Earlham Echo

May 27, 2025

Last weekend, Taylor Rodgers competed in four events at the state track meet and placed in two of them. That’s a major accomplishment for anybody. But given that her road to Drake Stadium had a few more detours than many athletes will ever have to face, her achievement was remarkable.

Two years ago, Taylor was a happy, healthy sophomore, active in multiple sports and school activities. One day with no warning, she felt dizzy, disoriented, and had trouble speaking. After she was rushed to the hospital, it was determined that she had suffered a stroke.

“I was completely fine,” she said. “When it happened, I genuinely had no clue what was going on. When they told me I had a stroke, I thought, ‘What, am I 90?’”

Taylor had a stroke due to congenital heart condition that caused a small hole—just a few millimeters—in her heart. The condition is present in about 20-25% of the general population, but usually without symptoms. The combination of the condition and a stroke is rare, likely affecting fewer than 1 in 100,000 teens annually.

When a stroke occurs, a clot from the venous system can cross from the right atrium to the left atrium, bypassing the lungs, and travel to the brain. Brain cells begin to die if blood flow isn’t restored. The window for stroke treatment with clot-busting drugs is typically 3 to 5 hours. Young people have a better chance of recovery due to brain plasticity, but delays can lead to permanent damage.

Also, young people, assuming that they’re too young for a stroke, may dismiss symptoms, delaying critical treatment. Fortunately, this did not happen in Taylor’s case. She was treated quickly, and eventually she underwent a procedure to seal the hole.

Many kids that endured something like that might take it easy for a while. Not Taylor. She went out for cross country for the first time. Chances of a re-occurrence are slim, but cross country isn’t easy. Those first workouts that got her heart pumping admittedly made her a little nervous, too.

“I was terrified,” she said. “Cross country started right after that, and I was just scared to run. Anytime I pushed myself I was super scared. Building back up was tough, but I got through it.”

Complicating matters that season was that she had low iron levels in her blood because she was taking blood thinners. Low iron is problematic for runners, to say the least. Low iron reduces hemoglobin production, decreasing the blood’s oxygen-carrying capacity. Muscles receive less oxygen during exercise, impairing aerobic performance. In a sport that requires energy and endurance, she was frequently in short supply of both of those.

Despite those issues, she had a good cross country season, played on the basketball team, and then went out for track in the spring.

Her senior cross country season was outstanding. She helped the Cardinals win the state championship by finishing 33^rd overall at the state meet. In the winter, she decided not to go out for basketball. Instead, she embarked on a fierce training regimen, that included running 200 miles, to get ready for track season. She kept a detailed log of the workouts. Coach Petersen took note of that log and is planning on suggesting it as a standard for his team to use during the off season.

Taylor’s work paid off this season. She was faster at every distance, and brimming with confidence to chase down runners or hold them off when necessary. After not even competing in the 1500m run in 2024, she broke the school record in that event this season.

Next year, Taylor will continue her education and running career at Northwest Missouri State University. With everything in front of her, she can look back now at what happened with satisfaction. “It’s crazy to think how far I’ve come, just battling through that,” she said. “I’m thankful to just be alive. And to be doing the things that I love still, I’m super lucky.”