Becker back on field after heart operation

Written By - Eric Peterson

In-Forum Sports

Published Friday, September 12, 2008

When Cory Becker didn’t feel right during a preseason Minnesota State Moorhead football practice, he didn’t suspect his heart was the culprit.  “At first, I thought I was just sick,” said the 6-foot-5, 255-pound freshman offensive lineman from Stillwater, Minn. “I felt like I was going to throw up. I wasn’t really doing a whole lot. … I thought I had some bad food that wasn’t agreeing with me.”

Keith Wiedrich, an MSUM trainer, came in for a closer look when he spotted Becker bending down on one knee on a warm mid-August day.  Wiedrich recalled Becker was breathing rapidly and Becker told the trainer he couldn’t catch his breath. Wiedrich took Becker’s pulse.

“It was flying,” Wiedrich said, estimating Becker’s pulse was more than 200 beats per minute. “I couldn’t count fast enough to keep up with it. … It was a little bit worrisome because it didn’t slow down. Ten minutes later, his heart rate was still racing.”Becker was pulled from practice and later sent to a doctor. An electrocardiogram showed an irregular heartbeat and Becker was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome.

“For lack of a better way to put it, he had some faulty wiring in his heart,” Wiedrich said.A heart specialist wouldn’t clear Becker to play football again until he had surgery to correct the problem. Becker had the procedure done on Aug. 22.  “It was like a bridge of tissue that was connecting something to something it shouldn’t have been and they just had to burn it off,” Becker said.

Becker played a handful of plays in MSUM’s season opener against Valley City State on Aug. 30. He started last Saturday against Wayne State.  “They told me it should be good; better than ever,” Becker said.

Another link to the news broadcast: http://www.wday.com/news/index.cfm?id=6018