Kamden Steffen is accustomed to spending his winters on the basketball court, and he was determined to make sure that didn’t change this year. The junior at MMCRU High School in northwest Iowa grew up playing football and running track and cross country, but basketball is his favorite sport. After leading his team in scoring as a sophomore, Kamden was eager to showcase his talent even more in the 2021-’22 season. However, instead of playing in front of a packed arena, Kamden found himself struggling to move or talk.
In an early September football game, the multi-sport athlete felt a pop after a rough play and knew immediately something was wrong.
“I started getting blurred vision and knew something was really wrong when my left side started going numb,” Kamden recalled.
What was first diagnosed as a broken collarbone led to something more severe. After two months of headaches, Kamden fell and had no feeling on his left side. After an MRI, it became apparent Kamden suffered a stroke. At Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, doctors discovered he had two aneurysms in his carotid artery. Prior to his planned surgery, Kamden had another stroke, and this one had more serious repercussions.
“After surgery, his brain started swelling, so we had to keep him sedated for a few days,” Kristin Steffen, Kamden’s mother said. “When he did wake up, he had no feeling on his left side including face, hands and legs.”
Kamden stayed in bed for more than two weeks, losing strength and weight with a long road ahead.
“Immediately we were referred to Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals,” Kristin said. “Madonna came up instantly and we said, ‘we’re going there.’ We had a few people from northwest Iowa go to Madonna and make amazing recoveries.”
For Kamden, the road back to the court was just getting started.
“I was very nervous and anxious when I got to Madonna,” Kamden remembers. “Anxious to get my rehab started but nervous because I didn’t know what to expect. I was discouraged because my left side wasn’t working. Like any other kid my age, I wanted to be on a basketball court shooting hoops or hanging out with my friends. I was questioning if I would ever get to that point again.”
With no movement from his left shoulder down to his fingers, Kamden started seeing change the first day at Madonna when he began to move his left arm. Kamden worked on Madonna’s Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) bike helping him regain use of his left side.
“The first time I saw a huge smile was when he got on the FES bike and he saw his hand and arm move,” Kristin said. “I think that was pure hope for him.”
What helped his confidence even more was being able to play basketball in Madonna’s gym. Jessie Franks, one of Madonna’s recreation therapists, made sure to work Kamden’s love of hoops into his therapy.
“When we incorporate a patient’s interests into their therapy, there are so many benefits including emotional health, increasing physical activity, socialization, and enjoyment,” Franks said. “Seeing his confidence improve and joy when he made shots is what I enjoyed the most. Playing basketball in therapy showed Kamden he could play, be successful and have fun.”
Kamden wholeheartedly agrees with Franks.
“It meant the world to me to be able to shoot hoops at Madonna,” Kamden said. “To be able to just be on a court again was awesome. I have played basketball year-round since the second grade. After being so weak, it boosted my confidence so much when I was able to dribble and shoot the ball!”
That confidence continued to grow as Kamden gained more strength on his left side and showed improvement during speech therapy. Kamden returned home on December 31st eager to get back to his normal routine of school and basketball practice.
From Madonna’s gym to a familiar one in northwest Iowa, Kamden returned to the court for a moment he will remember forever. In MMCRU’s final game of the year, Kamden heard his name in the starting lineup. With family and friends cheering him on, Kamden entered the game and made a shot, his only points of the year, as the crowd roared.
“It was so cool to be back on the court with my team and coaches,” Kamden said. “I have been playing ball with some of these buddies for years and thinking I may never get to play with them again was devastating. To be able to go out there and play one last time with some of them was simply amazing and the best feeling in the world.”
Teen athlete and stroke survivor returns to the basketball court
