Kinja reply list

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WallflowerEllie Shechet
6/28/16 10:56am
“A month before she won her final championship, in 2008, Ms. Summitt dislocated her shoulder while shoving a raccoon off the deck of her home in Knoxville, then tried for two hours to reset her shoulder before calling a doctor.”

This is the most Tennessee thing that has ever happened.

Rest in peace Pat and thanks for all the inspiration to this Tennessee girl and girls all over the world. You’ll always be one of the greats.
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  hereforthecheetosWallflower
  6/28/16 11:09am
  That’s an amazing anecdote, and it somehow doesn’t surprise me. I’m UConn fan, but always admired Coach Summitt - what a legend! She was such a champion of women student-athletes.
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  thetallblonde loves twinjaWallflower
  6/28/16 11:11am
  my family is from lenoir city, and this story is legend amongst us. we only wish we were this cool. she is going to be sorely missed.
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TeachplayloveEllie Shechet
6/28/16 10:48am
I have so many Big Feelings about Pat Summitt, but I am oddly relieved that she and her family “only” had to deal with the diagnosis for 5 years. (I realize that she probably had signs for much longer.) My grandmother lived for ~12 years after her DX of Alzheimer’s and it was horrible.

Thanks Coach. I hope you knew what you meant to women and women’s sports.
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  WallflowerTeachplaylove
  6/28/16 10:58am
  Seems like it moved really fast, but I thought the same thing. I’ve seen a few family members go through very long excruciating battles with Dementia. She reminded me a lot of my grandma who was one of the strongest women I've ever known, and she knew when it was time to go. I bet Pat was the same way even in her later stages.
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  BurnThisAccount45Teachplaylove
  6/28/16 11:01am
  I was shocked at how quickly it moved. My mom has the same type of dementia that Pat had and there’s a tiny part of me that’s jealous that she (and her family) only had to deal with it for 4 years. Watching my mom go through this has made me plan how I'd end my life if it happened to me.
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Annie from the Grog BoothEllie Shechet
6/28/16 10:49am
Fuck Alzheimer’s. It’s becoming the leading cause of death of elderly women, I believe, and yet I never see ribbons or months or corporations calling for research and donations. It’s a disease you cannot possibly understand unless you have someone who has been affected by it. To this day, Seth Rogens speech to the house committee (I think) still brings tear to my eyes.

Sending lots of 💖💖 to everyone here who knows what it's like to watch someone you love turn into a shell of a person.
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  BurnThisAccount45Annie from the Grog Booth
  6/28/16 11:04am
  The Alzheimer’s Association does amazing work, especially in their assistance for caregivers. It’s also just not going to get as much funding because people assume it’s a normal part of aging. It’s not, especially not the type Pat had. I look at my 66 year old mother, who also has early onset Alzheimer’s and compare her to my husband’s 95 year old grandmother and it kills me.
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  TwiterTwoubleAnnie from the Grog Booth
  6/28/16 11:12am
  My step dad is taking his mother to the doctor today for a diagnosis, he and my mother made the appointment and are taking over. His father has refused to take his wife to the doctor for the last 4 years because “There’s nothing anyone can do.” Fuck that guy and I'm hoping for the best for her.
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bitcholaporvidaEllie Shechet
6/28/16 11:35am
My mom will be 70 in two weeks and is in the very early stages of dementia. Reading stuff like this terrifies me about what’s to come.
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  BurnThisAccount45bitcholaporvida
  6/28/16 11:52am
  Get her on the meds now. They don't make a difference after a certain point but they can really make difference early on. Especially the Namenda XR, I think the slow release helps a lot.
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  MmmCandyCornbitcholaporvida
  6/28/16 12:27pm
  Reach out to someone.
  
  The Alzheimer’s Association has free help at 1-800-272-3900, Hilarity for Charity has online support groups for younger people who need help, and her doctor is also likely able to point you in the right direction.
  
  One of the most important things I can recommend is to take care of yourself. Caregiving is rewarding, but it can be really frustrating and tiring at times, and you can’t care for your mom if you aren’t well.
  
  Good luck.
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mschicklet8388Ellie Shechet
6/28/16 11:26am
Her stare was more intimidating than any other coach’s bluster, yelling or profanity. What I always admired about Pat Summitt was her way of being herself with zero fucks to give if anyone liked it. She played hard, she worked hard, and she expected and demanded both from everyone around her. She was too busy living and coaching on her terms, in her way, to care if anyone thought she was nice, sweet, or ladylike enough.
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QE2sstankfaceEllie Shechet
6/28/16 11:26am
Did yall know her players had a 97% graduation rate? Her impact on the game cannot be overstated. She’s the best basketball coach of all time, men’s or women’s. Vol for life.
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  thegirlriotsQE2sstankface
  6/28/16 1:47pm
  Ugh, why is there no orange heart emoji?
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KateFaceEllie Shechet
6/28/16 12:22pm
I grew up a UConn fan and the games vs. Tennessee are some of my favorite sports memories. Even as a kid rooting against her team, I had so much respect for Summitt and what she meant for women’s basketball. Her intensity, passion, and DGAF attitude about how she was perceived made her an inspiration to me growing up.
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  LibrarySchoolDropoutKateFace
  6/28/16 2:06pm
  Growing up in Connecticut those games were a Big Deal. It never occurred to me that is was odd for all the neighborhood dads to gather around the tv and drink beer while watching women’s basketball.
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Dolly Pardon Me (neé PrettySerious)Ellie Shechet
6/28/16 12:51pm
Pat Summitt is one of my personal heroes. A badass bitch who got shit done, who won Olympic medals, earned championships, raised a family and showed the world that women can own the basketball court, too. I was lucky enough to meet her a few times on campus and she was always the epitome of a warm, lovely woman who was devoted to her home state like no other.

One of my favorite memories of Pat was in 2007, a few days before UT’s big rival football game with Florida. Pat and Bruce Pearl came into one of the UC cafeterias and both stood on the tables. The whole place went quiet, which was quite a feat, and each spoke a few minutes about how much they love the school, how much being a Volunteer meant to them. Then they lead the students in a call-and-response chant of “BLEED” and “ORANGE”... The whole place was effectively an ecstatic frenzy when they left. I’m not sure that I ever felt more proud of being a Volunteer than I did right in that moment.

Oh, and a moment of Pat badassery that the article didn’t mention? When she was 9 months pregnant with her son, she still went on a recruiting trip to meet potential ladies for the team. While there, her water broke but she finished meeting her girls over several hours and then boarded the plane home. Although she was in *active labor* and the pilots wanted to land to have her taken to a closer hospital, she told them to FLY FASTER because her son would be born in Tennessee. And you don’t fight Pat Summitt, especially a Pat Summitt in labor. Her son was born right where she wanted.

Rest easy, Pat. You are gone far, far too soon.
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  FallenOffTheRecordDolly Pardon Me (neé PrettySerious)
  6/28/16 4:04pm
  Great story. Thanks.
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  Crunch-TacosDolly Pardon Me (neé PrettySerious)
  6/28/16 5:37pm
  I came to Jezebel instead of Deadspin to read stories like this. I’m sad for lots of girls in my life today. We use the term hero a lot for women and it’s inherently sexist, but if anyone deserved to own the title of shero it’s Pat.
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TrakzEllie Shechet
6/28/16 10:50am
Watching her coach, as an impressionable young teen at the time, always listening to teammates and friends ribbing the women’s game, she turned “girls basketball” into just basketball for me - a thought process that extended beyond the court, and helped me become the man I am today. Amazing coach, amazing woman. She will be missed greatly. :(
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Stig-a-saw-us wrecks sez Bernie is wrong on nuclear power.Ellie Shechet
6/28/16 11:12am
I respect the shit out of this woman and her Lady Vols.
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  PetesDragonStig-a-saw-us wrecks sez Bernie is wrong on nuclear power.
  6/28/16 11:43am
  My cousin played for her and was Kara Lawson’s roommate. After a game, Pat stopped by our table to praise my cousin and to talk with the family. A class act.
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