”

Bedell said that he was relieved to hear that his collapse wasn’t an issue with his heart, but rather a matter of blood pooling in the veins in his legs, which didn’t allow his heart to function correctly.

And this condition has a relatively simple fix, as Bedell has been told to wear knee-high tight socks when he runs.

When he does especially hard workouts, Bedell will have to wear a device similar to a shin splint protector.

“They fit tight on my legs so that it will prevent the blood from pooling up,” Bedell said.

Since seeing Dr. Hutter, Bedell said he has been running with the socks, and that everything seems fine.

However, he isn’t sure if wearing the socks and splints will be a permanent thing.

“We’re playing it by ear,” Bedell said. “I have to contact Dr. Hutter in a few weeks and let him know how things are going.”

Bedell said that it’s exciting news not to have to fear for his heart anymore.

“It gives me more confidence to go harder,” Bedell said.

However, Bedell said that after his collapse at Districts, he had been running all winter without incident.

And before his collapse, Bedell said nothing like that had ever happened to him before.

Bedell said he did collapse after Districts in 2009, but that was because he had suffered from the swine flu a week earlier.

This coming track and field season, Bedell is on a mission to break Elk Lake’s one mile record.

“It’s a 4:21, and last season I was already close to it,” Bedell said. “So I think I should be able to get that done pretty early on.”

Also, Bedell said he would like to get down to states and place in the top three.

Given that Bedell has already signed with NCAA Division I Campbell University for college, he feels he has an advantage over some runners, who are still deciding on where they want to go.

“It takes some of the pressure off,” Bedell said. “And I think having my college choice takes off a little bit of the pressure.”

The Warriors started practice last week, and Bedell said that things have been going great thus far.

“We haven’t gotten outside yet because of a foot of snow on the ground,” Bedell said. “But we’ve been running.”