Christina Lappin is All Heart

Christina Lappin’s name is all over the South Carolina swimming record book, but there’s one number that doesn’t show up in the records that may be the most compelling part of her story – five. Since the age of 12, Lappin has endured five heart surgeries, including three while a student-athlete for the Gamecocks, but through persistence and faith, the senior isn’t slowing down and isn’t afraid to live life on her own terms.

“I know I have heart issues, but I just put them in the back of my head,” Lappin said. “I don’t freak out. This has taught me that I can still do things that I want, and I need to take advantage of opportunities while I can still do those things.

“When I’m taken out of the pool (for surgery), it just kills me. I have a new appreciation for things. Religion has always had a big place in my life, and I think God has a plan. That has really helped me realize that I’m so happy to be where I am with my life. It’s sort of routine for me now, so I don’t really get scared.”

Lappin has enjoyed success in and out of the pool at South Carolina. She holds Gamecock records in the 100 butterfly, 50 freestyle, 100 freestyle, 400 medley relay, 200 medley relay, 200 freestyle relay, and 400 freestyle relay. The sport and entertainment management major earned Scholar All-America honors in 2017 and was named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll last year. The 21-year-old has a lot of honors along with a lot of hours in the operating room.

“Everyone has setbacks at some point, but you can always come back from it,” Lappin said. “God, my family and friends are the reasons I’ve been able to come back. My coaches and teammates have been there and supported me, and that keeps me going, too.”

HEART ISSUES AT A YOUNG AGE

The problems started when Lappin was in the eighth grade, and she suddenly passed out in church. Her family took her to the emergency room where it was discovered that she suffered from Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome (WPW).

“Essentially, it’s an extra electrical pathway in the heart that can be deadly,” Lappin explained. “I had an extra one that connected back around. So, my heart rate would go up to about 230 (beats per minute) for no reason. They didn’t know if it was benign or if it was the deadly pathway, so they told me I had to get rid of it immediately.”

Lappin went to the Duke Medical Center in Durham, N.C., and had her first surgery, a cardiac ablation.

“Ablations are supposed to take one or two hours, but with mine, I was under for 13 hours the first time,” Lappin said. “They found out I had WPW, but I also had a bicuspid aortic valve. You’re supposed to have three valves there, but I only have two and it’s leaking. With the leak, my heart is enlarged with all the extra stress.

“My doctor said that in trying to find the extra pathway with the WPW, it was the most complex case he had ever seen.”

“I would say that Christina is the most unique electrical case that I have ever had any experience with.”
– Dr. Todd Senn

Lappin had some complications later that night, which prompted a second surgery the next morning to correct it. Everything seemingly went well, and a few years went by without too much trouble. After earning all-state honors four times in high school, Lappin committed to swim for the Gamecocks and immediately established a relationship with Dr. Todd Senn at Prisma Health Hospital in order to get cleared to compete. Midway through her freshman season, a problem arose.

“It was in January, and my heart rate just skyrocketed,” Lappin said. “It happened about three or four times one week. I told Coach (McGee) Moody and I met with our (athletic) trainer, and she called the doctor and said that I had to get checked out before I got back in the water. He told me I needed to get another ablation done.”

“I would say that Christina is the most unique electrical case that I have ever had any experience with,” Dr. Senn said. “People knew that Christina had an abnormal heart valve and at least one abnormal heart rhythm.

“We took her in and did another procedure. The first time that we did this, we found out that she had another electrical problem. This is something called a Mahaim Pathway. She actually had evidence of another extra electrical wire in her heart that goes from the top chamber down to the bottom chamber. This is a very unusual wire. WPW is seen in roughly one in 10,000 people in the United States. Mahaim Pathway is much more rare than that.”

Modern technology allows this type of surgery to be done less invasively than the layperson would think as the procedures can be done through incisions in the leg, groin, and neck.

While the thought of another heart surgery might send some into a panic attack, Lappin was more concerned with being able to compete in the upcoming SEC Championship.

“The first time they went in, it was an unsuccessful procedure,” Lappin said. “It was so complex. They tested and found out that I had another extra electrical pathway. It was hidden. They knew it was there, but they couldn’t find it. It wasn’t deadly, but I can’t function when it’s affecting me.”

Making the procedure more uncomfortable was a bad reaction Lappin was having after being under anesthesia for so long, and she woke up a little too soon.

“I ended up busting open all of incisions they had just closed,” Lappin said. “They had to hold me down to get the bleeding to stop. The recovery for that was really hard. I wanted to go to SECs, and I was struggling mentally with that.”

BREAKING RECORDS

Although the surgery was not successful in finding the hidden problem, doctors determined she was not at serious risk at that point. Lappin recovered quickly and was medically cleared to compete just a few weeks later. Back in the water, she didn’t miss a beat!

“They told me that if I had any incidents, it wasn’t going to kill me. It meant I would just have to stop and rest,” Lappin said. “I wasn’t scared that something would happen to me. I was just angry that this was happening to me because I had trained so hard.  

“At SECs, I think it was just pure adrenaline. I ended up breaking the school record in the 100 fly!”

“Christina is a very unique individual,” Dr. Senn said. “Most of us couldn’t compete at that high level with having normal hearts. The nice thing is that we are able to do things in a way that they are minimally invasive. It’s usually with two IVs in your leg, and you’re back walking later that same day and then with no restrictions after five days. Most people are bouncing back, but maybe they’re playing 18 holes of golf, not competing in the SECs and breaking records five days later! She is a unique person, to say the least.”

“It’s a very serious thing, and swimming is an endurance-based sport; it’s a cardiac-based sport,” Moody said. “All of the fuel for our engine comes from our heart, and when there are issues with that, you do get nervous. You trust the doctors. You trust our athletic trainers, and you know that they always have her best interest at heart. I also know that they are never going to take a chance for the sake of letting her swim a race. It’s not worth it. She tends to push much harder than we do most times. She doesn’t like sitting out. She doesn’t like watching other people race. She wants to be the one competing. She wants to be the one doing the work.”

“No matter what comes her way, she always seems to find some way to overcome it.” 
– Coach McGee  Moody

While she was soaring in the pool, there was another setback a few months later as doctors needed to go back in and find the hidden electrical pathway that had eluded them previously.

“This was surgery number four. They went in for about six or seven hours, and they ended up finding it,” Lappin said. “At this point, I think the doctors were pretty baffled because having two extra electrical pathways is pretty uncommon.”

MORE SURGERY ON THE HORIZON

For the next couple of years, Lappin’s life was a little more normal as she continued to compete for the Gamecocks and break more records. While there were minor episodes along the way, they weren’t serious, and she was also going back for checkups every six months so doctors could monitor her leak and her bicuspid aortic valve.

“You see her, at times, struggle, but then you see her strength when she comes through it,” Moody said. “No matter what comes her way, she always seems to find some way to overcome it. Every year she gets faster, even when every year, everything she has been through says she shouldn’t be. We’re unbelievably proud of what she has done to this point, but I know her best days are still ahead of her.”

Unfortunately, there were more problems on the horizon last spring.

“Last April, after NCAAs, my heart rate just skyrocketed again,” Lappin said. “It got to the point where it was happening nearly every day. I could be in the grocery store or sitting in my apartment, and it would happen. I was exhausted because it was happening so frequently.”

“I get another message from Christina saying, ‘By the way, I feel my heart racing again,'” Dr. Senn said. “At that point, my heart sinks. I’m thinking this Maheim Pathway must still be present. So, we take her back to the lab, but no, the Maheim Pathway, there’s no evidence of that. No evidence of WPW.”

Doctors tried some new medicines to slow it down, but nothing seemed to help. That led to another procedure last May where doctors found another different and third extra electrical pathway in her heart, known as AV Nodal Reentry Tachycardia (AVNRT).

“I don’t think my doctor had ever seen that before because I was told it was extremely rare,” Lappin said. “I was out for a few more weeks and slowly got back into it and working all summer. Everyone was really great in helping me get back. I was able to compete at nationals in California over the summer.”

“I think it’s unheard of to have three different electrical problems in the same person,” Dr. Senn said. “AVNRT is common by itself, but to see all three in the same patient is unheard of. I’ve never run across anything like this.”

Doctors continue to monitor the leak and bicuspid aortic valve, which will likely require open heart surgery when she’s done with competitive swimming.

“I think scars are pretty cool,” Lappin said with a laugh. “I never let any of this really scare me.

“We’re just taking things as they come. That’s an open-heart surgery to get that repaired. They told me it will feel like I’ve had a heart attack after that, and I’ll be extremely exhausted. I’m hoping by the time I have to do that technology will have picked up where they can do it through catheters and smaller incisions.”

For now, Lappin is thankful for her doctors at Prisma Health, as well as the athletic trainers, teammates and coaches at South Carolina who keep an eye on her. As she prepares for her senior year in the pool, there is nothing holding her back physically or psychologically.

“The first time it happened was probably the worst time I had,” Lappin said. “Honestly, my best friends are here. That’s been a big help. I feel like God has gotten me through it, and I know there is a reason for it.

“I’ve always been an extremely competitive person with everything I do. Those times when I’m out of the water give me so much more motivation. I always have the reset button that always gives me a new appreciation and drive to work even harder because I know it’s a privilege to be able to do it.”

For what she has accomplished in terms of swimming, Lappin is reaching legendary status for South Carolina swimming. For what she has accomplished in overcoming obstacles, she is an amazing role model.

“She’s never going to say that she is legendary,” Moody said. “You don’t see a lot of Christina Lappin’s come along and be able to overcome the things that she’s been able to overcome and perform at the level that she performs, day in and day out. There are not many of her around.   

“Every time we set a goal for her; she steps into that place. Every year, she keeps getting faster.”