ShaRae Mansfield vividly remembers getting the call 17 years ago saying the Houston Comets had drafted her to play in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). For the Western Kentucky University (WKU) student, the chance to play professional basketball was a dream come true.
But her WNBA career was short-lived. While she had mad skills on the court, excelling at both points and rebounds, she also had frequent pain in her shoulders, hips and especially her left knee, made worse by a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). ShaRae had undergone six surgeries on it, but her continued knee problems led the Comets to release her before she completed even her first season.
Disappointed, the Louisville, Kentucky, native ventured overseas, playing basketball for a few months in Israel. But her pain and stiffness took such a toll physically and emotionally that she made the tough decision to retire from playing basketball.
Adjusting to life without sports also proved difficult, and ShaRae found herself struggling with depression.
“I had identified for so many years as a basketball player and athlete that I wasn’t sure what to do next,” she says.
为了解决这个问题，她专注于完成自己的大学学位，并计划从事帮助他人的职业。她2005年毕业，次年大女儿出生。
Answers, At Last
It wasn’t until 2011, after ShaRae became seriously ill, that she learned the cause of the joint pain and stiffness that had plagued her for years.
“I had a horrible cough I couldn’t seem to shake, and my doctor gave me several courses of antibiotics, thinking I had bronchitis,” she says. “But I didn’t get better.”
Four months later, she had pain in her lungs and knees, her right foot was severely swollen and her neck was so stiff that she couldn’t drive. She landed in a hospital where, after a raft of tests, she was finally diagnosed withrheumatoid arthritis (RA). Soon after starting prednisone, she was able to walk without crutches.
At the age of 31, ShaRae finally had answers to what had been causing the joint pain and stiffness she had been coping with since she was a child.
“My athletic trainers always chalked up my aches and pains to the rigor of basketball,” she says. “I didn’t have that level of pain all the time, but looking back, I realize I was having RA flares.”
In 2012, she was pleased to be asked to serve as assistant basketball coach at WKU, and the following year as director of basketball operations. She also began studying for her master’s degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology. But her RA wasn’t controlled and traveling with the team proved difficult. She was on crutches and having side effects from the biologic she was taking. In 2013, she resigned.
“Wonder Woman”
In college, a reporter once asked ShaRae what superhero she would want to be. “Wonder Woman,” she had replied, “because she can overcome any obstacle.”
Some would argue that she’s living up to that standard. Now nearly 40 and the mother of three girls, ages 2, 8 and 12, she has juggled her career and studies with parenthood and expects to graduate this fall with a PhD from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Last year, she was inducted into the WKU Athletic Hall of Fame.
她计划通过职业教练帮助其他运动员过渡到体育之外的职业。
“Research shows that college and professional athletes go through tremendous psychological processes when their athletic careers end,” ShaRae says. “My goal is to work with athletes and help them find a rewarding career that will replace the void in their life that comes after identifying as an athlete for many years.”
ShaRae had a totalknee replacementlast year, and she exercises regularly, including walking and lifting light weights. Her RA still isn’t controlled, but she and her rheumatologist are working together to find the right medications.
“Having a doctor who I can talk with and who works with me on a plan to manage my RA has been invaluable,” ShaRae says.
她在帮助别人。她为初中和高中的运动员做励志演讲，她在Facebook上为患有慢性疾病的女性建立了一个名为“美丽的勇士”(Beautiful Warriors)的支持群。
她说:“我明白了，洛杉矶体育协会并不控制我，我在体育运动之后建立了自己的生活，现在可以帮助其他人这样做了。”
Author: Linda Childers
Photo Credit: Kaylinn Gilstrap
Related Resources:
- Every Catch Deserves a Touchdown Dance
- Double Take: Twins with RA Fight it Together
- Anna Legassie: Still in the Race