Roaring Back to the Green

Collapsing during her first major junior golf tournament was a clear sign that something was seriously wrong with Emily Sumner ’21. When she was in the eighth grade, doctors said her trouble catching her breath must be asthma. But the 2014 on-green collapse ended with a new diagnosis. At Johns Hopkins, doctors told her the air sacs in her lungs fill with fluid rather than air because of a rare disorder called pulmonary alveolar proteinosis. Two surgeries in just four months and an experimental treatment returned some of Sumner’s lung capac- ity and put her back on golf courses. She finished second among women Bronco golfers in the 2018-19 season. “She’s a great role model, not just for our team and other Santa Clara kids, but for other people who are having health challenges to show that you really can achieve your dreams if you work hard and you find the right place,” says Krystal Kelly, Santa Clara head women’s golf coach.