BYU football defensive lineman Atunaisa Mahe back after terrifying brain issue
BYU freshman defensive lineman Atunaisa Mahe sacks the quarterback during the 42-14 Cougar win at Utah State on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2019.
BYU sophomore defensive lineman Atunaisa Mahe is listed at 6-foot-1 and 302 pounds, so he is a big, powerful guy.
So last year when he found himself numb on his entire left side and barely able to move, he knew something was really wrong.
“All I could do was say, ‘help,'” Mahe said during Thursday’s teleconference.
Fortunately for Mahe, he had a roommate who was there and helped him get to the emergency room. There it was discovered that he had a venous thrombosis, when a blood clot forms in a vein, in his brain.
“It was a sort of like a freak accident,” Mahe said. “What triggered it was overworking but I was really devastated. The first thing on my mind was, ‘man, I won’t be able to play football.'”
He said he had seen a few signs but hadn’t realized their significance.
I was getting ready for camp and I just noticed that when I was running the left side of my my arm started getting all numb,” Mahe said. “I thought I was just dehydrated. Before that I had a headache for like three days, and we’re lifting and I just essentially felt like a little release in my head. I felt good but when I went back home, pretty much the whole left side of my body shut down. Luckily I had a roommate who was able to take me to emergency room and we were able to try to figure things out from there.”
He explained that there was talk about doing surgery but the doctors decided to try a less invasive approach first.
“They told me that I could just go on a blood thinner,” Mahe said. “I was essentially on blood thinners for approximately seven months. Then when I was able to get off of it, we just did regular appointments to check my brain and they said it was completely gone.”
He said it wasn’t easy to miss the 2020 season but that he has seen good things come of his traumatic experience.
“It’s been a blessing, putting my life in the hands of the Lord,” Mahe said. “I’ve just been able to see that whatever he wants from me, that is what I’m gonna do. I had this opportunity to come back and play, and it’s been good. I feel good. I’m not 100% but I’m just slowly, gradually getting into things and so it’s been it’s been a blessing for sure.”
Mahe comes in as one of many Cougar defenders who have experience but also have big shoes to fill.
“It’s just continuing to build off of what we’ve been doing,” Mahe said. “Obviously, we’ve had players like Khyiris Tonga, really good people to watch. Now it’s just continuing to listen to what the coaches tell us to do and to perfect that over the offseason.”
He said the BYU’s defensive system that includes rotating a lot of players onto the field makes a difference because there is familiarity with in-game situations.
“It is just easier to play,” Mahe said. “Everyone is willing to step up, and I think that’s what’s so amazing about our defensive lineman. Every single person, whether it’s the ones, the twos, the threes or even the fours, all of them want to play. It’s just whoever puts in the work and the dedication. They’ll be the ones who see who see the field. All of us are just competing and taking care of each other at the same time, but it’s that factor of just wanting to get out there and and fill in the shoes. So we have we have a lot of motivation.”