Sarah Sensational: Lake Worth Beach's Franklin goes from blood clots to volleyball pinnacle

The day the Wisconsin volleyball team flew to Istanbul for its once-every-four-years European trip, Lake Worth Beach’s Sarah Franklin underwent blood-clot surgery on her shoulder, wondering whether she would ever again play the sport.

This was back on June 2, soon after Franklin’s right hand — her hitting hand — went cold, went pale white, with a dash of purple. The injury occurred at a May 25 practice, after which three blood clots were found in an artery in her forearm.

Surgery would tell the whole scary tale — whether the 2018 Lake Worth Christian graduate had thoracic outlet syndrome or the extraordinarily rare quadrilateral space syndrome.

“I was told before surgery, if it was thoracic, if your artery is pinched too much, you won’t be able to play because you’ll be at more risk for blood clots," Franklin said.

Franklin was told by the medical people it likely was thoracic outlet. Quadrilateral space syndrome was so uncommon for “overhead athletes” (rowing, baseball). But space syndrome served as the lesser of two evils.

“I could’ve been done if it was thoracic," Franklin said. “I had friends with that who had to medically retire from their sports."

The surgery lasted seven hours. Awake for the first two hours, Franklin was told by doctors it was space syndrome. She cried for joy on the operating table. She then fell asleep with the knowledge there was hope of playing her senior season.

Fast-forward six months, to Dec. 15 in Tampa. It was volleyball nirvana.

Franklin walked on a stage at the AVCA All-American Awards banquet in Tampa, site of the NCAA volleyball final four. All her teammates were on hand. Her Lake Worth Christian coach, Terri Kaiser, was present, too.

Franklin was bestowed the highest honor — winning the AVCA National Player of the Year to go along with All-American honors. She found out an hour before when the Wisconsin coach took players inside a room with the big news. Franklin became only the second Badger to win the sport’s top individual achievement.

“I was super excited, and to see everyone else’s reaction and how excited they got for me was really sweet," Franklin said.

“It’s kind of ridiculous to think she was told, 'I don’t know if you’ll play again,' to a rehab, to 'ahead of schedule,' to player of the year," said Lake Worth Christian’s Kaiser, who’s been at the school 36 years. “That’s her personality and demeanor as a player. She was going to do anything in her power to get back to play."

Franklin led the Badgers with 4.15 kills per set, which ranked 28th nationally, and had double-figure kills in 29 matches, including five with more than 20. The volleyball aficionados credited her as being one of the few outside hitters who combined precision with volume. Her passing out of the back row was key to Wisconsin’s high-percentage opportunities.

Franklin’s hitting percentage soared to .300 — up from her previous career best of .230. How did this happen after her layoff and shortened training camp?

“It was almost a blessing in disguise," Franklin said. “I was able to do so much detailed work on my skills because I couldn’t do that much else. I was forced to really work on anything I could, hand contact, working on a platform, all the little things in volleyball. That definitely elevated my game, knowing I had more confidence and control in what I was doing. I would just ask, 'How many balls can I hit today?' and go on a box and hit against the wall."

It’s scary to speculate about how matters might have gone after that May 25 practice, if she didn’t get the CT scan and brushed off the numbness as part of volleyball. Through punishing the ball, Franklin had seen her hand flush red before. There was still talk of taking the European trip.

"We don’t know what could’ve happened if we didn’t find this," said Franklin, a 2017 Palm Beach Post Small Schools Player of the Year. “I started noticing the hand getting super cold, ghostly pale going numb. I didn’t know what it was. The trainer didn’t know."

The clots were restricting blood flow. Only a procedure that lasted from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. could fix it.

"The surgery was successful, but it was a long road to recovery," Kaiser said. “They didn’t know if she could play the season, half the season or play at all."

Filled with blood thinners and tenacity, Franklin focused on fundamentals, barred from playing a real volleyball rally. The fear was if she banged her head.

Franklin was cleared for full practice in August — missing just three days of training camp. And then went on to have the season of her life, leading the Badgers to the NCAA final four. Seeded third, the Badgers lost to Texas in the semifinals in Tampa.

“I don’t look at things individually," Franklin said. “I just want to win as a team. I knew I was doing really well but didn’t realize how well until I got those accolades and took a step back and, wow, my numbers were really good this year. I was just doing what the team needed from me."

With the COVID year giving her an extra season of eligibility, Franklin will play for Wisconsin in 2024 as a super senior and graduate in the fall. “I do want to win a national championship," Franklin said. “It’s the ultimate goal. I still have unfinished business at Wisconsin."

With her communications arts degree, Franklin wants to remain in volleyball after Wisconsin, hoping to play in the Olympics and sign with a professional league in Italy or Turkey. One day, she’ll join a U.S. pro league if recent startups make it.

Franklin is on holiday break in Lake Worth and will be honored in a ceremony at Lake Worth Christian on Jan. 2

“I remember she started at age 11," said Kaiser, who coached the club team, Palm Beach Juniors. “She walked in the gym. She was a soccer player and her mom (Michelle, who played at Virginia Tech) said hopefully you’ll get her to like it.

“And she fell in love with it and off she went and never stopped learning," Kaiser added. “If practice was an hour and a half she’d stay the next hour and a half and work with another team. The rest is history."

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This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: How Sarah Franklin overcame blood clots to reach volleyball's pinnacle