It has been one month and two days since Matt Bowman collapsed in our first preseason scrimmage. Since then, the entire program has been through a roller coaster ride. By that, we mean his family, the doctors and surgeons, friends and teammates, professors and coaches -- essentially everyone involved in Matt's life.Matt is grateful for everyone's support during the past month, especially for his teammates and friends at Augsburg. It was a much easier process for Matt, knowing he had the support of all of these wonderful people.
Matt underwent a successful operation on Sept. 12 to correct an anomalous left main coronary artery. Basically, one of Matt's arteries was located in the wrong place at birth. There was a high risk of sudden death due to this condition. The surgery itself lasted three-and-a-half hours and was 100 percent successful. Matt spent two days in intensive care before moving to his own room for two additional days. He was released from the hospital on Sept. 16. He spent the last week recovering from his home in Maple Grove, and today he is back on campus!
In three weeks, Matt will go back for another CT coronary angiography so the doctors can confirm everything is healing well and operating the way it should. He will begin cardiac rehab across the street at Fairview Riverside Hospital at the end of this week, and will continue with his rehab for a few additional weeks.
Tuesday night's game against St. Olaf (7:30 p.m.) will mark the return of Matt to our bench. Although the game is an important MIAC matchup between two of the top teams and serves as our Homecoming competition that will recognize the 1973 MIAC championship team, the return of Matt Bowman will be at the forefront of everyone's mind. I am excited to have him back on our bench -- and I know the guys will be flying when they see him there!
