Family Comes First

TENNIS HELPS RELIEVE STRESS OF ILLNESSES

By Jason Steinberg

Debra Horsman

It has been a very trying year for Debra Horsman and tennis has been a way for her to escape from the stresses of her everyday life.

Debra came into this year’s USTA League Tennis Southern Sectional Championships presented by Chrysler ready to compete with her teammates on the 4.0 Senior Women’s team from Lexington, KY and happy for the opportunity to get away.

Debra has two children with cystic fibrosis -- her 23-years-old son Anthony and 27-years-old daughter Amber.

Amber has been struggling with the disease for the past year and a half, and has taken a dive in the last six months. Due to Amber’s condition, Debra had to quit her job and spend every weekday in the hospital with her daughter.

“Sitting in the hospital was really tough,” explained Debra. On the weekend, her husband relieved her so she could go home and rest. She often took the time off to play tennis which had become a major stress reliever for her, but she pinched a nerve in her neck and was unable to play until April.

In April Amber was looking forward to going to the Carrie Underwood concert with her family, but her condition was so bad at this point that she was unable to attend. The community pulled together, made a few phone calls and was able to get Underwood, major country music star and former American Idol winner, to come visit Amber on April 26, the day of her concert. Debra said that Carrie was great, spending about 30 minutes with Amber and her family. “She was real down to earth and just the nicest person.”

Amber continued to get worse and was in need of a lung transplant. After waiting on a list for the transplant, Amber found a match and underwent surgery on June 18. Since the surgery, Amber has been up and down with her recovery. Debra explained, “Her lungs are really good. Her nutrition is low, so she can’t get the strength to breath.”

Amber has to re-teach herself how to breathe deep from her lungs and she is having trouble with that.

As Debra’s daughter continues to rehab and fight her disease, Debra is thankful that the surgery was successful. Tennis has been a great tool for Debra that has allowed her to get away from the hospital for small periods of time.

 “Tennis helps a lot when my mind is going. You can go out and just slam that ball!” The community has been great during these trying times and Debra enjoys the camaraderie with her teammates and friends.

Debra is excited to be finally playing tennis again here at Sectionals. It was extremely hard for her to be away from the game for so long. As she takes the court in Mobile she can’t wait to get out there and swing the racquet. “It makes me focus better wanting to be out there playing.”