Sturt Sabres basketballer Jack Turnbull returns to play after suffering stroke at Mayville State University

Adelaide basketballer Jack Turnbull was playing pool at his US college campus one minute then in an emergency room, “trapped” inside his own body moments later.

Sturt basketballer Jack Turnbull returned to the court less than a month after a stroke while at college in the US. Picture: AAP/Keryn Stevens

• Serbian import joins West Adelaide
• Central ends seven-year win drought over Norwood

Adelaide basketballer Jack Turnbull was playing pool at his US college campus one minute then in an emergency room, “trapped” inside his own body moments later.

The 22-year-old small forward had suffered an ischaemic stroke on April 30 while at North Dakota’s Mayville State University and lost all feeling in his right arm, leg and face.

Scans later revealed Turnbull had a hole in his heart – the likely cause of the stroke – and he flew back to Adelaide to undergo surgery in July.

But incredibly, he returned to the court to play in SA’s Premier League with his junior club, Sturt, last night – 25 days after his medical emergency.

He hit a clutch three-pointer in the fourth quarter as the Sabres came from behind to beat South Adelaide for their first win of the season.

Turnbull, a senior at Mayville State, says those 27 minutes without feeling in the right side of his body is the scariest thing he has ever experienced.

Turnbull’s first game back resulted in Sturt’s first win of the men’s Premier League basketball season. Picture: AAP/Keryn Stevens

“I just felt like I was trapped, you know – I couldn’t move,” Turnbull, of Wynn Vale, says.

“At the age of 22 I’m thinking ‘am I ever going to be able to move again? Am I ever going to be able to play sport again?’

“It seems a bit dramatic now but at the time I had no idea what was going on.

“A stroke isn’t really something that even crosses your mind at my age.”

Turnbull reached to grab a ball during his eight-ball game when the stroke began.

“As I went down to get it, I couldn’t grab the ball,” he says.

“I remember thinking ‘what the hell’ – it felt like I was drunk or something but it was nine o’clock in the morning.

“In my mind I was moving my hand but nothing would move.

“I couldn’t move the right side of my body – my foot, my face, nothing was moving.”

Turnbull was hospitalised for three days as doctors ran several tests and found the hole in his heart.

“They think that a blood clot has gone through the hole and up into my brain and stopped the blood flow for a little bit.”

Turnbull will have surgery at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in July to fix the hole in his heart and, hopefully, reduce his chances of suffering another stroke.

He will likely need to remain on blood thinners for the rest of his life as a precaution.

than the possibilities that were racing through Turnbull’s mind at the time of the incident.

Now he is just hoping to continue playing basketball with the Sabres before returning to Mayville State to complete his final semester of schooling.

“I feel pretty lucky to be able to get back out and play for Sturt after all that,” says Turnbull, who is studying education at Mayville State and hopes to eventually become a teacher in Adelaide.

“It’s definitely not going to stop me. I’ll keep playing basketball as long as I can.”

Turnbull says the community support from Mayville, a town of about 1800 people, has been huge.

[e-mail]

Follow @patkeam