Colbry returns to the ice Foxcroft soph has mild heart ailment

Sophomore Dustin Colbry has been skating a regular shift on the left wing for the Foxcroft Academy Ponies lately.

But there was a time he wasn’t sure if he would be playing until the end of January.

After having an accelerated resting heart rate of 120 beats per minute during physical education class last month, he was sent to pediatrician/heart specialist Dr. Angela Gilladoga in Bangor.

He was diagnosed with a heart condition known as Wolff-Parkinson-White and was referred by Dr. Gilladoga to another specialist in Portland, Dr. Michael Epstein.

Wolff-Parkinson-White usually requires a minor surgical procedure to regulate the heart beat. In WPW, there is an extra electrical connection to the heart which can lead to an unusually rapid heart rate, shortness of breath and dizziness.

“I went down there thinking he would give me a surgery date and they would prep me. I went there thinking the worst,” said Colbry. “But he ran tests on me and told me there were two types of [WPW], low risk and high risk. He said I was low risk.”

So he returned to the ice and resumed his career after having been sidelined for three weeks. He had been practicing with the team during that time but hadn’t been having contact or playing in games.

“I was extremely relieved,” said Janet Colbry, Dustin’s mother.

She also said she was glad that her son was able to return to the ice.

“To miss hockey would have been the worst thing to ever happen to him. He loves his hockey,” said Janet Colbry.

“Hockey is, by far, my favorite sport,” concurred Dustin. “I’d like to go somewhere with it.”

He said he isn’t 100 percent yet due to his layoff.

“My legs are still aching. I’m trying the best I can to get back into [game] shape by spending some extra time skating,” said Colbry, who had a goal and three assists in a recent game against Kents Hill.

Foxcroft coach John McNulty said he and assistant coach John Smith, who is a physician’s assistant, monitor Colbry.

Colbry, who isn’t on any medication, also monitors himself.

“If I get short-winded, I’ll get off the ice and take a break. I’m more cautious,” said Colbry, who stopped playing soccer a year ago because he was experiencing a shortness of breath he thought was caused by asthma.

Colbry is one of several athletes diagnosed with WPW.

Former Bangor High School hockey star Jared Gordon, who is playing for the Colby College Mules, and former Stearns High School of Millinocket and St. Joseph’s College slugger Steve Osborne had WPW and underwent the surgical procedures to correct it.