the spiritual climate on campus c h r i s t i a n u n i o n : : t h e m a g a z i n e
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After battling a life-threatening infection , Tori Kinamon ’ 17 is researching ways to reduce MRSA among athletes .
most traumatic experience of my life ,” said Kinamon . “ I knew He would continue to bless me .”
Likewise , Kinamon was quick to reflect her faith on campus as she shared her saga with fellow athletes and classmates . When it comes to her remarkable recovery , Kinamon credits tangible support she received from friends in Athletes in Action ( aiabrown . org ) and prayers from parishioners at her home church , Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Peachtree City , Georgia .
“ I was very blessed to have some teammates with strong faith ,” Kinamon said .
During her initial season for Brown , the gymnast crashed , resulting in a perilous wound deep in her left leg . Kinamon ’ s battle with the painful infection of MRSA left her with a two-foot scar and the loss of a chunk of muscle . After eight surgeries over two weeks and four months of physical therapy , Kinamon resumed normal activities .
“ It was a really tough road ,” Kinamon said .
As a student athlete , Kinamon was shocked when physicians discussed the possibility of amputation . “ Everything I had been priding myself on was gone ,” said Kinamon . “ I felt so helpless . In that moment , I was stripped of everything but my faith .”
Still , Kinamon felt a strong prompting to pray , quickly followed by a tangible sense of peace . “ That ’ s what I really needed in that moment ,” she said .
Amazingly , Kinamon recovered , relearned to walk and run , and returned to the mats . However , setbacks to her athletic career were not over as she later tore her Achilles tendon and her anterior cruciate ligament .
Nonetheless , the Georgia native ended her athletic career at Brown with a series of accolades , including four All-Academic honors from the National Association of Collegiate Gymnastics Coaches . In acknowledgement of her return to her beloved sport , USA Gymnastics presented Kinamon with its Mari-Rae Sopper Spirit Award and the Eastern College Athletics Conference gave the gymnast its Coaches Choice Award .
Not surprisingly , Kinamon welcomes opportunities to inspire athletes . “ If people can see God at work in your life , it ’ s a tremendously humbling experience . I always point it back to God ,” she said .
Before her ordeal as an injured athlete , Kinamon would never have considered a career devoted to infectious diseases . “ When I really dove into that subject area at Brown , I expanded my perspective ,” said Kinamon , who majored in health and human biology . “ It was kind of a traumatic experience . It really shaped me as a person .”
While much of the research on MRSA concentrates on controlling outbreaks within hospitals , there is limited material on managing the risks to healthy individuals , especially athletes who are at elevated risk .
Under the guidance of Eleftherios Mylonakis , a Brown professor of medicine , molecular microbiology , and immunology , Kinamon orchestrated a meta-analysis of the scientific literature on the bacteria in athletes .
In 2016 , Clinical Infectious Diseases published a paper she co-authored with a Brown medical team entitled Colonization with Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus and Risk for Infection among Asympto-matic Athletes : A Systematic Review and Metaanalysis . Among the findings , Kinamon noted MRSA is present within 13 percent of U . S . collegiate athletes , while colonizing just 2 percent of the general population .
With the help of a Royce Fellowship in Sports and Society , she began looking into ways to prevent new cases among players . Not surprisingly , Kinamon recently won the George W . Hagy Prize in Human Biology as part of the Brown Biology Senior Prizes program . In addition to her role as a student researcher , Brown cited Kinamon ’ s volunteer work with the Community Health Advocacy Program , among a series of contributions the gymnast made on campus and in Providence , Rhode Island .
As for the future , Kinamon simply wants to help people stricken by the bacterial infection that nearly claimed her leg , but not her determination . “ I ’ m just kind of taking a leap ,” Kinamon said . “ The work I ’ ve done could help a lot of people .” | cu