CENTURION RECOVERS FROM SEVERE ILLNESS.Byline: Lee Barnathan Special to the Daily News Last June, when Saugus High School's Tom Tucker Tom Tucker may refer to:
After spending about two months recovering from symptoms associated with the Epstein-Barr virus Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), herpesvirus that is the major cause of infectious mononucleosis and is associated with a number of cancers, particularly lymphomas in immunosuppressed persons, including persons with AIDS. , Tucker could understand. Epstein-Barr is a virus that is often linked with mononucleosis mononucleosis /mono·nu·cle·o·sis/ (-noo?kle-o´sis) excess of mononuclear leukocytes (monocytes) in the blood. chronic mononucleosis chronic fatigue syndrome. and causes a chronic exhaustion and memory loss. Bed rest is the common prescription, but it takes time for the body's immune system immune system Cells, cell products, organs, and structures of the body involved in the detection and destruction of foreign invaders, such as bacteria, viruses, and cancer cells. Immunity is based on the system's ability to launch a defense against such invaders. to be strong enough to fight off the symptoms. In one two-week period, Tucker was sleeping as much as 20 hours a day. "It was boring," is the way he describes the experience to anyone who asks. Tucker doesn't know when or how or where he caught the virus. It's believed he picked up the virus sometime during the 1994-95 basketball season but fought it off until volleyball volleyball, outdoor or indoor ball and net game played on a level court. An upright net, 3 ft (or 1 m) high, the top of which stands 8 ft (2.43 m) from the ground for men, 7 ft 4 1/8 in (2. began. That's when his body crashed, and he started missing school for what was originally believed to be a flu virus. "Tom hasn't played a whole lot for me," basketball coach Jeff Hallman said. "But he always worked hard and always had a great attitude." After a blood test that revealed the Epstein-Barr virus, Tucker left school in late March, missing the volleyball last season in which the Centurions posted a school record, 15-3, and earned their first playoff play·off also play-off n. Sports 1. A final game or series of games played to break a tie. 2. A series of games played to determine a championship. Noun 1. berth. Tucker, meanwhile, rested, though it was difficult being cooped up. His Castaic home is in an area that can't get cable television, so he was left to afternoons with soap operas This is a list of Soap operas by country of origin. Argentina
Noun, pl Informal radio waves used in radio and television broadcasting . Tucker's sisters turned him to some soaps, and occasionally there was an interesting topic or a unique guest on a talk show. But overall, Tucker didn't have much to choose from. He didn't read because he couldn't stay awake, which made home study difficult. "I had trouble getting back into schoolwork. It took me all summer to finish," he said. "I could have finished earlier, but I was tired and couldn't get my brain in gear. "Then you'd sit down and do 10 minutes and then you'd want to go out and do things because I was sitting down for two months." He said he was amazed a·maze v. a·mazed, a·maz·ing, a·maz·es v.tr. 1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise. 2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex. v.intr. that he didn't lose more than seven pounds off his 6-feet-4-inch frame. But he finally felt well enough to return to school in June and took four wood shop classes to earn one credit. When summer basketball began, Tucker was mentally ready, but his body wasn't. "During conditioning, I could see how far behind I was," he said. Eventually, he got back into shape but didn't play much. In this volleyball season, he's started to shake off the rustiness and helped the Centurions to a 2-0 record. In the last game, against L.A. Baptist, he had eight kills and eight blocks. CAPTION(S): PHOTO Photo Tom Tucker, a two-sport player at Saugus High missed all of 1995's volleyball season as his immune system fought off the Epstein-Barr virus. Terri Thuente/Daily News |
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