‘Just couldn’t breathe properly’: 16-year-old rising rugby talent awaits surgery following shock diagnosis

In a 72-hour turnaround, one of Gold Coast’s brightest teen rugby talents went from a seemingly healthy 16-year-old to needing an urgent open heart surgery. Read her story here.

Ruby Power playing for Bond University

Sixteen-year-old Ruby Power has gone from a seemingly healthy teen with a burgeoning rugby career to needing urgent open heart surgery in a 72-hour turnaround.

The Tweed Heads local hailing from Sydney was playing rugby for her school Lindisfarne Anglican Grammar, when things started going south.

She felt ill; couldn’t breathe properly, and saw an off-duty paramedic at first aid who advised her to go to the hospital after discovering her blood oxygen levels were “dangerously low.”

“I just felt really lethargic, tired and like I couldn’t breathe properly,” Power said.

“But I said no, because I’m captain of my school team and thought I’ve got to keep playing.

“I thought that was the right decision.”

Granted, Power and her school side left the fields with gold medals, but after returning home she still felt unwell and opted to take the first aid’s advice after all.

“I said to mum, something is just not right,” she said.

“We were taken straight through to emergency, and as soon as I got in there, they knew something was wrong.

“They hooked me up with everything, but we just didn’t get an answer.”

South Queensland under-18 girls players Pypah Ferguson, Ruby Power and Amie D'Espagnac at the Queensland Country Rugby Championships in Rockhampton on June 29, 2024.

Scans uncovered a heart murmur, which was enough for Power to be moved to the cardiology ward where she spent the weekend wondering what was wrong.

At the time of admission (August 23), Power had a Premier Women’s grand final to play for Bond University, a Kokoda Challenge in Papua New Guinea booked, and year 11 exams.

Everything was up in the air.

“I just wanted to answer, Power said.

“I was trying to stay positive as much as I could but every morning the doctor came in … I got a bit more (worried) this isn’t good.”

Three days later - Monday August 26 - Power and her family were informed the surgeons had found a severe mitral valve leak.

Considered the most common form of heart valve disease and often referred to as mitral regurgitation (MR), the only solution is open heart surgery. In Power’s case, as soon as possible.

Power has since been referred to a specialist cardiothoracic surgeon and team of doctors who will look after her case at the Prince Charles Hospital in Brisbane.

Head surgeon Dr Ryan Maxwell voiced his concerns to Power and her parents on the nature of the surgery - particularly the fact he cannot open her heart before knowing exactly what’s wrong.

“(The heart) will need to be opened up to be repaired, but before they do that, they want to know exactly what they’re going to do,” Power’s father Jamie said.

“It’s not like a knee where you just go and clean it up, with the heart you need to know exactly what you’re doing.”

The 16-year-old was born with a heart defect and required surgery at 18-months-old.

Once fixed, doctors informed her parents it was done; fixed. She wouldn’t need any check-ups past six months post-surgery.

Congenital Heart Disease, which affects up to 1 in every 100 births in Australia, had other plans.

“In the back of our mind, Nicole [wife, Ruby’s mum] and I were questioning it,” Mr Power said.

“We’ve spoken about Ruby’s tiredness and or being lethargic, you know for a fit and healthy kid it’s not normal.

“So we had a lot of questions in our mind running.

“This sounds silly, but we wanted something to be wrong so it would provide some answers.”

Ruby Power

The Prince Charles Hospital is now in the process of finding Power’s record from 15 years ago, while the teen herself dwells on her diagnosis.

“It’s nice to know what is wrong and everything is adding up,” she said.

“A few weeks ago at a carnival I told my friend I just couldn’t breathe properly, but I brushed it off.”

It’s the not knowing that is most frustrating.

“I don’t know if I can or can’t do (things) and I just want to know … to plan,” Power said.

“I’ve just been trying to still live as normal as I can but again, I’m waiting for more answers to see what I can and can’t do.”

Mr Power said as far as the heart goes, it’s now solely in the hands of doctors and surgeons.

“From our point of view as parents, we’ve just got to look after what we can.

“She’s an extremely active young girl. She’s very focused and driven and now everything’s just been thrown in disarray.”

Power watched on last week as her Bond University teammates won the Queensland Premier Rugby Women’s premiership for a historic third time in-a-row.

It was a bittersweet moment.

“I was so happy for them, but it did really suck seeing them when I wasn’t on the field,” she admitted.

“This season was a rollercoaster, like to go through the whole season and at the very final game be told not being able to play. It was hard.”

At just 16, Power still has her dreams of playing rugby.

“It’s definitely not my last season.”

Originally published as ‘Just couldn’t breathe properly’: 16-year-old rising rugby talent awaits surgery following shock diagnosis