Artificial hip, real heart

[Guest guest]

Artificial hip, real heart: Hockinson's Hamilton plays with artificial hip

http://www.columbian.com/news/2011/apr/27/hawks-hip-help/

The pain comes and goes. Well, actually, it never really goes away.

Cotter Hamilton just accepts the pain, endures the pounding on his body as

he and the Hockinson Hawks play up to three soccer matches a week.

A quick glance at the field, at No. 6 for Hockinson, reveals nothing out of

the ordinary. Hamilton looks like any of the other soccer players.

Look a little closer, and one notices a slight hitch in his gait. He runs

with speed, but uses short, quick strides.

It is another sign that his body has betrayed him. There were the sleepless

nights, as the pain shot through his legs. Or maybe it was his shoulders. Or

his knees. Then the hips.

The constant discomfort was bad enough; the flare-ups - eruptions of pain -

even more intense.

But he kept playing because he could, because he did not know life without

soccer, his passion in life since he was 5 years old.

Then the game was taken away from him. His left hip joint completely failed

him, and Hamilton underwent a hip-replacement surgery.

Two years off the soccer field only made his love for the game grow. Even

when doctors said he would never play again, he still watched. Even now, as

some on his medical team say he shouldn't be playing, he would not have it

any other way.

The way Hamilton sees it, there is only one small window of opportunity to

play high school soccer. His dreams of excelling in club soccer, of playing

college soccer? They're gone.

But there was no way he was going to let juvenile rheumatoid arthritis take

him out of the game completely. Hamilton would be the one to decide when his

athletic career was finished.

The condition inflames joints, causing pain, stiffness, and swelling, among

other symptoms. It can eventually destroy the affected joints. That led to

Hamilton's hip surgery.

It also eventually led to a courageous comeback.

" Do what you love. If you're going to be an athlete, go be an athlete, "

Hamilton said. " You only have one chance at it. Take it. You gotta do what

you gotta do. "

His parents, and Cliff Hamilton, raised their three sons with soccer.

Cotter's older brothers, and , loved the game, too. Then it was

Cotter's turn.

For it to be taken away prematurely was devastating not only to Cotter but

the whole family. Cotter knew what he was missing; so did his loved ones.

After the hip surgery toward the end of eighth grade, after the eight months

of rehabilitation, and after losing his freshman season, Cotter promised

himself that he would try to make it back on the field.

" I just love competition. I compete in anything I do, " Cotter said.

He had to first convince his parents and his doctors. It was an easier sell

to mom and dad. They saw what happened to their son without soccer.

" I don't want to say depressed, but it was hard for him when he wasn't

playing, " recalled.

" His life was soccer, " Cliff added.

Just before surgery, when the pain was at its worse, Cotter spent most of

his time at home. While he still had his friends, he did not interact with

them as much.

" It's hard for 13-year-old athletes to hang out with somebody (while lying)

in bed, " said.

" It was hard for all of us to watch, " Cliff said.

They believed in Cotter when he said he could return to the field. They

believed he would take the proper precautions, would attack physical therapy

with the same intensity as attacking the goal on the soccer field. They also

knew he would not take any unnecessary risks. The game itself can be

dangerous. Cotter would have to play it smart.

They all knew it, but not everyone on Cotter's medical team thought it was a

good idea. One specialist said no, but another signed off to clear Cotter

for action.

" You're only young once, and he wanted to play high school soccer, " Cliff

said.

To even have the option, the possibility, was a blessing to Cotter.

Officially diagnosed with JRA when he was 9, the pain started earlier in his

life.

" He would wake up in the middle of the night, saying his leg hurt, "

recalled. " The next morning, 'Oh, I'm fine.' Then a month later, it would

happen again. "

recalled Cotter playing an indoor soccer match on a Friday, looking

fine. But two days later, while running it would look like his left leg was

just hanging there, dragging.

" It was obvious. That was the beginning of the nightmare, " said.

After diagnosis, Cotter fought the condition with medication and therapy.

JRA affects some 50,000 people in America, and it affects each person

differently.

" It's all over my body, " Cotter said. " It's not just my hip. It's my knees,

my shoulders, and everywhere else. "

The family found out that medical advancements in dealing with JRA have

improved so greatly over the years that it is rare for a patient to lose a

joint. The condition, though, really had a hold of Cotter.

In 2007, he had his hip replaced.

Cotter Hamilton was not scared. He was in too much pain to be scared.

" I was just happy to get it done. I couldn't sleep. I'd stay up all night. I

couldn't lay down, " he said.

When the body and mind gave in and he did get some sleep, it was quickly

interrupted with another jolt of pain.

Cotter said he felt better almost immediately after the surgery. His parents

noticed a change, too, saying just the prospect of Cotter getting back to a

normal life was a relief.

" If your kid hurts, you hurt, " Cliff said. " At that point, it wasn't about

soccer. It was about life. Walking and living life. "

At that time, Cotter still figured soccer was out of the equation. But after

months of rehabilitation, there was a breakthrough.

" I was with my friend, and we started running down the road, " Cotter said.

" It felt so good to be able to run again. It was 20 seconds, I ran without

pain, and it felt great. "

He tried out for the Hockinson soccer team as a sophomore and soon realized

he still had his skill set. Perhaps not as fast, not as agile, but he could

play.

" I figured I'd do my best and try my hardest and whatever happened

happened, " he said.

He was voted second team all-league by the coaches that season. He followed

it up as a junior with another second-team performance. This season, he is

everywhere on the scoresheet for the Hawks with 11 goals and 11 assists

through 11 games for the first-place team in the Class 2A Greater St. Helens

League.

The schedule has been rough. This season, the Hawks have often played three

matches a week. This week there are four matches.

" Recovery time is a lot longer for me than for most people, " he said.

He has JRA, and while it might go away on its own one day, his case is so

severe that he might just have to deal with it for the rest of his life.

He has learned a lot about himself. He knows his pain threshold. He

understands there will be challenges. He also realizes he can rise above the

obstacles.

In the meantime, he is going to enjoy his final season of soccer. He wants

to go to college and earn a business degree, but soccer will no longer be an

option.

" Once high school is over, I'm done playing, " he said. " No point in pushing

it. "

Cotter Hamilton made it back to the soccer field, to the game he loves, on

his own terms.