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USA Olympic Women's Hockey Player's Life Changing Moment
Jenna Martin, Senior Editor
Some moments change our lives forever. For Chanda Gunn, USA Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey goaltender, of Huntington Beach, California, that moment came at the tender age of 9 when her battle with epilepsy forced her out of the ocean where she swam and surfed, onto the slippery, but solid surface of the ice rink. That decision, that defining moment, led not only to Gunn finding a sport she loved to play and that she could play safely, but to the ultimate dream for so many athletes—the Olympics.
“When I was diagnosed with epilepsy in fourth grade, my parents didn’t feel it was safe for me to continue swimming or doing any of the other water sports. Ice hockey was a sport my parents felt I could do safely with the helmet and all the padding and since my brother was already playing, they decided it was a good sport for me to play,” said Gunn.
In a recent interview with the Chicago Tribune, Penny Gunn, Chanda Gunn’s mother said, "Chanda is such a better person than I could ever be. I took swimming away from her, but she understood and was OK with it.” Yet, Penny Gunn is grateful for what hockey has given her daughter. "Chanda was an extremely shy, quiet child until she put on goalie pads. Then her entire personality changed. She grew tremendously confident and showed abilities I had no idea she had,” she told the Chicago Tribune.
From her room at the Olympic training center in Lake Placid, Gunn speaks enthusiastically about her journey from Northeastern University in Boston as a goaltender to the USA Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team. “I think it goes without saying that the selection process is both exciting and stressful. With each step there is the uncertainty of whether or not you will make the cut. Now that we have our final team in place I am more relaxed and able to focus entirely on the game and doing the best we can during the Olympics,” she said.
When asked what her initial reaction was when the coach announced the final roster for the Olympic team her voice drops a bit, revealing a mixture of sadness and joy, “To be honest, when they named the final team we had just played Finland and had been together as one team for the past four months. So when they announced that three team mates, who we had all been through so much, with were cut, and that their dream had ended it was such a collage of emotions for me… sadness, relief, excitement.”
Taking Nothing for Granted
Currently, Gunn’s seizures are well-controlled with medication, which she admits has been a key ingredient in her ability to play ice hockey at such a competitive level. “Epilepsy used to be a daily challenge for me; I would have multiple seizures on any given day. Now, my seizures are so well-controlled that I’ve gotten to the point that I almost forget I have them.” That is, until she reads the many emails she gets from epilepsy.com visitors. Over a year ago, Gunn did her very first interview with Epilepsy.com, sponsored by the Epilepsy Therapy Project. In the subsequent article, Gunn spoke candidly about her struggle with epilepsy and openly encouraged readers to email her. Since then the response from epilepsy.com visitors has been overwhelming and life-changing. “I have gotten hundreds of emails from people all over the world, whose epilepsy is not well-controlled. Many times I will get an email saying how my experience has gotten that person through a particularly bad time with their seizures and it’s truly such a great feeling to know I am helping others struggling with epilepsy”, she said.
Managing Her Epilepsy on the Road
With a grueling training and traveling schedule, Gunn is keenly aware of the steps she must take to manage her epilepsy. Besides taking her medication, Gunn also gets plenty of sleep, avoids video games and any other flashing lights which might induce a seizure and eats well. “I’ve learned what my body needs to stay healthy and what triggers may contribute to my seizures”, she said.
Highlights in Chanda Gunn’s Career
- Gunn has been on the USA Women’s Hockey team since 2002.
- Won the NCAA sportsmanship-of-the-year award for 2003-04 while a senior at Northeastern University in Boston, where she'd started an inner-city youth hockey program.
- Won the Honda Inspiration Award, the Humanitarian Award for college hockey’s finest citizen, and was a finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Award as the nation's top female hockey player.
- Selected top goalie of the 2005 world championships in which the U.S. defeated Canada for the gold medal.
- Played in the 2004 world championships and posted a 0.86 goals-against average, helping the U.S. win the silver medal.
Parting Words
Gunn receives countless emails from parents of children with epilepsy who, naturally, are concerned about letting their child play sports. In various words, the question is always the same, “Should I let my child play sports?” Gunn answers this question with a resounding “Yes!” She wants parents to know that the more involved they allow their child with epilepsy to get in sports the more they are giving their child a sense of normalcy. “Of course, children with epilepsy may have a more difficult time, but if they are told they ‘can’t’ or they ‘shouldn’t’ they are going to grow up always feeling unsure, and may not try new things. By letting your child participate in a sport you are letting them be accountable for themselves and also enabling them to view the handicap they have as less of a handicap, and more as something they deal with.”
The 20th Winter Olympics will be held in Torino, Italy from Saturday, February 11 to Monday February 20.
Want to Learn More about Chanda Gunn?
Read her personal thoughts and feelings through her journey to the Olympics:
Read her very first interview discussing her epilepsy:
Read recent article about Chanda:
