Blue Valley Rec gymnast Olivia Landreth faced one of toughest battles outside of gymnastics with the help of her coach, who is also her mom, and her teammates.
Fun, exciting, and scary – these are the words 11 year old Olivia Landreth uses to describe how she feels about gymnastics.
“It’s only scary the first time you try new tricks. After that, it is just fun,” Olivia said.
Growing up in a gymnastics family, Olivia comes by her love of the sport honestly. Her mom, Carmen Landreth, was a competitive gymnast and coach for many years before both mother and daughter came to Blue Valley Recreation.
“We are in the gym training four days a week, for six to seven hours per week,” Carmen said. “This is a really special group.”
After years of training as both mother and daughter and coach and gymnast, Carmen and Olivia faced their biggest challenge yet in March 2014.
“I remember my mom turning pale and I knew it was something scary,” said Olivia.
Olivia told her mom during practice that her heart was racing. She said it felt different than when she was tired from exercising. When Carmen took her daughter’s pulse, it was over 200 beats per minute. The next day, Carmen contacted the cardiology team at Children’s Mercy Hospital.
“I can’t say enough about how great the Children’s Mercy team was. They were great with Olivia and keeping us informed,” Carmen said.
While the doctors ran tests and worked toward a diagnosis, Olivia was not able to participate in practice with her teammates. Her teammates say it was rough when their friend had to sit out.
“It was different. And I didn’t like it as much. She is my buddy,” said Kaylee Sears.
The Children’s Mercy team called the Landreth family in mid-March with an update on Olivia’s condition. They told her parents she has what is known as SVT – or Supraventricular Tachycardia. This means that from time to time the heart beats very fast for a reason other than exercise, high fever, or stress. For most people who have SVT, the heart still works normally to pump blood through the body. During an episode of SVT, the heart’s electrical system is not functioning correctly, causing the heart to beat very quickly. The heart beats at least 100 beats a minute and may reach 300 beats a minute. After treatment or on its own, the heart usually returns to a normal rate of 60 to 100 beats a minute. Olivia has a type of SVT called Atrioventricular Reciprocating Tachycardia, or AVRT. This means there is an extra electrical pathway linking the upper (atria) and lower (ventricles) chambers of her heart. The doctors recommended a procedure to block the extra pathway, hopefully correcting Olivia’s condition for good.
“When you hear they are going to be manipulating your daughter’s heart, yeah, it’s scary. I started crying, but the nurse said they do three to six of these procedures per week,” Carmen said.
“It felt bad and I didn’t like that and I wondered what it would be like if it were me and it made me grateful for my health,” Kaylee said.
After two weeks of watching practice from the sidelines, Olivia was cleared to participate in the League Championships competition on March 28th. Even after her time off, she performed at her best and took second place in the all-around competition for her age group.
“Times like this, you really learn what a kid is made of. She is tough. She really steps up in pressure situations,” said Carmen.
With the competition season behind her, it was time to focus full-time on her heart condition. With her procedure scheduled for April 7th, Olivia’s teammates prepared to give her a send-off she would remember.
“It was Emily and Carmen Bridges’ idea to have the party for her because they knew we were all worried about her and that she was way scared about it and they thought it would make her feel better. We bought her a teddy bear and made her cards,” Kaylee said.
“The cards made me feel so loved,” said Olivia.
Less than a week after her procedure, Olivia was back in the gym. Her teammates are thrilled to have her back.
“I MISSED HER SOOOO MUCH!” said Kaylee.
Looking forward, Olivia has big plans for gymnastics and beyond.
“I’m going to be an entrepreneur and live in a mansion with seven or eight bedrooms,” she said.
With her fighting spirit and determination, no one would be surprised to see her succeed.