Ready Return for Wilcox after Glandular Fever Battle

From being diagnosed with glandular fever earlier this year to getting back into full training, WAIS netball athlete Phoebe Wilcox has had a year of ebbs and flows, both physically and mentally.

Regarded as one of the state’s brightest young talents, Wilcox was struck down by glandular fever in early February derailing her netball plans as the court was suddenly substituted for a hospital bed.

“I have a vivid memory of the day my doctor called me and notified me that I had a severe case of glandular fever,” she explained.

“The first question I blurted out to my doctor was, ‘when will I be able to play netball again?’ Unfortunately I didn’t receive the response I was hoping for.”

Prior to falling ill, Wilcox held big hopes for 2016 that were showing great promise.

At the time she was training with the Western Australian U21 and U19 state teams in preparation for Nationals in March and April respectively.

In addition to this she was supposed to be training in preparation to debut and compete in the Australian Netball League as part of the Western Sting side.

Through illness however, Wilcox’s impressive representative streak received an unwanted circuit breaker.

“Unfortunately I had to be withdrawn from those teams and let somebody fit and healthy step into my place. I had participated in every state team from the age of 14 so it was really hard for me to let this year go.”

Perhaps the biggest blow for Wilcox however, was missing the opportunity to fight for a position in the Australian World Youth Cup squad.

The netball World Youth Cup takes place every four years and for those athletes in the U21 age group, the next event is scheduled to take place in 2017. With Wilcox currently 19 years of age, she will be too old to represent when the tournament next arrives in 2021.

 

Between missing out on netball goals and the fatigued associated with the illness, Wilcox admits the battle had tested her resolve.

“It has been a long exhausting year for me,” she said. “I have continuously changed my focus along the way to netball and to my health. It has been a rollercoaster of many ups and downs.”

Like any endeavour in life you often face a number of setbacks in achieving your end result and Phoebe’s recovery was no exception.

“I continuously faced setbacks throughout my 11 months of glandular fever. Because of my fatigue levels, it was really hard to monitor how much I could do before I felt exhausted again.”

“It has been a very frustrating period because you can never judge when you are pushing too hard.”

“Every week I would just wait for my glands or fatigue levels to increase therefore meaning I would be in bed again.”

After working hard on building back fitness, Wilcox was selected as part of a SIS/SAS team that would travel to Canberra in October to compete in an International tournament.

It was set to be the reward for her effort and belief, with Wilcox managing three quarters of action in the nation’s capital. However, upon her return to Perth, she felt burnt out and required five weeks off.

This saw another shift in focus, this time in an attempt to get over the illness once and for all.

Her journey back to health saw her consult a range of specialists and experts with the one constant being her determination to beat it.

In recalling her treatment, Wilcox tells, “It consisted of many doctors, pilates, yoga, physio, meditation, Chinese acupuncture, nutritional and psychological appointments to get me back to normal health and being a happy person again.”

Following several trying months, Phoebe now finds herself back at training with the rest of the WAIS netball squad, an achievement she attributes to the support of those around her along with the lessons she has learned along the way.

“The team of WAIS providers continuously progressed and adjusted my training regime with how I felt,” Wilcox said. “It has given me more resilience and taught me to be a better athlete in the future. I have learnt how important it is as an athlete to listen to your body when it is tired.

Wilcox has been working closely with the WAIS physiologist Paul Goods and Head Netball Coach Michelle Wilkins in order to safeguard her latest return the setbacks encountered previously.

Goods revealed an incremental strategy is being used to ensure Wilcox reaches full fitness in time for the 2017 representative season.

“She’s doing about 60% of conditioning at the moment and about 80% of court work. We’re hoping to have her back into full training by the start of ANL in mid-February.”

On her return, Goods added, “She’s been doing well. We’ve been trying to slowly build her back into it.”

Currently training five times a week, Wilcox said returning to netball had been like reclaiming normality.

“Words could not describe how excited I was to be back with the girls and training. I finally felt like my life was somewhat getting back to normal again.”

Whilst one never wants to be diagnosed with an illness such as glandular fever, Wilcox has reflected glass half-full on 2016.

“I have realised throughout my recovery to not always think about the present moment, but to think about what you need to do for you to be where you want to be in the future.”

With hard work and a bit of good luck, that future is as bright as ever.

Annika Lee-Jones