Running against the odds

 Few people can say they've competed in sports at a collegiate level.  Fewer can say they've competed in sports with only one lung.  Yet UW-La Crosse sophomore Kelly Uelmen can say she's done both.  Born with only one fully developed lung, Uelmen doesn't know what being an athlete with full lung capacity feels like. But she's never let that slow her down. 

No one knew Uelmen was missing a lung until she was nearly three years old. Doctors sensed something was wrong after seeing how sick she was getting each winter, so they tested her lung capacity. Surprisingly, the test showed that her right lung was nearly non-existent. A scan showed that instead of a lung, Uelmen had something resembling a shriveled up, black piece of lettuce.

Since her case was rare, doctors initially wanted her to have a lung transplant. But instead of going through something so risky, they decided to wait and see what happened as she grew. They hoped that if she grew tall enough, her lung would develop. For a while, things were literally looking up. "I was the biggest kid in my class from second through fifth grade by at least a foot," she said. "But I stopped growing in sixth grade at five three."

When it came to doing physical activity, it was recommended that Uelmen not do anything too strenuous, including gym class. But she didn't like that idea. "I didn't want to sit out because then everyone would know. I didn't want to feel like a freak."  

Eventually kids found out, and it wasn't a big deal. Even though she was doing fine in gym, her mom was hesitant about letting her compete in sports. After all, the one lung she did have was infected with asthma.  Not wanting to be held back, Uelmen participated in multiple sports in elementary school.

However, the only sport she developed a passion for was track. "With basketball and volleyball, I felt like I was the worst player on the team," she said. "In track I could take first place.  I loved it."

As a freshman, Uelmen was put on her high school's 400-meter relay team along with three seniors.  Her coach was required to know about her lung condition, but that never stopped him from pushing her with the rest of the team.  "It's cool that I never had a coach pity me or tell me to sit out," she said.  

Since coaches weren't being easy on her, Uelmen had to learn when to give herself a break.  "Sometimes I get to the point where I'm inhaling and I hit a brick wall.  It's like an asthma attack combined with a panic attack," she said. "But with track, so much of it is mental; I don't always know if I'm tired or if I just want to stop."

Unfortunately, she was forced to stop running this year after having dizzy spells during practice. Since February, she's undergone a countless number of tests dealing with her lungs, heart and more, but doctors aren't sure what the problem is.

"I've been advised to ‘take it easy' as far as exercise goes, but it's hard to take it easy when you're used to track," she said.

Uelmen is hoping to rejoin her teammates during next year's track season.