‘Life-changing surgery’ helps Spector make long-awaited return

Brannon Spector hasn’t played a down of competitive football in more than a year, but Clemson’s rising junior wideout considers the last 12 months the most productive of his life.

That belief is rooted primarily in his newfound perspective.

“I realize that there’s more than football to life, and you grow closer to the ones you love,” Spector said. “Nobody knows when you’re going to get sick. Take advantage of the time you do have and never take it for granted, being healthy, because I guess at times I did. I thought I was invincible.”

That time served as a frightening reminder for Spector that adjective doesn’t apply to anybody, particularly in the midst of a pandemic.

Spector last caught a pass in a game during Clemson’s Sugar Bowl loss to Ohio State in January 2021. A few months later, he contracted COVID-19, which triggered a long, frustrating fight with respiratory issues that admittedly made Spector wonder if he’d ever lead a normal life again, much less play football.

“I would take a deep breath in, and I couldn’t get any air,” Spector said.

Shortly after his coronavirus diagnosis, Spector said his oxygen levels dropped rapidly even when just walking the halls of the hospital. At night, he said, his resting heart rate sat at 38 beats per minute, far lower than the 60 to 100 that’s normal among healthy adults, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine.

Spector and his family were perplexed. He said he saw doctors in Clemson, Greenville and throughout his home state of Georgia, but all of the X-rays and MRIs came back clean.

“The most frustrating part was not knowing for so long what’s going on,” he said.

Spector then turned to a specialist, who helped him discover a gastroesophageal reflux issue stemming from complications related to the novel coronavirus. To hear Spector tell it, one of the valves to his heart quit functioning properly after he contracted COVID-19, which caused stomach acid to shoot back into his esophagus and lungs and left Spector with asthmatic symptoms.

With a diagnosis finally in hand, Spector underwent surgery in December to reconstruct the valve. Spector said he had to go on a liquid diet for a couple of weeks after the operation and lost roughly 25 pounds as a result, but the surgery gave him the relief he’d been seeking for months.

“It’s been a life-changing surgery,” Spector said. “It’s honestly been enough help to get me on the field.”

Three weeks after the operation is when Spector said he began thinking he might be able to return to the football field, where he’s been all spring. Spector is back practicing with the Tigers, though he’s slowly gotten himself re-acclimated. He started off on a bike before progressing to walking and some light jogging.

He returned to the team earlier this year in time for mat drills, a vigorous part of Clemson’s winter conditioning program. It all took some getting used to again, but Spector said he’s just glad he’s back to normal. That also includes eating some of his favorite foods again like chicken wings and pizza after a year of what Spector described as the “most bland” diet in an effort to not aggravate his symptoms.

“Honestly I could’ve cried (after the operation),” Spector said. “Not breathing for an entire year and then finally getting a breath of fresh air, it’s just amazing. It’s a new start of life.”

It’s far from the only emotional event that’s happened in Spector’s life of late. His diagnosis came while his mother was battling stage 3 colon cancer. His grandmother passed away in June, and an uncle followed a month later.

But Spector said his mother is cancer-free at the moment, and he’s back with his team. With fellow receiver E.J. Williams (knee) out this spring, Spector has gotten most of the first-team reps in the slot, a reality that, given what’s transpired for him and his family over the last year, puts him in his feels again.

“I’m still in disbelief of me being back out here honestly,” Spector said. “I thought I would maybe get some routes in there and go to the sideline, but I haven’t missed a period. … It’s incredible. It’s almost emotional to talk about.”