The news that Venus Williams withdrew from the US Open minutes before her match was set to begin sent shockwaves through the tennis community. Venus had warmed up, was dressed for her match and all seemed well before she withdrew.
Shortly after her withdrawal her publicist issued a statement that gave the reason, Sjogrens Syndrome. Like many who had never heard of the condition I Googled it and found out that it is an auto immune disease that affects four million people in this country, mostly women, and that no ethnic or racial group is exempt from it.
I also read that it takes up to seven years for the proper diagnosis to be given.
Many first reactions were that due to Venus being a top athlete her diagnosis had to have taken less than seven years but when everyone had calmed down some were talking about Venus diagnosis of anemia a few years back and realized that the diagnosis may have taken longer than we initially thought.
There is no need to guess about how long the diagnosis took though. That most private of persons gave an interview to Good Morning America where she explains her symptoms, how long the diagnosis took, and how it's too soon for her to know how she feels about it.
I thank tennishead Omess for directing me to the video of the interview
There is no cure for the syndrome and doctors can only treat the symptoms. Venus sounds optimistic about returning to tennis and as a long time fan I hope that she can. I'm sure that since she wants to return to the sport she loves there is no need to counsel her to follow her doctors counsel. I look forward to the day when Venus symptoms have subsided and she can come back to her sport.
1 comment:
I think all tennis fans have a bucket list. I am no exception. One of my biggest dreams is to see Venus at Wimbledon. My most cherished memory of her is a post that Pete Bodo wrote in 2007 when she won. He was describing what she looked like in her shorts walking across the green grass in really small shorts. Pete has a thing for Venus. He really loves her, just like I do. I met her when she came to Grand Cayman last year and I took pics with her and told her that I was her long lost sister. It made my day and my tennis watch life. I hope she returns to tennis as tennis needs her badly.
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