Kaminsky’s Last Match Was a Memorable One

An athlete’s last high school event is always special, but Alemany High’s David Kaminsky will remember his for unusual reasons.

Hours before he was to play his final volleyball match, Kaminsky, a senior outside hitter, woke up, looked around and became disoriented.

The wires running to and from his body provided a clue. He was in a hospital.

Despite having eaten a package of hard candies before noon, Kaminsky, a diabetic, blacked out because of a severely low blood-sugar level.

He was rushed to the hospital around 2 p.m., received a glucose solution through an IV and was on the road to recovery when he received a phone call around 3:45.

It was Alemany Coach Jamie Quaglino, who told Kaminsky that good health was more important than anything else, including the regular-season finale that night against Loyola.

Kaminsky had his own priority list. He told Quaglino that the match “is too big and I’m going to be there, even though I practically almost died.”

He wasn’t exaggerating. An average person’s blood-sugar level is between 80-120. Kaminsky’s was at 38.

But after recovering for a few hours, he begged his doctor for clearance to play in the 7 p.m. match. He promised to stop if he felt even a touch of dizziness. His blood sugar rose to 94 and he received clearance.

Carol Kaminsky drove her son to Loyola, arriving 20 minutes before the match.

Kaminsky’s teammates were relieved and hugged him.

They didn’t know exactly what had happened until they arrived at Loyola. The ride on the bus was very quiet.

The match wasn’t so serene.

Kaminsky had 15 kills, but Alemany lost in four games and fell into a three-way tie for third place in the Mission League. The Indians lost a tie-breaking coin flip the next day and did not make the playoffs.

“It’s hard to lose [to Loyola] in circumstances like that and not reward him,” Quaglino said. “It’s why you’re in coaching, for kids like that. I would have liked to get it for him, for his courage and dedication.”

The season is over for Alemany, but Kaminsky, who has had diabetes for five years, feels like he has a new lease on life.

“I’m just happy to wake up in the morning,” said Kaminsky, who recently doubled his daily insulin shots.