Support for Ioanna Tsaprailis and Whitecaps London is pouring in from football clubs across the province as the 13-year-old recovers from a scary incident on the pitch earlier this month.
Tsaprailis is from Sarnia, Ontario and travels to London to play at the Whitecaps Club.
During a game with the girls’ team at North London Athletics Fields earlier this month, she collapsed when she went to the sideline at the end of the first half.
Abbi Lezizidis, president and club chairman, said the ambulance was quick on the square, but there were some scary moments when they feared the worst.
“This player was taken away in an ambulance in front of all of her 13-year-old teammates and everyone was watching,” said Lezizidis. “In a few moments she developed a cerebral hemorrhage and then a stroke from the blood clot that formed from the cerebral hemorrhage.”
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She was taken to the London Health Sciences Center (LHSC) where doctors said the clot was in “the worst possible place”.
Lezizidis said they had received positive news from the hospital that Tsaprailis would be fine, although the young girl is in for a long recovery.
“It was an exhilaration, that’s the best way to describe it,” he said. “At the end of the day, we have a happy story of having a child who survived a moment without a pulse and is in really critical condition.”
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Ioanna’s father, Jim Tsaprailis, said she still has a long way to go before returning to the football field but hopes she can recover from home later this week.
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“We are so grateful to the wonderful staff at the LHSC Paediactric Critical Care Unit. They are real miracle workers, ”he said. “She packs up and comes to our house on Friday, something we feared would never happen.”
Lezizidis said it was a traumatizing experience for everyone involved, especially her young teammates.
“We kept the team together that evening and just thought and stayed together, that was the most important thing for these young girls to have this togetherness while they gathered and thought of their teammates.”
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The young girls wanted to do something to support their friend and to raise money for the hospital program that very likely saved her life.
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So the idea to sell bright pink shirts was born.
“The whole idea was born from the 2008 girls’ team. They came up with the concept of the logo and the shirt, the idea of raising funds to give something back to the hospital, ”he said. “You wanted to bring it all together. We just helped make it easier. “
The shirts bear the Whitecaps logo, the initials of Tsaprailis and the quote “We Got Your Back”.
“We played the first games after the incident in Oakville and the Brampton club we played the weekend before the incident came out to support our team in another city,” said Lezizidis.
“They actually came to another town with signs for Ioanna and shirts made. It was really unbelievable. “
We send our respect, love and support to the @whitecapslondon U13 # opdl team. I wish your teammate a full recovery # Brampton #London #Ontario #Canada #StrongerTogether ??⚽️ pic.twitter.com/eI7iEmTymW
– Brampton SC (@BramptonSC) August 14, 2021
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Lezizidis said there had also been a surge of support from others in the Whitecaps organization as well as a number of other football clubs in the area.
“We are incredibly blessed with the love of other organizations and clubs in town and other clubs across Ontario.”
Jerseys can be purchased until Friday, with proceeds going direct to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and the London Health Science Center.
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