Allan Chaney staggered to a vacant chair at the end of an offseason workout, his vision fuzzy and his breathing labored. A team manager offered to bring Chaney some water. The Virginia Tech basketball player’s last memory is responding yes.
Only seconds later, Chaney passed out and fell from his seat, still cradling a basketball. He didn’t regain consciousness until a quick-thinking Virginia Tech athletic trainer administered CPR and chest compressions.
An ambulance rushed Chaney to a nearby hospital to undergo a battery of tests. Doctors at first thought he had a severe case of dehydration. Not until weeks later was Chaney diagnosed with myocarditis, a viral inflammation of the heart.