He wakes up grateful he could even wake up.
Dan Rolfes survived. He gets to live, he gets to love.
But then, it’ll hit him, like a basketball player setting a hard pick: “Is this going to happen again? When is it going to happen again? That’s always in the back of my mind — and honestly, (it makes you) a little scared.â€
His father died of a heart attack. His father’s brother died of a heart attack. And his father’s father died of a heart attack. But Rolfes, miraculously, survived his own heart attack on, of all days, the Ides of March (March 15).
The legendary local coach, who has led Incarnate Word Academy to 13 girls basketball state titles, now lives to live. He has this perspective, this clarity. After the heart attack nearly killed him, Rolfes spent three weeks in the hospital, remained on dialysis for a while after that and now, seven months later, still is building back his physical strength.
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Basketball practice starts on Nov. 4.
“I am going to coach,†said Rolfes, 53. “I’m going to try. The doctors gave me the OK. They’re like, ‘Just take it slow. Take it easy.’ ... Basketball is a huge part of my life. And coaching, it’s not a job to me. It’s what I love to do. ... My biggest detriment right now is just fatigue and being tired. I have to sleep. If I don’t get a good night’s sleep, I’m worthless. So Napheesa’s game kept me up (on Thursday). But I’ll stay up for her games, that’s for sure.â€
The greatest of all his great players is Napheesa Collier, who finished second in WNBA MVP voting this year. Collier’s Minnesota Lynx are in the WNBA Finals. During Thursday’s Game 1, the Lynx trailed by as many as 18 points at New York. But Minnesota mounted an impossible comeback, and Collier’s fadeaway jumper with 8.8 seconds left secured the victory. New York ran away from Minnesota on Sunday to even the series 1-1.
“When I’m rooting for the Cardinals, I love the Cardinals — it’s our hometown team,†Rolfes said. “But when you know someone personally? It’s a little different.â€
To think he might’ve missed it.
On March 15, he coached his indomitable basketball team to victory in the Missouri Class 6 state semifinals. It was played at Mizzou Arena.
After the game, he suffered a heart attack on a parking lot.
His wife began to save his life.
Lisa Rolfes was a nurse for 30 years and immediately gave her husband CPR.
An ambulance soon arrived.
“And they shocked me 27 times,†Rolfes said. “They did CPR and the shocking for like 90 minutes. And the doctors at Mizzou’s hospital didn’t give up. So I’m super-thankful for them to continue to try and save me. ...
“The craziest thing is, I don’t remember anything. I remember practicing the day before (March 14). After that, I don’t remember anything. I don’t remember Thursday night. I don’t remember Friday. I don’t remember coaching the game Friday. I remember nothing. ...
“And the one thing is, with not remembering anything, I don’t remember how I felt. I would have loved to know what I felt like prior to (the heart attack). So I know if I feel like that again, I need to call 911, get to a hospital.â€
Lisa keeps in touch with some of the nurses and the ambulance driver. This summer, Lisa and Dan went to Columbia for the Show-Me State games. Lisa organized a meeting with the ambulance driver.
“He said to me,†Dan recalled, “‘We just don’t see people recover from what happened.’â€
The day after their coach’s heart attack, the Incarnate Word girls had to find the composure to play in the state title game. With the crowd raising signs of hope for “Coach Dan,†the IWA team pulled off the victory, 53-43 against Kickapoo. IWA was lef by assistant coach Tanner Wilkenson and the rest of the IWA staff.
Rolfes lived.
It was incredible. Fate-altering.
But in the ensuing days, “I literally can’t even walk,†Rolfes recalled. He lost 30 pounds. He was on dialysis because his kidneys weren’t functioning correctly. The recovery was — and is — a challenge of mental strength, as he works to build his physical strength.
Lisa became the coach’s coach.
Each day during the summer, they’d walk in their neighborhood. Lisa continuously challenged him to go past one extra house — “We’ve got to keep moving!†she’d say.
“I’m starting to jog on the treadmill and lift weights ...†said Rolfes, who has been back at work this fall as the IWA athletics director. “I’m trying to get back to normal day activities. And I don’t know if that’ll ever happen. I guess that’s to be determined. ... To me, it’s been going one house further every day when I’m trying to walk. Well, you know, part of my rehab is my goal is to be back on the court. That’s my next house. ...
“I think my mindset was just trying to get a little better every day. And when you go through this process, you just kind of look at it and realize all the things that really matter to you.â€
His wife. His son. His two daughters. His basketball team. His faith.
He cannot do anything about the lingering fear of another heart attack. That’s there. But he can go on with his life with a clarity of what it means to fully live.
“Unless you go through it, I don’t think you get that perspective,†Rolfes said. “You can say it as much as you want, but unless you have that experience of having everything taken away, it’s just hard to realize.â€