Lockview rugby player Marley Raycroft paid surprise visit by Rugby Canada players
FALL RIVER: Marley Raycroft eats, breathes, and lives rugby, so it’s no wonder that the sport she has a passion for is what is leading her charge in recovery from a health scare that happened in September.
The Fall River girl plays the sport that sees men and women hit each other as hard as possible as they try to score a try or prevent a try because she gets a great adrenaline rush on the pitch.
“It’s unlike anything else,” she said.
Marley discovered she had a blood clot in her lung which left her fighting for her life in hospital. It caused her to have four cardiac arrests and forced her to miss the first two weeks of school. The recovery process also has her sidelined from playing with the Lockview High girls rugby team, which was a disappointment. But she’s working hard to ensure she’s on the field for the next season.
The diagnosis of her having blood clot came about after she started having pains in her stomach.
“I went a full day having pains so my parents said let’s go to emergency and we went there,” said Raycroft. “They did a bunch of tests and said I was fine so I could go home.
“I went home and had a nap and had the worse pains. So we went back to emergency. I stood up and passed out in the room, so they looked at me and then determined I had a blood clot in my lung.”
Her recovery continues.
Recently, Rugby Canada’s Olivia DeMerchant and Alysha Corrigan, both players Marley idolizes, came to the school and presented her with a Rugby Canada jersey. The whole thing came as a surprise to Marley who had no idea what was about to take place.
“The school had called down student council and the girls rugby team for what I thought was some sort of presentation,” said Marley. “I was happy I was missing class and they were talking about how you have to be resilient to play it.
“I was so shocked. I was so overwhelmed. They are people I love and they came to my school.”
She said the two players visit made her more focused on fighting to get back on the field.
“They’ve made me more motivated to do what I can to get back with my friends and teammates on the field,” said Marley.