Falvey 'Athlete For Life'

British water polo player recovers from vein issue; S'pore women end bottom

- David Lee

The night before her second training session with Britain's women's water polo team in 2021, Toula Falvey had severe stomach pain and was vomiting.

Rushed to Ealing Hospital, what was initially diagnosed as kidney stones turned out to be renal vein thrombosis—a condition in which a blood clot forms in one of both of the veins that filter blood from the kidneys—after scans showed a swollen left kidney.

Like a bolt from the blue, the doctor said that the kidney might need to be removed, and there was a possibility that she would not be able to play water polo again.

"It was definitely like a super emotional time for me," said the 25-year-old British-American after their 20-12 loss to New Zealand in the World Aquatics Championships (WCH) 9th-12th place semi-final on July 19.

"I was going over to England to live with my grandparents and train with the national team, I was training super hard every day, and I was told my kidney might already be dead, and they needed to operate right away.

"It was a really, really hard time, not only because I was very worried about losing a kidney, but also losing my sport and my passion. I'm an athlete for life, and I was genuinely worried that I would never be able to play the sport again."

Fortunately, a surgeon at the neighboring Northwick Park Hospital was able to break up the clot.

Falvey then had to cope with a long road to recovery. After being hospitalized for 14 days, she was on blood thinners for six months.

With a sarcastic laugh, she said: "I swam the entire time, which was super fun and my favorite thing to do.