Jaqueline Wears Her Gold

October 24th, 2011 UPDATE: Jaque finally gets to wear the gold medal from the Pan American Games.

She’s in great spirits! With what she’s been through, she deserves that GOLD medal!

Congratulations Jaqueline!.

Side Dish: Due to her condition, Jaqueline is officially out of the World Cup roster. Coach Guimaraes will bring the following players to Japan: Sassa, Paula, Mari, Garay, Tandara, Sheilla, Adenizia, Thaisa, Fabiana, Juciely, Dani Lins, Fabiola, Fabi and Camila.

October 21st, 2011 UPDATE #8: Jaque gets emotional talking to Fabi after Brazil captured the gold medal in a epic 5-set match against Cuba.

Fabi wore Jaque’s jersey during the awarding ceremony and the rest of the team dedicated the gold they promised they’d win for her.

Emotional moment but this time with happy tears.

October 20th, 2011 UPDATE #7: Jaque appears in a Brazilian TV show to talk about her incident.

We’re happy she is great spirits! Hang in there Jaque! We love you!

October 19th, 2011 UPDATE #6: Jaqueline has arrived in Sao Paulo, Brazil this morning where was was welcomed by her mother, Josiane. Jaque will stay with her mom for the next few weeks while recovering. It’s still unknown if she will play at the 2011 World Cup but Coach Ze Roberto said that he’d like to take her to Japan since it has been the plan. On the other hand, Jaque plans on spending some mother-daughter time on her path to recovery.

October 18th, 2011 UPDATE #5: Jaqueline cries at press conference but assures everyone she is fine and “will come back!”. She also wishes her teammates the best and she’s rooting for them to win the gold medal.

Power Quote:

“The exact word is strength. I learned this from my childhood with my family. We went through various difficulties and we managed to get over them. But one thing I can show people is to never give up. I am a fighter. As I like to say, I am Brazilian and never give up. I will do everything to recover quickly. I promise you I will come back and play volleyball.”

UPDATE #4: Let’s start with the good news.

The good news is that Jaque has checked out of the hospital but will remain in Guadalajar, Mexico for a few more days. A press conference is scheduled tomorrow regarding her condition. The bad news is that it will take about 8 weeks for Jaque to recover which means she will not be with Team Brazil at the 2011 World Cup which starts on November 4th.

(images: vipcomm.com.br)

Jaque is required to wear a neck brace after she doctors found out a small cervical fracture.

In case you didn’t know, Jaque missed the 2007 Pan American Games after the Brazilian Federation suspended her due to doping. She was tested positive after taking a dietary supplement.

UPDATE #3: Jaqueline in stable condition but is out of the Pan American Games. The Brazilian outside hitter still needs more tests to make sure she is okay. Doctors at the San Jose Royal Hospital confirmed that Jaque has a small cervical fracture which is not life threatening.

Wikipedia says: “A cervical fracture is commonly called a broken neck. There are seven cervical vertebrae (neck bones) in the human neck, and the fracture of any can be catastrophic. The most common causes are traffic accidents or diving into shallow water. Abnormal movement of bones or pieces of bone can cause spinal cord injury resulting in loss of sensation, paralysis, or death.”

Aside from asking the staff if Brazil won against the Dominican Republic, Globoesporte also reported that the 2008 Olympic gold medalist has talked to her mother and husband, Endres Murilo.

It is unknown when she will return to Brazil.

UPDATE #2: Brazilian players show support to Jaque via Twitter.

Giba: “Ficamos sabendo do lance da @jaquelinevolei, mas não estamos vendo o jogo então é rezar pro melhor.”

Gustavo, Jaque’s brother in law:” “Não sei nada da @jaquelinevolei, esperamos q não seja nada…Tranquilo Fratellino @Murilovolei8 (sic)”

Carol Gattaz: “”Parabéns as meninas que ganharam na estréia do Pan de 3 a 1! e mandando forças pra @jaquelinevolei e rezando pra ela estar bem! Boa noite!!”

UPDATE #1 : After a series of tests, nothing abnormal found in the results. This is great news!

***

This is not her year at all!

In her first match at the Pan American Games against the Dominican Republic, Brazilian outside hitter had a head to head collision with libero Fabi as they both tried to save the point. Fabi seemed ok after the incident but the crowd went silent for Jaque who was on the floor conscious but motionless for a few minutes.

A medical staff took a crying Jaqueline out on a stretcher and she had to be taken to the nearest hospital.

Initial diagnosis is that she has injured her “cervical spine”.

We hope it’s NOTHING SERIOUS!

It’s been a tough year for Jaqueline and she doesn’t deserve to be in another tough situation. She deserves a break! This is her firt appearance at the Pan American Games and she was too excited to play. She trained hard and waited for this tournament. Hang in there Jaqueline!

FORCA JAQUELINE!

Side Dish: Brazil defeated Dominica Rep 3-1.

Stay tuned for more updates.

(images: uol.com/ globoesporte.com)