Saturday, June 23, 2007

Summitt 'like a new woman' after hospital stay

Fainting spell will make UT coach more careful

A day after fainting and being hospitalized, Pat Summitt was back to her old self. She sounded even better than that.

"I feel like a new woman,'' the Tennessee women's basketball coach said Friday afternoon.

She was released from St. Mary's Medical Center earlier in the day after spending the night for observation. Summitt was treated for dehydration, a condition she thinks was caused by lack of sufficient rest along with insufficient hydration.

With Thompson-Boling Arena being renovated, the Lady Vols are using alternative sites for their camps and air conditioning is scarce.

"I think I'm going to be fine,'' said Summitt, who was preparing for the start of UT's elite camp. "I'll get my naps, that's the key."

As far as sustenance, Summitt plans to supplement her water intake with Gatorade and make sure to eat regularly.

"I'll be going and I'll forget to eat,'' she said.

Summitt did not take a break after the end of overnight camp on Wednesday. Instead, she cooked for guests at her home in the evening. The schedule caught up with her Thursday afternoon at home in the presence of Lady Vols assistant coach Dean Lockwood, Northern State (S.D.) coach Don Meyer, retired coach Billie Moore and Summitt's mother, Hazel. Summitt passed out while sitting in a chair.

"Mother poked Dean and said, 'She's falling out of the chair,' '' Summitt said. "I was out. I was way out."

The hospital visit turned into an unscheduled physical exam along with a recuperative stay.

After a battery of tests, Summitt said that the doctors told her: "You're the healthiest you've ever been."

And that's much better than Thursday.

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