Sam Watkins, 18, ice hockey player, was found to have pulmonary atresia with a ventricular septal defect, a disease that might be fatal if left untreated.
He had to miss time on the ice because he required three cardiac operations as well as surgery to repair two broken legs.
However, he claimed that he was “totally fit” at this point and was eager for the competition.
He underwent open heart surgery at the age of one after having his first procedure to address his heart problem at the age of just four days.
Despite this, Sam claimed that his father, former Great Britain player Tom Watkins, who is now his coach at Telford Tigers, encouraged him to begin playing ice hockey when he was just four years old.
“The love of it and the fun of it,” Sam remarked, “is clearly where I got it from.”
Problems faced by the ice hockey player
But his struggles didn’t end in his early years. Before undergoing another open heart surgery in November 2013, he required the insertion of cardiac catheters on many occasions.
He was so exhausted after the treatment that he was unable to play that year. He injured his leg after getting back on the ice in September 2014, and in his first game back that December, he broke the same leg once more. He missed the entire season due to the fracture, which required surgery.
He has undergone the fitting of a pacemaker and a cardiac stent after his return and experienced an ankle dislocation in 2019.
He claimed that despite his difficulties, his passion for the game kept him going.
Along with fellow Tigers Rhodes Mitchell-King and Bayley Harewood, he flies to Lithuania in December for a seven-day international competition that consists of five games.
The goal for Great Britain is to advance from Division II Group A.
Watkins remarked, “We’re all young, healthy, and eager to be there.
He claimed that his ice hockey teammates were more close-knit than his schoolmates, and he continued, “We have a great time when we go to these GB camps or play for the GB teams.”
He claimed, though, that his mother continued to worry about him each time she saw him play. She doesn’t enjoy it when I block shots, he remarked, adding that she isn’t the biggest fan.
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