West Delaware’s Addison Burger overcame adversity, finds happiness in first year of wrestling

MANCHESTER – Addison Burger’s smile has returned.

The beaming fixture on her face serves as a personal rainbow of sorts, letting her and her family know she weathered storms of physical and mental adversity to find fun and happiness again.

Consider it a reward for the perseverance and strength to overcome a heart ailment that delayed her dreams of being a varsity softball player, the depression that followed and another condition that prevented pain-free activity when she finally took the field.

“I feel like I’ve conquered and worked through so much, mentally and physically,” Burger said. “I feel so much better now than I’ve ever felt before.”

Despite her battles with myocarditis, depression and Functional Neurological Disorder, Burger decided to further test her mettle by joining West Delaware’s girls’ wrestling program. She has enjoyed the toil and the triumphs involved with the demanding sport, finding an outlet for her competitive nature and a supportive environment.

“The relationships I have made with all the girls on the team would be my favorite part, so far, besides the wrestling,” the 15-year-old sophomore said. “The wrestling is super fun, too, but the relationships I have made with the girls on the team makes it feel like a sisterhood. The coaches are amazing.”

The challenging trek began in the spring of her eighth-grade year. A successful pitcher on youth teams, Burger earned a spot on the Hawks’ varsity roster before even stepping foot in a high school class.

As she prepared to display her craft in the circle for a May scrimmage and achieve a longtime goal, Burger realized something was wrong. She suffered chest pain, heart palpitations, exhaustion and labored breathing. She considered it may have been nerves and played through it all.

She drove home with her parents, Kari and Troy. They didn’t make it home that night.

“I had more difficulty breathing, so we decided to go right to the emergency room in Manchester,” Burger said. “They ran some tests and then they made the decision to transfer me to Iowa City.”

Burger was admitted to University of Iowa’s Stead Family Children’s Hospital for a couple days. She was diagnosed with myocarditis, bringing her softball season and all other endeavors to a screeching halt for three months.

“Ever since she was a little girl, she had the goal of being a varsity softball player,” Troy Burger said. “When that was taken away from her, it was devastating to say the least. It was very hard on her.”

Doctors cleared Burger after the idle period and she attempted to return to volleyball and fall softball. Physically she was ready, but mentally was a different story. Things didn’t feel right and she was quickly burnt out.

“I definitely had the fear that my body was going to go through the same thing as before,” Burger said. “I was scared of that. I didn’t really feel motivated and I started feeling depressed during the three months off, so all those things combined together.”

For months, Burger struggled with depression. She became distant and didn’t have the same energy. There were days she struggle to get out of bed. Burger was not the same person, who was fulfilling a high school aspiration before being an official student six months earlier.

Burger mustered enough courage to consult her parents about the situation. They agreed to visit a mental health professional, providing a safe and judgment-free space for Burger to process what she felt was important at that specific time.

“She fell into a deep, dark hole,” Troy Burger said. “I wasn’t sure if she was going to get out of it. It was scary.

“Luckily, we were able to find the right help that she needed and there were some days she was frustrated, we were frustrated but we learned to work together to work through it.”

Burger worked with the mental health professional a lot over months to manage depression and her feelings of burn out. She devoted time to her personal health, turning to yoga for a respite from the world. Yoga provided a therapeutic escape, allowing her to grow physically and mentally.

“I just took a break from everything,” said Burger, who praised her family for their support. “I focused on my mental well-being.”

Mental health is often overlooked and even more so in sports. Troy Burger said he thinks it is just as important for parents to provide it for their kids as personal instruction or skills clinics.

The younger Burger wants others to know it is OK to reach out for help.

“If someone is going through something really hard mentally just keep breathing, speak up and don’t be afraid to ask for help,” she said. “There are people out there that their jobs are to help you when you need it.”

Kari Burger urged parents to “Ask your kids if they’re OK. Don’t assume everything is OK. Remind them often that they can come talk to you about the little things that are bothering them. Make sure to always treat everybody with kindness.”

In February, Burger decided she was ready for her freshman season of softball. The return didn’t go as smoothly as she hoped. Burger suffered a panic attack during a scrimmage in April. She had flashbacks of what had happened 11 months earlier. Burger considered quitting there, but quickly changed her mind.

“I wanted to prove myself I could finish a whole season and I wanted to do it for me, my family, my teammates, coaches and community,” Burger said. “I wasn’t going to let that stop me. It got me even more motivated to go into the season and play.”

The second season produced more problems. Burger developed discomfort in her legs and feet during the season. They were so bothersome that they prevented her from getting normal rest at night. She often attended morning practices on a few hours of sleep. Burger didn’t share that with anyone until after the season.

“I thought I could push through it and it would go away,” Burger said. “The lack of sleep caught up with me.”

Tests pointed to FND – a medical condition that features nervous system symptoms that can’t be explained by a neurological disease or other medical condition, according to mayoclinic.org. The condition is being treated by chiropractic appointments and medication.

“No 15-year-old should have to go through things like this,” Kari Burger said. “She should be a happy high school kid that enjoys those years. All of us have learned a lot from the physical and mental things she’s experienced.”

Wrestling has been a bright spot and sign that Burger is thriving again. Interestingly, the Burgers have no family history in wrestling. Troy Burger suggested it to his daughter and some friends asked her to attend the sign-up meeting. Hawks Coach Dale Meyer encouraged her to be part of history and the school’s first team.

The exhilaration of victory in a new endeavor hooked Burger.

“After my first pin in the first meet, I had this amazing feeling through my body,” Burger said. “I wanted to keep feeling that. I can’t even describe how I felt after my first win. I just now I wanted to keep feeling that feeling. It was amazing.”

Meyer said she has a great attitude in practice and is a good person off the mat.

“She works her butt off,” said Meyer, who greeted her with a giant hug after a pin at the Independence Invitational in November. “She fights as hard as anybody. She’s a great kid.”

Meyer talked to her before she was cleared to wrestle. His message was control what you can control.

“We just talked about how you’re going to have things thrown at you in life,” Meyer said. “It’s about how you react to them. You have to stay positive.”

A sport that demands so much emotionally, physically and mentally from competitors seems like the most unlikely activity to choose for someone that has withstood so much. Troy Burger said his daughter is starting to resemble her former self. Enthusiasm and passion is more prevalent now.

“For a year and a half, we didn’t see that (smile),” Troy Burger said. “It was a lot of tears and a lot of heartache. She’s getting it figured out. We’re pretty proud of her.”

The Burgers were hopeful that wrestling would help their daughter understand her toughness and she can survive anything. Wrestling has helped her become the healthiest she has been in almost two years.

“It has been rewarding to watch her have success and enjoy wrestling,” Kari Burger said. “Not just wrestling, but cheering on her teammates. She really gets into the moment, watching her teammates have success.

“Then, those big ol’ bear hugs with Coach Meyer really mean a lot to her. It’s nice to see through a parent’s eyes.”

Everything Burger has endured has made her more resilient in all aspects in her life. She wants to provide hope for others that face similar battles. The goal is to share this tale, so others in similar circumstances can benefit and find optimism.

“I’m conditioning at wrestling practice and think I’m going to pass out because I’m so tired I remember that I went through the heart issue and nerve trouble,” Burger said. “The conditioning isn’t as bad as what it was to go through the medical conditions.

“It has made me stronger. I’ve learned a lot about who I am and I am proud I went through all those things and I’m able to speak about it and tell people my story.”