Since early in the season’s first game at Western Kentucky, defensive lineman Zach Colvin’s year had been
in question.
There are no more questions. Colvin is officially done for the season after not playing since the second
quarter of Bowling Green’s opener when he experienced problems breathing.
The journey to figuring out Colvin’s condition is no less than head scratching.
What was initially thought to be a heart condition turned into a lung condition. When the lungs checked
out, the doctors settled, agreeing that Colvin suffers from Vocal Cord Dysfunction. The ailment doesn’t
allow Colvin to breathe properly, especially when under the duress of a highly-physical activity.
"Right now I’m in vocal cord rehab to repair what’s wrong," Colvin said. "Essentially my
vocal cords were closed so I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t inspire air. Right now I’m doing speech
language pathology rehabilitation, which works on relaxing those muscles (around the vocal cords) for
the first half (of treatment). Then the second half is being able to relax those muscles while
exercising to get better air flow."
Colvin, a senior, said he expects a full recovery by the middle of January or early February. In the
meantime he plans to redshirt after the season, making him eligible to return to the Falcons for
2015-16.
"This process definitely tested my commitment to football and my love for the game," he said.

That process was lengthy. What could have been a memorable senior year has turned into a season of
medical exams and uncertainty.
Colvin said some of the early signs of his troubled breathing came in fall camp, but he didn’t give it
any thought, thinking it was just fatigue.
Immediately following the game at Western Kentucky he went for tests, originally bringing on the
diagnosis of an atrial septal defect, which would have required a heart surgery to correct. But after a
transesophageal echocardiogram doctors found that their original diagnosis was wrong.
"Initially when they thought it was the first diagnosis they said they didn’t understand why I was
having these problems this late in my career," Colvin said, adding that these types of problems
would have typically been noticed much earlier in his playing career had it been a correct diagnosis.

After discovering a minor birth defect, a patent foramen ovale, which is a small hole in the heart that
had no effects on his symptoms, doctors sent Colvin for pulmonary tests, thinking the issue could be in
his lungs.
"I saw three pulmonary doctors and did tons of tests," Colvin said. "They had no answers
for me. We didn’t know what to do."
Finally, on Nov. 3, with eight games of his senior season gone, Colvin saw his last doctor who diagnosed
the VCD after finding nothing wrong with his lungs.
"It’s a diagnosis you come from when everything with your heart is OK and everything with your lungs
is OK. That’s why the process took over three months," he said.
Since the diagnosis Colvin has started light exercise such as riding a stationary bike while going
through his rehabilitation.
"To think I needed surgery to now I just need a couple months of rehab and I should be able to get
it back. It’s definitely a big relief," Colvin said.
The season hasn’t been a complete loss for the 6-foot-3, 287-pounder. He has taken advantage of watching
practice and games from the outside learning the smaller details of the game – a perfect situation for
somebody who wants to be a coach in the future.
"It’s been different to see it from a different point of view," Colvin said. "I’ve just
tried to learn as much as possible while keeping an open mind. I’m learning a lot about the game.
"A lot of the stuff I’ve already picked up on," he said. "Being able to sit and watch an
opponent during the game and notice the little things, it’s going to help me tremendously next
year."