Love and basketball
Cancer-fighting Alex Pledger is returning to court between gruelling treatment phases,
It’s been a week of milestones for Alex Pledger.
Last Tuesday, the 2.15cm former Tall Black basketballer married his partner and best mate, Bailee, in front of close family and friends at a Central Otago winery.
This Tuesday, Pledger pulled his trainers on and headed off to practice with the rest of his ILT Southland Sharks team.
He’s aiming to be back on court when the Sharks take on the Canterbury Rams in Invercargill on July 15.
For someone recovering from an intensive regime of chemotherapy and exhausting radiation ahead of a surgery for colorectal cancer that may change the way his body works forever, it’s a big goal.
The Blenheim-raised athlete told the Herald on Sunday he was excited — but also nervous — about his first game back for the franchise where
he’s racked up 72 games.
“It might take a couple of weeks before I’m ready to play a bit as I haven’t trained in a while,” he said.
“But I am confident I’ll be able to get on court before the season is over.”
His first few days of training had been low-key but he was hoping to do more as he became stronger. “It’s been pretty light,” he said. “The last thing I want to do with surgery being just over a month away is to rush back and get injured. “So I’m building it up day by day.” Next month the 34-year-old will undergo a procedure called a low anterior resection to remove the tumour.
At the same time, the surgeon will perform a temporary ileostomy, making an opening, called a stoma, that creates a pathway from the lowest part of Pledger’s small intestine to the outside of his abdomen to help solid waste and gas exit his body without passing through the colon or rectum.
They will then give him a few months to heal and decide whether they reconnect his organs or create a permanent stoma through a colostomy.
That decision will come down to how well he heals and how much viable tissue and muscle is present.
If there is not enough, he will have the stoma for life and will have to change a disposable bag several times a day.
Pledger is positive about either outcome.
He — and his new bride — will take anything that will keep him alive.
They want a family, they want a future and the man who played 70 times for New Zealand’s national team and notched nine seasons with the Breakers has much to do on the court too.
“I’m a little nervous if I’m honest,” he admitted.
“Pretty much every surgery I’ve had has been sport or injury-related.
“While the cancer was discovered at an early stage, I’ve never had surgery that you would consider lifesaving, so naturally I am a little nervous.
“But the surgeon performing the operation has an amazing reputation with the specific cancer I have, so I have 100 per cent faith and confidence that he will do a great job.”
Wilson-Pledger, a social media producer and online content creator, will never forget the day her nowhusband was diagnosed.
The couple became engaged two years ago while living in Melbourne, where Pledger was playing for Melbourne United.
When Covid-19 hit and after enduring the massive Melbourne lockdown, they packed up and moved to Christchurch, where Wilson-Pledger’s family live.
Not long after that, they headed to Invercargill when Pledger rejoined the ILT Southland Sharks.
The day of the diagnosis, WilsonPledger sent off the wedding invitations — never imagining her whole world was about to be shattered.
In the months that followed Pledger completed five weeks of Monday-to-Friday radiation at Dunedin Hospital and daily chemotherapy in tablet form.
It was physically harrowing for him — and left her emotionally bereft at times.
But, helped and supported by family, friends, medical staff and people they met going through the same cancer journey, they made it through stronger than ever and very ready to walk down the aisle.
The wedding was small but perfect for the couple.
Pledger felt “better than before the diagnosis” and surrounded by their closest friends and family and beloved dog, Boris, they sealed their union at Gibbston Valley Winery.
“Afterwards, we were exhausted,” said Wilson-Pledger.
“The last two years have been chaotic, and we’d only been back in the country for a few months when Alex was told he had cancer.
“To be fair, the treatment has knocked Alex way more than the actual tumour — he was sweet for the first three weeks, he was a little bit tired but he was fine.
“The fourth week he was sleeping 20 hours a day . . . the chemo tablets made him a little bit nauseous but the added pressure of the radiation, he was really not okay. Alex didn’t leave the house for two weeks, he didn’t go out the front door, he couldn’t come to the supermarket with me, he couldn’t even go for a drive.
“But now he seems to be fine — he’s got to get fit and healthy before his surgery.”
There’s no plan for Pledger to give up the sport he loves — other than to recover and rebuild his body.
With or without the stoma, he will still be able to train and play as he is now, just with a few life adjustments.
“He will be absolutely fine — they’ve had rugby players return to the field; you can swim with them,” said Wilson-Pledger.
“Yes it’s a life adjustment but he’ll just get on with it.
“From day one we’ve been getting really comfortable with the idea of a stoma — we’ve done lots of reading and talked to people who have them.
“Alex said to me ‘if we end up with a stoma, we end up with a stoma but at least I get to survive, it’s not the end of the world’. So that has been his mindset, and anything better than a stoma is a bonus.”
The couple feel incredibly lucky his cancer was picked up when it was, and that it has not spread.
“It hasn’t gone to the lymph nodes, it’s nowhere else, it’s just there,” said Wilson-Pledger.
“Apparently he’s had it for about five years — he’s played with it, he’s won championships with it.”
Wilson-Pledger said the basketballer’s health and fitness masked many of the symptoms and it was only when they started becoming intense that he went to the doctor.
“When all is said and done I want to come back and throw a huge party for the doctors and nurses and just remind them that they have saved a life,” said Wilson-Pledger.
Pledger wanted to be back on court this weekend but after the wedding, he decided to ease in a bit slower.
“He’s been saying he wants to get on, even if it’s just for one minute,” his wife said.
“He said ‘if I get on I want to do a really good job’.
Since his diagnosis, Pledger has been in close contact with his coach, Rob Beveridge, who has been working hard with him on his health, fitness and nutrition.
Pledger has lost a fair whack of weight during the cancer treatment so a crucial part of the comeback plan is to bulk him up again.
“I worry about him.” said WilsonPledger.
“I’m immensely proud of him — I feel like I was proud of him anyway but through this.
“He has just stared it down and got it done.
Pledger was pragmatic about his health but refused to be anything less than optimistic.
“Although it’s obviously a tough situation to be in, my long-term prognosis is very positive so I have a lot to feel positive about,” he said.
“The best advice I can give to others facing difficult health journeys is to lean on family and friends and try to remain as positive as possible no matter what challenge you face.
“You will have good days and bad days but your attitude and mindset are some of the biggest weapons you have against whatever challenge you are facing.”
I’m immensely proud of him — I feel like I was proud of him anyway but through this . . . he has just stared it down and got it done.
Bailee Wilson-Pledger
You will have good days and bad days but your attitude and mindset are some of the biggest weapons you have against whatever challenge you are facing.
Alex Pledger