Pitcher Treated For Clot On Brain

Mark Nelson left a hospital in Kelowna, British Columbia on Wednesday morning. He hopes he left behind the seven scariest days of his life as well.

Nelson, a sophomore-to-be pitcher on the North Idaho College baseball team, suffered a seizure last Tuesday in the NIC student union building.

Tests showed a small mass on the top of his brain and fears mounted of a tumor. He was scheduled for surgery, but further examinations led neurosurgeons to believe the seizure was caused when a small vein burst and created a clot, which is being treated.

After spending the last five days in the hospital, Nelson will return in three weeks for more tests he hopes will show the clot shrinking or gone.

“It’s being treated as a hematoma (swelling caused by a broken vein) and not an aneurysm or tumor,” said Vicki Nelson, Mark’s mother. “Oh man, we hope it’s a hematoma, although it sounds weird to hope for that.

Mark Nelson said he feels some weakness on the right side of his body and fatigue from the ordeal.”It’s been kind of a nasty five days,” he said.”The kids on the ball team have been calling and a few are coming up this weekend,” Vicki Nelson said.

Nelson, who is from Vernon, British Columbia was 2-6 last year, but pitched 52 innings and had a 4.90 earned-run average. He struck out 45 and walked only 18.

NIC coach Jack Bloxom considers Nelson his best returning pitcher, but Bloxom’s thoughts are far from baseball.

“He’s a super student; the athletic thing is immaterial,” Bloxom said. Bloxom and an NIC counselor have been working with Nelson’s instructors to allow him to continue his schoolwork.

Vandals sign center

Continuing a busy early signing period, Idaho women’s basketball coach Julie Holt announced the signing of 6-foot-4 center Natalie Weeks.

Weeks, who has a 3.78 grade-point average, averaged nine points and five rebounds at Pullman High as a junior last year.

“She’s got a great Division I physique,” Holt said. “She can run, she can jump and she can compete.”

Weeks’ father, William, was a second team all-Big Sky Conference forward at Montana State in 1971.

Weeks joins Suzanne Goss (Boise High), Susan Woolf (Andover, Kansas) and Alli Nieman (Sandpoint High) as Idaho recruits.

Woolverton honored

Idaho placekicker Ryan Woolverton has been named the NCAA Division I-AA special teams football player of the week by The Sports Network.

Woolverton kicked three second-half field goals to lead the Vandals to a 16-12 win over No. 15 Northern Iowa last Saturday.

, DataTimes