Last fall, Anna Burhmann arrived as a first-year student at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn. There, as a member of the varsity field hockey team, she started seven of the Pioneers’ games in a 2-14 season.
The Dusseldorf, Germany resident was credited for giving good energy whenever she patrolled the pitch.
But six days ago, she was on a ski trip in Colorado when she left the trail and crashed into a tree. She was rushed to a hospital where it was discovered that her spinal cord was severed and her C6 and C7 vertebrae were broken.
As with many of these kinds of personal tragedies, a GoFundMe account was set up to pay for medical care. And if you look at the donors, the breadth of support she has received has been astounding. Teams such as LaSalle University, Franklin & Marshall, Delaware, Princeton, Bryant, the Souderton Strikers club team, and Point Pleasant Boro (N.J.) have chipped in with donations and words of support.
It is times like this when the American and international field hockey communities come together as one and show strength and support. I invite you to do the same.
