After giving her all in Tuesday night’s FIFA 2015 Women’s World Cup qualifier against Ecuador, winger Ahkeela Mollon suffered a mild panic attack minutes after the dreaded final whistle ended Trinidad and Tobago’s hopes of securing a place in next year’s esteemed football competition.
Mollon was quickly rushed to the West Shore Medical Hospital by the team’s medical staff having reacted negatively to her squad’s 0-1 loss in the dying minutes of the match.
Following the final whistle, Mollon, like many of her teammates on the pitch, lay in sorrow after a fast-paced and intense clash.
The 29-year-old was warded for a short period and then discharged. According to the official medical report, she suffered a panic attack due to a high level of emotional stress and exhaustion. She was then advised by medical practitioners to rest for one week and limit her thoughts of Tuesday’s encounter in an effort to ensure a speedy and full recovery.
At West Shore Medical, Mollon was shown strong support by several family members and representatives of her management team, The Brazil Link. Upon her admittance to the hospital, “Lady Latapy” rested for a short while and began to slowly recuperate. With the memories of the match still fresh in her mind, she cried a little, but was reminded by her family members that she had conquered greater challenges than this.
Speaking to her manager, Narada Wilson, yesterday, he revealed that Mollon is recovering nicely.
“Based on what the doctors were saying, the panic attack encompassed several factors. The fact that she had a whole season (of competition) this year. From being in Sweden competing in the cold and coming back to Trinidad and training so hard over the past few months.
Having such a good game as well, joined with the emotional and physical pressure of the match, and with so much on the line, she seemed to take it really bad and had a minor blackout. She’s gonna be home on bed-rest for a while and taking it light until she fully recovers. She needs at least a two months rest because she’s been playing for nine months straight.”
Wilson said he was shocked Mollon, who has a psychology degree, has been hit so hard by the result that she had to hospitalised.
“Ahkeela is soft-spoken but still always quietly happy. It’s a strange Ahkeela right now simply because of the disappointment. She just a bit sad knowing that she didn’t do what she wanted to do for her country. Ahkeela has a degree in psychology so it was a bit strange how the result affected her. But she, like all the members of the team, gave it their all and it was visible. There were a lot of emotions involved,” he added.
Over the past three years, Mollon had opted to focus on her club career in Sweden and only returned to the national team upon request earlier this year. And while the nation mourns a similar World Cup exit of the 1989 men’s team, Wilson has called on supporters to continuously rally around the women.