By Madeline Scovotti

First in series on injured athletes.

Plagued by what he described as frequent illnesses, unbearable pains, and countless injuries, senior Adam Kaplan was forced to end what he had hoped a long and fruitful basketball career before it even began.

A fractured hip, a case of mononucleosis, a rapid 20-pound weight loss, an injured spleen, deep chest pains and a heart condition have made the past three years of Kaplan’s life somewhat challenging for an aspiring athlete. While he puts on a brave face and carries an unshakeable positive attitude, the past several years have brought some of the worst physical and emotional pain Kaplan said he has faced in his life.

The start of his three-year dance between illness and recovery began during his freshman year when he attended Curry College in Milton. The Florida-native moved to Massachusetts to pursue college and Division III basketball after a successful and injury-free high school career, he said. While at Curry, Kaplan seriously injured his hip marking, though unbeknownst to the then-freshmen, the beginning of a long and painful journey.

When an athlete is injured, it is vital that they get immediate and quality care in order for them to resume playing as quickly and safely as possible. Jeff Stone, Suffolk’s athletic trainer, believes the university is able to provide this kind of care due to their strong relationship with Massachusetts General Hospital.

“We’ve been pretty fortunate that when a student gets injured, we normally can get that athlete seen by one of our orthopedic surgeons and have an X-ray usually within 24 hours of the injury,” he said.

According to Stone, Suffolk also goes above and beyond that level of care and is able to accommodate the athletes in anyway that they need, whether it be through physical therapy, surgery, making sure they stay on top of any missed work, or working with the Office of Disabilities Services to plan for any more long-term accommodations.

Before he transferred to Suffolk University, Kaplan said he received far from this type of care at Curry College.

“I got terrible care at Curry,” recalled Kaplan. “I destroyed my hip there and they didn’t do anything to help me out. I saw a nurse who looked at my hip, no MRI or anything, and told me I was fine. It was the biggest pain I think I’ve gotten in.” 

But despite the immense pain and lackluster care, a young Kaplan would not be deterred. He took the time he needed to recover from his injury, began training once again, and picked up his gym bag and moved to Boston where he would transfer to and remain at Suffolk University.

Just as he became ready to play for the Rams, however, Kaplan’s time on the court had to be put on hold once again.

“About November of my sophomore year I got sick and lost about 20 pounds. On top of being really sick, I then destroyed my hip with just a basic jump that I’d done a hundred times. I just landed weird and ended up really hurting myself,” he said.

A case of mononucleosis and another hip injury held both severe physical and emotional consequences for Kaplan. Not only was it difficult for him to get around the brick streets that make Suffolk’s campus, he said, but it was also beginning to become difficult to convince himself and others that he was doing okay. While he received medication to deal with the physical pain, emotionally he was on his own.

“I’ll be honest, I was very two-faced about it. To everyone’s face I would say, ‘Everything’s great, it could be worse,’ and I was very positive. But in my mind I was miserable and actually very depressed about it,” Kaplan recalled.

Even after two years with multiple injuries and ailments, Kaplan would not give up his dream of playing college ball.

“That next summer I trained really hard, and after 10 months of sitting out I finally got cleared to play,” he said.

Unfortunately for Kaplan, there was no way of stopping the all too familiar cycle from starting again.

“I trained like a maniac,” he said. “But then I started feeling chest pains. And then in January of last year they made me stop playing because I had a chest condition. If I had kept playing I probably would’ve really hurt myself.“

Once again, Kaplan was forced to sit on the sidelines. This time it would be permanent.

“He was bitten by the injury bug,” recalled men’s basketball coach Adam Nelson. Even after receiving “quality care” provided by the university, Nelson said, Kaplan’s basketball career just wasn’t meant to be.

“It just didn’t make sense for him to play for us anymore because every time he would rehab and get healthy he would just get sick or injured again,” he said.

Kaplan now acts as a student assistant coach for the Suffolk men’s basketball team.

Now that he’s in his senior year, Kaplan reflects on his experiences in the most positive way possible, but said it’s hard to overlook his challenges.

“I always try to stay positive, but it was very disappointing coming all the way up here from Florida to play and then not being able to,” he said. “I was just in a lot of pain. And then when I got sick it got worse because I don’t have any family here, so I had to take care of myself and that was really hard.”

While having to give up his jersey was not the direction Kaplan planned his basketball career to go, he sees a more realistic way to take his passion while not having to give up the game.

“At first I was really upset, but then I realized I’m not going to the NBA and basketball is not going to put bread on my table. I mean at the end of the day I really miss playing but I have to be realistic. As an athlete you have to know your limitations.”

As Kaplan gears up for his final season with the Rams as the team’s student assistant, he says he looks to the future with hopes of a career in coaching.