Detoured, but Not Derailed

The way Mike Arvesen sees it, his twin brother, Dave, has a knee injury coming.

A brotherly wish in the Cain-and-Abel neighborhood? Hardly.

Understand that the Arvesens have had it a bit rough recently. Mike and Dave, two solid Fountain Valley athletes, have had to sit out because of heart problems.

Both, on the somewhat lighter side, joke about having root canals on the same tooth because of elbows tossed about in basketball games.

Then there’s Mike Arvesen’s knee, which he injured as a sophomore. His surgery is the only major difference between the two.

For now. But all things being equal . . .

“Dave’s probably due to tear his knee any day now,” Mike said, laughing.

Nothing like a little gallows humor to brighten your day. What’s next, a reading of Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”?

Ah, but for the Arvesens, life and laughs, go on.

Sure, Mike sat out his junior basketball season because an irregular heart beat was detected. He came back this year, only to black out during a game.

Dave was then tested and was cleared to play volleyball. A month after Mike passed out, Dave suffered from the same symptoms in practice and he, too, was sidelined.

Both have arrhythmia, a similarity they could do without. But, shucks, why let it ruin your day?

“I could sit here and sulk, but I’d rather have fun,” Mike said.

Mike has, playing some doctor-approved pickup games while waiting to undergo tests this week. The only regret was missing the playoffs after helping the Barons win the Sunset League basketball title.

Dave is a little more on edge, but not so much about his upcoming tests. He’s just not ready to call it a season, not with the Barons ranked second in Orange County. He’ll be back this season, or so he vows.

Arvesen could only watch Friday, when the Barons beat Huntington Beach, then ranked No. 1, to pull even in league volleyball race. That, to him, was stressful.

“I felt so helpless on the bench,” Dave said.

Helpless? An Arvesen? Come on.

Dave, after all, took a wallop in the mouth a year ago during a basketball game against Huntington Beach. He came back to hit a three-pointer in the final minute.

Said Coach Gordon Billingsly: “He got his tooth knocked out. So his dad comes down, looks at Dave, and said, ‘He’s all right.’ So I put him back in and he wins the game. They’re tough kids.”

Tough? Mike first injured his knee playing basketball as a sophomore, then severely tore ligaments playing volleyball. He worked himself back, then the heart troubles began.

It was an out-of-the-blue blow. Neither he, nor his brother, had had problems during their soccer-basketball-volleyball filled youth.

Down but not out, he returned this season, showing the same grit as his brother. Mike was whacked in the mouth during the Los Alamitos game. He came back to hit two game-winning free throws, making the root canal worth it.

He kept playing despite suffering from dizzy spells during practice, stopping only after he passed out during the second Los Alamitos game.

Mike’s problems led to concerns about his brother. But Dave, who decided to concentrate on volleyball this year, was checked and was given the OK to play. The dizzy spells began three weeks ago.

Then he was told he couldn’t play against Huntington Beach the night before the match.

“The biggest game in my life and I couldn’t play,” Dave said.

Then, smiling, said: “I almost had a heart attack watching it.”

Well, from the Arvesens’ perspective, why not laugh?

“It’s not the end of the world, it’s a game,” Mike said. “We have a long road ahead of us. This is just a speed bump.”