Tag: Wartburg College

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Athletic Department Rallies Around Athletic Trainer

Article reposted from The Circuit
Author: 

It was late July when athletic trainer Emily Link received news that could potentially alter her life.

Link was diagnosed with a rare form of thyroid cancer known as Hurthle Cell Carcinoma, a disease that accounts for about 3 percent of all thyroid cancer cases, according to EndocrineWeb.

The diagnosis came after a tumor, which Link said was the size of the palm of her hand, was discovered on the side of her neck.

Link then underwent surgery on August 11 to remove her thyroid.

“Attitude is the only thing you can control when you are given something like this,” Link said. “I have chosen to have a good one, a positive one.”

Since the diagnosis, Link said she has received a lot of support from the athletic department, especially the football team. Offensive lineman Hudson Johnston has gone on the same diet Link has had to begin in preparation for her upcoming treatment.

Johnston said he went on the diet in order to support Link and also get in shape himself. He also talked very highly about his relationship with Link.

“She’s like a big sister and she’s always there when I need her,” Johnston said.

Tyler Rowell, worked a lot with Link during his freshmen year while recovering from a torn ACL.

“If you’re whining about being sore, she still makes you work through it because she knows it will make you better and keep you working towards that final goal,” Rowell said.

Link said the support she’s received has been incredible and that the entire athletic department has shown her a lot of love. The sports medicine team has also been very helpful, making it easier for her to leave for appointments, she said.

Link said she thinks a lot of people have been surprised with the news because she is still working all the time. Johnston said that while everyone supports Link it’s hard to tell most of the time that something is going on.

“The way she acts, it’s so hard to tell she needs support,” Johnson said. “She’s been very strong, and you would never guess that anything is wrong.”

Link said getting back to work has made it easier for her as she was able to get back to her normal routine and she has received messages from current and former athletes checking up on her.

She was also acknowledged during the volleyball team’s Pass, Set, Kill Cancer night on Oct. 5, something that she said she really appreciated

“It was really nice, and it meant a lot to me and my family,” Link said.

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Wartburg College Football team rallies behind athletic trainer with cancer

Article reposted from: KWWL.com
Author Amanda Gilbert

KWWL – Eastern Iowa Breaking News, Weather, Closings

Emily Link is Wartburg’s athletic trainer.

This football season she’s working long days, keeping the team safe.

Emily is doing all this while battling a rare form of Thyroid Cancer.

She says earlier this year, she went in for her yearly doctor’s appointment.

That’s when doctors found a tumor in her neck that was about the size of the palm of her hand.

Wartburg football players says they are rallying behind Emily as she goes through surgery and treatment.

Doctors did remove Emily’s tumor in her neck.

She is not in remission yet. They are still checking to see if the cancer spread anywhere else.

But Emily says she loves her job. She says she was scared at first, but the team has made things easier.

Emily is starting a diet as part of her cancer treatment.

One of the football players who is out with an injury says he’s going to do the diet with her to show his support.

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Wartburg College Student Aides Gain Expereince

Article reposted from The Circuit
Author: 

Student athletic trainers at Wartburg College are important members of the staff in the training room.

Mallory McDonald and Joe Fangman, both, fourth year students have been apart of Wartburg’s training room.

Head Athletic Trainer, Ryan Callahan said without student help, they couldn’t deliver the level of service and help for the 700-plus student athletes.

“This is a situation that requires them to be highly-adaptable, to work hard and to be service oriented,” Callahan said.

The roles of the Student Medicine assistants vary as their experience progresses Callahan said. They begin by doing simple things and tasks that are necessary around the training room. Eventually, they progress to new things.

Callahan says that ideally students who get on the staff will be hired early on, either their freshman or sophomore year, then they can continue to progress as the years go on.

McDonald just joined at the beginning of last year’s fall term.

Yet, she has learned more and is a valuable asset to the training room, saying that they are their own, little family.

The most exciting part of her experience has been being with the athletes and being able to be with a sport.

“Just being around the sport and seeing the whole process of players returning after an injury and being successful,” McDonald said.

Fangman has been there since the beginning of his freshman year and has seen his role increase over time.

“When you learn to tape an ankle you start taping ankles, when you start to learn some of the more advanced tape jobs you do those, and then you start to help out more with treatments as you learn more about the machines,” Fangman said. He has also been the one training the new assistants, who join the Sports Medicine staff.

While the experience is valuable and the time spent is fun, it is also very time consuming.

“It’s a lot about keeping a good schedule and figuring out when I’m going to balance homework and other things,” McDonald said.

Both McDonald and Fangman are always getting right up to the maximum 20 hours that are allowed for on-campus student workers.

While the job takes some sacrificing and planning, Fangman said he feels he does better, since he has a packed schedule.

“I’m forced to be productive, because I have limited time,” Fangman said.

Many of the students that come through the training room are pre-physical therapy or pre-med students, which help with patient care skills. It also helps with the necessities that are done before practices and games.

“The students that we have work for us for three or four years usually can find themselves effective in just about anything,” Callahan said.

While Fangman and McDonald complete their last year at Wartburg College, they agreed that being apart of this particular job is special.

“Everyday is a new experience with different things that happen. I’m more prepared about what is expected of me,” McDonald said. “I think it’s the best student-employment job on campus.”