Lynn Classical’s Aidan Dow born for athletic success

For those close to Lynn Classical senior Aidan Dow, it’s strange to think of a time when he wasn’t at optimal health.

Within the past year, he’s accomplished more than most high school athletes do in their whole careers. In football, he capped off a Northeastern Conference All-Star season by snatching two interceptions on Thanksgiving, one of which he returned for a touchdown. Earlier this year, he turned “a dream into a reality” by committing to play first base and outfield for Saint Anselm without needing a senior season to solidify his case.

He works hard year-round. His coaches love him. But with a rare set of medical conditions at birth that doctors saw just once before, he wasn’t always healthy. In fact, he wasn’t expected to be able to play sports at all.

“It’s crazy to even think about it,” said mother Jillian Dow. “He to this day doesn’t even use an inhaler. And he doesn’t go lightly on anything does, he definitely puts everything he has in.”

Doctors knew during Jillian’s pregnancy something was wrong. Aidan’s birth was induced at Brigham and Women’s Hospital to be prepared for whatever he needed. He came out breathing, but with an extremely rare combination of congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation and bronchial atresia. Those affect oxygen flow and can lead to heart failure, so surgery was necessary after about three months.

He was only the second person on record to be born with both conditions at the same time, so a lot of uncertainty came with his case.

“They expected that he’d have a lot of lung problems, asthma – definitely not be able to play sports,” Jillian said.

Surprisingly, though, Aidan recovered from the surgery much better than expected. He did need to go back to the hospital after his lung collapsed and came across a few battles with pneumonia, but after routine check-ups until he turned 5, he became fully healthy.

That opened the door for sports, and he ran away with the opportunity.

Lifelong memories, like throwing a no-hitter and batting 5-for-5 in a cycle, were constructed in Little League. He built on those by playing AAU baseball, junior legion baseball for Post 291, and – of course – by thriving as an athlete for the Rams as a varsity player.

Dow, who also is an exceptional student with a 3.85 GPA and a member of the National Honor Society, takes a lot of pride in what he’s been able to accomplish as an athlete and a teammate. And while he isn’t physically affected much by his previous ailments anymore, he does use it as motivation to push through adversity. He’s also grateful.

“If I can go through that, then I can go through a little more pain and endurance … that’s something that comes to my head if it’s a tough moment or something,” Dow said. “It made me realize that anything can happen in life and I’m a lucky enough person that, with a heart condition, I’m able to even actually play sports – never mind excel at them.”

Lynn Classical baseball coach Mike Zukowski knew little about everything Dow had to overcome. He feels that goes to show just how “top-notch” of a competitor he’s been as a first baseman and pitcher, and even more so as a person. He doesn’t only see Dow as the player who earned NEC All-Star and All-League honors in 2018 and 2019, respectively, while being named all-state by the Massachusetts Baseball Coaches Association both years, but he sees a kid that shows exactly what any leader should.

“He’s just a great representative, not only of the football team, basketball team and baseball team, but of the school as well,” Zukowski said. “You’d never hear a word of (the condition). … The kids on the team are going to remember Aidan Dow – he was a great kid, he was a great teammate, he was a great captain. They’re not going to remember how many home runs he had or strikeouts he (threw). They’ll remember him as a person.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3bIgmH4