I am curious if anyone else noticed that Tommy wasn't dressed with the team. He wasn't in warm ups or streets either (that I noticed). I know Richie was sick, but anyone know what the deal with Kurth is?
Would anyone be surprised if he is transferring? He can read the writing on the wall. The question now becomes, how soon can he back his bags and get down to Evansville? ;)
From the Times....
"Drew said redshirt sophomore Tommy Kurth was not on the bench against Green Bay due to an undisclosed illness. Kurth was scheduled for some tests Thursday while home with his parents and is not expected to be in Detroit but will make the trip to Dayton for a game against Wright State on Sunday."
Read more: http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/basketball/college/crusaders-searching-for-consistency/article_8f2bdbab-cd4e-5bb0-a795-39bfc6a9c321.html#ixzz1ieLeTsqX (http://www.nwitimes.com/sports/basketball/college/crusaders-searching-for-consistency/article_8f2bdbab-cd4e-5bb0-a795-39bfc6a9c321.html#ixzz1ieLeTsqX)
If it's an undisclosed illness that requires some kind of testing I'm thinking we may find out that Kurth has mono?
Quote from: valporun on January 06, 2012, 12:45:23 AM
If it's an undisclosed illness that requires some kind of testing I'm thinking we may find out that Kurth has mono?
Mono they'd take care of at Valpo. To me, going home for the tests suggests something other than mono. Does say he is expected at the game on Sunday.
A member of the women's team may have mono at the moment and she has gone home for testing and hasn't been with the team for the last two games.
Quote from: Pgmado on January 06, 2012, 03:33:07 PM
A member of the women's team may have mono at the moment and she has gone home for testing and hasn't been with the team for the last two games.
I stand corrected. Maybe the best place to treat mono is at home, away from campus and the closesness of a team. Once they are no longer carriers, maybe that is when they can join the team?
I'd imagine that him staying at home until they're sure he's no longer contagious is probably for the best. Can't risk any other team members getting sick. It's not too big a deal for him either, since he only lives about an hour away and it's currently break.
Edit: Actually, good, I'm glad he's at home. I just remembered that I live on the same floor as him. :-X
Someone mentioned that a member of the girls team has Mono, so Tommy must have it too. That is a bit of a jump. No one has said what his problem is. If he is to be back after missing only two weeks, it is seriously doubtful that he has/had Mono.
I know even less about medicine than I do about basketball but I have to wonder if Tommy's season long sub-par performance and these tests might in some way be connected. If so it could explain a bunch.
What comes to mind is Bryce Drew. Somebody help me but I think it was his junior year at Valpo high when he was being treated for what? (abnormal or irregular heart rhythm?) He was able to compete pretty well but you could tell the difference. At best his level of play was maybe 75 or 80 %. Everything he did was just a little slower than normal.
So there might be some rational explanation for the Tommy Kurth mystery, or not. We await the results.
Quote from: justducky on January 07, 2012, 02:03:05 AM
I know even less about medicine than I do about basketball but I have to wonder if Tommy's season long sub-par performance and these tests might in some way be connected. If so it could explain a bunch.
What comes to mind is Bryce Drew. Somebody help me but I think it was his junior year at Valpo high when he was being treated for what? (abnormal or irregular heart rhythm?) He was able to compete pretty well but you could tell the difference. At best his level of play was maybe 75 or 80 %. Everything he did was just a little slower than normal.
So there might be some rational explanation for the Tommy Kurth mystery, or not. We await the results.
Bryce actually had three heart surgeries around the time of his junior year. I think the last one did the trick, and he was obviously fine for his senior year. I don't remember the name of his affliction, but you're right - it was something to do with an abnormal or irregular heart beat.
Quote from: Valpo89 on January 07, 2012, 11:48:38 AMBryce actually had three heart surgeries around the time of his junior year. I think the last one did the trick, and he was obviously fine for his senior year. I don't remember the name of his affliction, but you're right - it was something to do with an abnormal or irregular heart beat.
Was it a heart murmur? I didn't follow Valpo basketball that closely when Bryce was playing, but a heart murmur is a possibility.
I followed Bryce throughout all his games in high school. He had an unusual condition that caused his heart to sometimes beat up to 250 times per minute when exerted, which would cause dizziness. I remember one game where he suddenly stopped at half-court during play and crouched for a couple of minutes while the other nine players continued the game. It was scary to watch. I was sitting near Homer and Janet, and you could see the concern on their faces. The doctors declared Bryce's status luckily wasn't life threatening (though it is similar to another condition that is life threatening), and in surgery they eventually burned away some tissue around the heart that they determined was apparently causing the problem of the rapid heartbeat.
Quote from: valpopal on January 07, 2012, 01:48:32 PM
I followed Bryce throughout all his games in high school. He had an unusual condition that caused his heart to sometimes beat up to 250 times per minute when exerted, which would cause dizziness. I remember one game where he suddenly stopped at half-court during play and crouched for a couple of minutes while the other nine players continued the game. It was scary to watch. I was sitting near Homer and Janet, and you could see the concern on their faces. The doctors declared Bryce's status luckily wasn't life threatening (though it is similar to another condition that is life threatening), and in surgery they eventually burned away some tissue around the heart that they determined was apparently causing the problem of the rapid heartbeat.
I hadn't heard about this, but a little research indicates that he had tachycardia. http://my.hsj.org/Schools/Newspaper/tabid/100/view/frontpage/schoolid/151/articleid/32028/newspaperid/127/What_the_NCAA_and_March_Madness_mean_to_me.aspx (http://my.hsj.org/Schools/Newspaper/tabid/100/view/frontpage/schoolid/151/articleid/32028/newspaperid/127/What_the_NCAA_and_March_Madness_mean_to_me.aspx)
I know a little about tachychardia, because I have it. At elevated heart rates (170+), my heart rate will suddenly jump to 220-240 bpm. The cause is a "short circuit" of the electrical impulses that tell the heart to beat, resulting in the rapid heatbeat. Treatments are medication or cardiac ablation to essentially "burn away" the areas of the heart tissue where the short circuit is occurring. In my case, I chose to deal with it because my doctor indicated that it wasn't life threatening and I am able to regulate the heartbeat by taking a few deep breaths and backing off on the effort a bit.
Can we please stop talking speculatively about medicine on this board? For those of us who are medically inclined, it drives us nuts. ;)
Quote from: valpofan56 on January 08, 2012, 01:28:41 AM
Can we please stop talking speculatively about medicine on this board? For those of us who are medically inclined, it drives us nuts. ;)
If you're "medically inclined", then give us some insight into what we're talking about.
Quote from: valporun on January 08, 2012, 01:44:58 PM
Quote from: valpofan56 on January 08, 2012, 01:28:41 AM
Can we please stop talking speculatively about medicine on this board? For those of us who are medically inclined, it drives us nuts. ;)
If you're "medically inclined", then give us some insight into what we're talking about.
There's no where near enough information to even begin to speculate which is why this discussion was silly to begin with.
Any further news on Kurth? Is he dressing or on the bench in street clothes?
He was on the bench last night.
Quote from: valpofan56 on January 08, 2012, 01:28:41 AM
Can we please stop talking speculatively about medicine on this board? For those of us who are medically inclined, it drives us nuts. ;)
I used to have a girlfriend who was medically inclined, and so she eventually moved on and tried to marry a doctor. In her defense- I used to drive her nuts too.
As for Tommy's play it is very unusual for a college kid to progress backward on his skills level. So I either have to conclude that there might be something going on that we do not understand, (not being told?), or that I and a number of others have totally misjudged his level of talent and potential. I hope it is not the latter. That would mean both that my judgement was incorrect and more importantly that Tommy Kurth will likely have no or little impact on the future of Valpo basketball..
Quote from: justducky on January 15, 2012, 12:18:10 AM
As for Tommy's play it is very unusual for a college kid to progress backward on his skills level. So I either have to conclude that there might be something going on that we do not understand, (not being told?), or that I and a number of others have totally misjudged his level of talent and potential. I hope it is not the latter. That would mean both that my judgement was incorrect and more importantly that Tommy Kurth will likely have no or little impact on the future of Valpo basketball..
I think there might be a word that means what you were saying there, but I'm not sure . . . ;)
valpofan56, do you think he's plateaued on his skill ability, or do you think his potential showed, but since then he's regressed from what he could be to what he is now?
Quote from: valporun on January 15, 2012, 09:45:18 AM
valpofan56, do you think he's plateaued on his skill ability, or do you think his potential showed, but since then he's regressed from what he could be to what he is now?
:) Yes
In all fairness to Tommy, we do not know how much injuries have affected him. Often an injury will have a major impact on the overall athletisim of a player.
Has Scott Martin of Notre Dame ever been the same since his knee?
Looks like Kurth is only getting minutes with Shelton and Stegelmann, but not always. What kind of practice time is he getting? Is he fully recovered from mono? or slightly injured?
I couldn't tell you why he hasn't been getting minutes. We never really heard anything about the tests that he went to his home doctor for.
http://etruth.com/article/20120418/SPORT/704189917 (http://etruth.com/article/20120418/SPORT/704189917)
The Elkhart Truth talked a little about Tommy's injuries and illnesses over the last few years.
Wow, that explains a lot. Also, there is a separate article talking to Bryce about Tommy's future: http://www.etruth.com/article/20120418/SPORT/704189919/-1/sport (http://www.etruth.com/article/20120418/SPORT/704189919/-1/sport)
i agree with swift. that really does explain a lot regarding the lack of playing time. hopefully, tommy can continue to improve and get to those hamburgers.
I feel for Tommy. This really does explain a lot. I feel for him as I've also lived with a hiatal hernia for years (not as bad as his from the sound of it). I was told it was genetic and surgery was a last resort. Basically it causes you to feel sick to your stomach frequently, especially after eating anything, which makes it very hard to exercise which would certainly limit his effectiveness. I was lucky enough to find relief by seeing a chiropractor.
Anyone who has had a significant injury/health problem and had to stop physical activity for a period of time can probably attest to how difficult it is to return to an athletic lifestyle. Good luck to Tommy and hope he can come back healthy.
I read the Elkhart Truth articles, as well. The kid and his family have been through a lot. His illness points out how dangerous jumping to conclusions about a player's playing time can be. I hope he makes a healthy recovery.
Good luck to him in his recovery. Can't be easy for a young athlete to regain strength after surgury and sickness on a liquid and mac and cheese diet. Will be interesting how he does the next two seasons.
I wonder if he has the option of sitting out a full year - away from school and the team - kind of like a missionary year. He could gain strength and still keep two years eligibility. Just wondering.
I'm ashamed to say that I thought I knew what a hiatal hernia was, but I was sadly mistaken.
Glad to hear that the problem has been identified, addressed and that he still might have a significant role in the future of VU basketball.
But, we went the entire seson with almost no imformation being released. As best as I recall we might have been told in November that he was throwing -up occasionally, then in December that his doctor wanted to run a few tests. The next thing we hear comes from links to a couple Elkart Truth articles dated 4-18 that tell us he is recovering from a fundoplication which was performed some time in March.
So as of now there has been nothing mentioned on the VU Athletic Website and to my knowledge nothing mentioned in any of northwest Indianas newspapers. So from this I would have to conclude that there are still a great number of VU fans who buy tickets on a regular or irregular basis, who still have no clue what happened to Tommy Kurth in the 2011-12 basketball season.
Does anybody else here think that we could have been told just a little bit more just a little bit sooner? I do not think that either Tommy or the team would have been put into some kind of competitive disadvantage had a bit more information been leaked. I just think that this could have been handled somewhat better. Thoughts?
Wow, those were my thoughts exactly after reading the Elkhart article. Over the course of the season Tommy goes from playing a little to playing rarely to not playing to not dressing and finally not traveling with the team. Not a word is said by anyone - no articles by Oren or Lazerus, not even a leak from someone in the Athletic Dept. It definitely had the appearance of something shrouded in secrecy. Then lo and behold, some guy from a paper 60 miles explains the whole thing in a few paragraphs and I'm just scratching my head. This was definitely a communication breakdown that needlessly fed the grapevine.
Quote from: wh on April 23, 2012, 09:48:39 PMWow, those were my thoughts exactly after reading the Elkhart article. Over the course of the season Tommy goes from playing a little to playing rarely to not playing to not dressing and finally not traveling with the team. Not a word is said by anyone - no articles by Oren or Lazerus, not even a leak from someone in the Athletic Dept. It definitely had the appearance of something shrouded in secrecy. Then lo and behold, some guy from a paper 60 miles explains the whole thing in a few paragraphs and I'm just scratching my head. This was definitely a communication breakdown that needlessly fed the grapevine.
The answer to your questions is simple.... HIPPA. Compliance with HIPPA laws requires that the university and his doctors divulge absolutely zero information to anyone that has not been approved to receive the information. This sometimes results in even family members not being given information by doctors and hospitals. Tommy is allowed to give out the information and evidently decided he would do that with his local paper. The university could have been fined if any information of a protected nature had been released to the public without proper permission and paperwork.
The HIPAA privacy rule regulates the use and disclosure of Protected Health Information (PHI) by what is termed "Covered Entities (generally, health care clearinghouses, employer sponsored health plans, health insurers, and medical service providers). Applying HIPAA to this situation a very long stretch unless the SID were to make public Kurth's actual medical records without his written permission. The athletic department could well have released information to effect that Kurth had an intestinal problem that has kept him from practicing or playing effectively, and it would be analogous to announcing that someone blew out his ACL and was lost for the season or suffered a concussion and would miss the next game. IMO, maybe the staff just didn't think it was as newsworthy as our board or maybe misunderstood the interest and ramifications. Maybe they just reached some accommodation with Kurth to not talk about it until things got straightened out. I think it was an innocent "let's try and keep it in the family" approach. I think that this is reflected in the ease with which he talked about it to his local paper at season's end.
HIPPA is a convenient way for schools to say they don't want to release any information. If the player in question doesn't mind talking about the situation, everything is fine.
I know the head coach was asked about Kurth several times, and the answer was always politely evasive along the lines of "still working through some things." And this would have been in the November-December range.
We were provided the bare bones information as justducky indicated.. This is different than an injury that is visually apparent or occurred in a game. When I worked in the athletic department at a university we were warned about giving out too much of this type of information.
Quote from: Valpo89 on April 24, 2012, 12:43:55 PM
HIPPA is a convenient way for schools to say they don't want to release any information. If the player in question doesn't mind talking about the situation, everything is fine.
I know the head coach was asked about Kurth several times, and the answer was always politely evasive along the lines of "still working through some things." And this would have been in the November-December range.
If, indeed, the Valpo athletic department uttered/invoked/hid behind
HIPAA it did so erroneously or as an invalid smoke screen. This is directly from the US Department of Health and Human Services about the Health Insurance and Accountability Act (HIPAA):
Who is Covered by the Privacy Rule
The Privacy Rule, as well as all the Administrative Simplification rules, apply to health plans, health care clearinghouses, and to any health care provider who transmits health information in electronic form in connection with transactions for which the Secretary of HHS has adopted standards under HIPAA (the "covered entities").Note that it is focused Health Insurance. The only part of the university impacted is the infirmary or whatever they call the place on campus where you go when you get sick and you have to show your health insurance card.
I have to reiterate my previously posted opinion regarding the "whys" of the limited released info but I still agree with FWalum that the provided info was bare bones and that Bryce and the athletic department could have done a better job dealing with an obvious issue.
Having said that, and hoping that the HIPAA issue is now forum history, I notice that amidst all the transfer musical chairs that is happening, Kurth's name has not surfaced in any discussions except for his health -- a sign that Bryce intends to use a healthy TK next year ???