In Jim’s junior year of high school, his basketball team made the playoffs. The whole school was covered in giant blue and white posters encouraging the team and the days leading up to the game were full of school pride and pep rallies.
“You nervous?” Mark grinned at him as they tied their shoes in the locker room.
“Please, me nervous?” Jim scoffed and finished tying his shoes. In reality his heart was pounding. They could hear the roar of the crowd outside in the gym and the junior tried to calm his heart by taking a deep breath.
“Alright team,” The captain, Alex, called out loudly as he stood. “We can’t lose to these guys. Let’s go out there and win!”
The team exploded into cheers and stood. Jim pushed himself to his feet, and instantly held his stomach.
“Okay there Halpert?” Alex asked softly and Jim nodded.
“Just a small stomach ache,” He muttered and stood still until the nausea passed.
The team jogged out onto the field amidst screams and cheers from the fans. The sounds all seemed too loud and Jim was incredibly relieved when they got to their coach. He slowed to a halt, panting heavily, and scanned the crowd.
A grin spread across his face when he saw his parents and brothers waving wildly. Turning back to the coach, the team put their hands in and cheered, running to their opening positions.
While waiting for the other team to come out, Jim suddenly felt faint. His breathing was harsh and wheezing.
“Are you okay?” Mark asked eyes narrowed in concern. Jim nodded slowly and watched as the other team jog out onto the court.
The game was absolutely brutal for Jim. He could normally go half the game without getting too tired but lately he was out of breath almost immediately.
“Dude,” Mark called out as he jogged past. “You look really pale.”
“I’m fine,” Jim muttered then everything went black.
~*~
The first thing Jim was aware of was the pain. His chest ached and he could not breathe. Green eyes snapped open in a panic and he began to gag.
He could hear his mother’s shouts but continued to choke around the tube in his throat. A doctor hurried into the room and leaned over him.
“Okay Jim, we’re going to take the tube out. Cough when I count to three, okay?” A nurse joined the doctor and he put some gloves on. “Alright, one…two…three.”
Jim coughed and felt the tube being pulled out. He continued to gasp and wheeze as the nurse placed an oxygen mask over his face.
“Are you feeling okay?” The doctor leaned down, square glasses sliding down his nose. When Jim nodded weakly, he smiled. “I’m Dr. Pressman but you can call me Chris. I’m going to tell you what we found.”
Jim began to feel better with the flow of oxygen and leaned into the pillow, now taking in his surroundings. He was lying on white sheets and was surrounded by machines.
“What happened?” He asked hoarsely, pulling the oxygen mask away slightly.
“You collapsed on the basketball court baby,” Larissa Halpert said, stroking his hand. “Your heart stopped.”
“We did a few tests and we found that you have a disorder called aortic valve stenosis. One of the valves in your heart has narrowed and this makes it difficult to pump blood. You have probably had this condition since birth but it was not obvious. Unfortunately, this has continued to damage your heart and it overcompensated until your heart muscle thickened. You are currently in heart failure.” The doctor explained.
“What do we do?” Larissa asked but Jim could hardly hear over the rushing sound in his ears.
“Well, we’re going to start you on some medications and observe your reaction. If that doesn’t work we’ll have to replace the valve surgically.”
“Heart surgery?” Jim asked softly and the doctor nodded.
“I’m sorry, I wish we had better news,” Chris said sadly.
“What if the valve replacement doesn’t work?” Jim asked, pulling the oxygen mask away again.
“We’ll put you on the heart transplant list,” Chris replied and Larissa let out a small cry. She instantly buried her head in her hands and began to cry.
“Okay,” Jim nodded, leaning back and closing his eyes.
~*~
“Psst, dude!” Jim opened his eyes slowly and jumped. His entire team surrounded the bed, still dressed in their uniforms. His mother had met his father and they were currently talking with the doctor about treatments.
“What are you all doing here?” His voice was still hoarse but the oxygen mask had been replaced by a nasal cannula.
“We just finished the game and wanted to come see you,” Mark said with a grin. “We won too!”
“Sweet!” Jim grinned brightly and pushed himself up.
“So, how are you?” Alex asked and Jim noticed the rest of the team looking worried. Jim’s grin faded slightly. “You just collapsed and no one told us what’s going on. Your mom sent us up to talk to you.”
“Yeah,” Jim muttered and ran a hand through his hair. “My doctor found that I have a heart defect. He said that I’ve started going into heart failure.”
“Wow,” Mark said after an awkward silence. “So, no basketball?”
“Nope,” Jim shook his head and sighed.
“I’m sorry man,” Alex said softly and gave him a faint smile. “We can tell a couple cheerleaders if you want though. I’m sure they would love to take care of the ‘oh so cute Jimmy Halpert.’”
Chuckles ran through the room and Jim smiled slightly.
“No thanks, I’m sure I’ll live,” Jim smiled. “You’d better keep winning the games. I’m coming down there as soon as they let me out.”
“We’ll be looking forward to it,” Alex smiled. “We’d better get going guys. See you Halpert.” The team filed out of the room but Mark stayed behind.
“How bad is it really?” He asked suddenly. “Dude, I’m your best friend and I can tell when you’re keeping something from us.”
“I know,” Jim nodded slowly. “They said I’ll need surgery if the medication doesn’t work to replace the valve. If that doesn’t work they’re putting me on the transplant list.”
Mark was completely silent, staring at his basketball shoes. “So, it’s really serious?”
“Yeah,” Jim sighed and stared at his clasped hands.
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