scary time for harvin
Posted: Tue Nov 20, 2007 9:57 am
Percy Harvin has scared defenses ever since he arrived at Florida last season, but no cornerback covering him has been half as scared as he was last week.
Getting beaten for touchdowns is far less serious than having headaches that left him wanting to beat his head against a wall to make the pain go away. Harvin, who is known for his blazing speed, was slow to recover from debilitating migraines and nausea that prevented him from traveling to South Carolina for one game and would keep him from playing in a second.
"My mom and everybody were just crying because there was nothing anybody could do," he said after returning to practice Monday for the first time in nearly two weeks. "I just had to cry myself to sleep some nights."
Harvin was coming off an incredible high when the headaches hit. He became the first player in Florida history with 100 rushing and receiving yards in the same game as the Gators clobbered Vanderbilt 49-22 on Nov. 3.
With UF's SEC finale against South Carolina looming, he led the team with 45 catches for 714 yards, adding 442 rushing yards on 54 carries. Out of nowhere, he was incapacitated.
UF coach Urban Meyer said Harvin was diagnosed with a sinus infection and migraine headaches. Harvin had experienced migraines for many years, but none like these.
"I've had them since I was about 10 years old," he said. "It just never got this bad before. It wouldn't go away. I couldn't see. I was dizzy. I couldn't walk. I was constantly in and out of the hospital to get IVs and stuff. It was the worst I had and the worst I ever felt. I was just nauseous and throwing up."
UF's original game plan against South Carolina focused on Harvin, but after missing the final two practices of the week, he was unable to leave Gainesville.
"I tried to make it until the last minute, but going on the plane would have just made it worse, so I think we made the right decision," he said. "I slept the whole game and saw it the next morning on Sun Sports. I'm happy to be back."
It beats lying on his back, which was all Harvin said he could do when the worst migraines hit.
"You feel like your heart's beating in your head," he said. "You can't see anything and you just have to lay down and be in a dark room. I turned the lights off and just slept."
He said more than a week after his initial headaches, he finally started feeling better with the help of medication doctors administered. After missing every practice last week, he was on the sideline, though not in uniform, for UF's game against Florida Atlantic. He ran on Sunday and returned to the practice field Monday afternoon.
Earlier in the day, Meyer said Harvin looked like himself for the first time since his ordeal started. If the headaches don't return, he should return to the lineup against Florida State this Saturday.
He provided a scare against the Seminoles last year when he was carted off the field with a neck injury, only to return a week later and ring up 167 total yards on Arkansas in the SEC Championship Game.
He hopes to make the Seminoles the victim of his return performance this time.
"It just felt good to come to practice today," he said. "When we went out there, I was smiling and all happy. Everybody knew I was happy to be back out here."
Getting beaten for touchdowns is far less serious than having headaches that left him wanting to beat his head against a wall to make the pain go away. Harvin, who is known for his blazing speed, was slow to recover from debilitating migraines and nausea that prevented him from traveling to South Carolina for one game and would keep him from playing in a second.
"My mom and everybody were just crying because there was nothing anybody could do," he said after returning to practice Monday for the first time in nearly two weeks. "I just had to cry myself to sleep some nights."
Harvin was coming off an incredible high when the headaches hit. He became the first player in Florida history with 100 rushing and receiving yards in the same game as the Gators clobbered Vanderbilt 49-22 on Nov. 3.
With UF's SEC finale against South Carolina looming, he led the team with 45 catches for 714 yards, adding 442 rushing yards on 54 carries. Out of nowhere, he was incapacitated.
UF coach Urban Meyer said Harvin was diagnosed with a sinus infection and migraine headaches. Harvin had experienced migraines for many years, but none like these.
"I've had them since I was about 10 years old," he said. "It just never got this bad before. It wouldn't go away. I couldn't see. I was dizzy. I couldn't walk. I was constantly in and out of the hospital to get IVs and stuff. It was the worst I had and the worst I ever felt. I was just nauseous and throwing up."
UF's original game plan against South Carolina focused on Harvin, but after missing the final two practices of the week, he was unable to leave Gainesville.
"I tried to make it until the last minute, but going on the plane would have just made it worse, so I think we made the right decision," he said. "I slept the whole game and saw it the next morning on Sun Sports. I'm happy to be back."
It beats lying on his back, which was all Harvin said he could do when the worst migraines hit.
"You feel like your heart's beating in your head," he said. "You can't see anything and you just have to lay down and be in a dark room. I turned the lights off and just slept."
He said more than a week after his initial headaches, he finally started feeling better with the help of medication doctors administered. After missing every practice last week, he was on the sideline, though not in uniform, for UF's game against Florida Atlantic. He ran on Sunday and returned to the practice field Monday afternoon.
Earlier in the day, Meyer said Harvin looked like himself for the first time since his ordeal started. If the headaches don't return, he should return to the lineup against Florida State this Saturday.
He provided a scare against the Seminoles last year when he was carted off the field with a neck injury, only to return a week later and ring up 167 total yards on Arkansas in the SEC Championship Game.
He hopes to make the Seminoles the victim of his return performance this time.
"It just felt good to come to practice today," he said. "When we went out there, I was smiling and all happy. Everybody knew I was happy to be back out here."