Steph's Anesthesia Stories

Hey guys!

My name is Stephanie Patton. I’m a sophomore at Liberty and I am from a small town called Hiawassee, Georgia! Most people have no idea where that is, so I always just say it’s two hours from Atlanta. I started high school at Towns County HS, and then transferred to Hayesville HS before my junior year.

You might have seen me play at the beginning of the year, but now you can catch me on the end of the bench in my street clothes and huge knee brace! I recently tore my ACL playing basketball and am, unfortunately, out for the rest of the season. It’s never fun to have a major injury like this, but I know that God is going to use this experience to help me grow in my relationship with Him and others! I will be able to learn from this journey and use it to minister to people who are going through similar incidents.

I had surgery a little over a week ago and I was super nervous about it. It was my first time ever being under anesthesia and I found out after surgery that I get REALLY loopy from it! Luckily, my dad video taped the whole thing and I have a bunch of hilarious videos of me singing loudly and acting crazy in the surgery center! You can see one of them on my instagram page... @steffip5

I am really excited to tackle this injury and get back on the court! Thanks for reading.

Go Flames!

-Stephanie Patton #5

Getting to Know Kaila

Hello Everyone!

My name is Kaila Ballard and I am a freshman from North Carolina. I left high school after my first semester of my senior year to join the Lady Flames last January. Having to leave before playing my final season in high school ever was the toughest decision I've ever made, but joining this outgoing squad made it all worth it!

North Carolina is not only home but to me it's the BEST place on earth! I was born and raised in Gates County. The girls, Tatyana to be specific, always make fun of the way I pronounce my hometown and now I've gained the nickname of "Gates County".

Transitioning to Liberty has been a life-changing experience - from being away from family, to missing certain big events, and leaving my friends for my final semester - but my teammates remind me that family is what you make it and that's what we are!

If I'm not in the gym somewhere I'm usually in the closest shoe store! I am a sneaker fanatic! I just loooovvveeee to buy shoes. I also enjoy spending quality time with my friends and family, because that is what means the most to me.

I am a Kinesiology major and I plan on becoming a health professor in the future. Liberty University has been a blessing to me and I'm so thankful to chasing my dreams!

Go Flames!

-Kaila Ballard #00

Molly's Dedicated Grandparents

Hey Everyone!

Throughout last year and this year, the Liberty Women’s Basketball team has gone to some pretty cool places to play. Last year we were able to go to Las Vegas, Nevada, and this year we have been able to travel to Indiana and San Antonio, Texas.

While it is always exciting and fun to see and experience theses new places, playing games so far away from Virginia can at times be difficult, or at the very least, quieter than playing close to home. Families aren’t often able to travel so far away, and the Liberty fan section can become pretty sparse. Luckily, however, I have a set of grandparents who were able to come to both the tournament in Vegas last year and the San Antonio tournament this year.

My grandparents, or as I call them, Nana and Papa, live near Austin, Texas, but are still very much enthusiastic and vocal supporters of Liberty Women’s Basketball. It was such a blessing to be able to spend time with last year at Thanksgiving in Nevada, and I was so glad to be able to see them this year in San Antonio. It is always great to see familiar faces in a crowd of strangers, and I am so grateful they are willing to travel so far to see their granddaughter play. While the games they watch might not always turn out in our favor, they are so positive and encouraging. I can’t wait to show them even better games in the future! Love you Nana and Papa!

Go Flames!

-Molly Reagan #40

Tatyana's Christmas Trips

Hi Everyone,

As many of you know from watching our games, I pride myself on being the loudest (Coach Green would agree) and most hyped person on our team. If you have not seen this in action, come out and watch a game or two, and check out the bench whenever Pre-Law Green gets an And-1 or when Iva-Eve knocks down a 3-ball. It is guaranteed that the entire team will go bananas and I like to lead them in the celebration. 

However, I'm going to share with you about more than basketball today. I'm going to tell you about the few days we have off around Christmas each year and the epic ways my family has allowed me to spend that time.

In November of 2015, my parents told me that we would be spending Christmas on the island of Curacao. It was crazy trying to quickly get a passport and find all the annoying necessary documents, but we finally got everything squared away and my passport came in the mail. Finally, there was nothing standing in the way of me and my first time being outside of the States! Curacao was absolutely beautiful. There is something so special about standing out on the sand and looking at the vastness of the ocean, even thinking of that right now kind of makes my palms sweaty. If you have been to the beach then you can sort of understand what I mean. 

Not only was it my first time out of the country, but I went snorkeling with my family and saw so many odd fish. Curacao is a Dutch Caribbean island and NONE of the road signs were in English, so it was very humorous watching my parents try and navigate through this foreign country. I made so many memories with my family and laughed until my stomach hurt. We said goodbye to Curacao, and I was thankful to travel over the Christmas holiday, but the traveling did not stop there.

This year my parents told us that we would spend the Christmas in Cancun. WHAT?!?! If you think that I am hype on the bench during the game, you should have seen me when they told me this news. I was excited to add another stamp to my passport. Waking up to 80 degree weather on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day does something weird to your mind because most of us expect cold weather; so driving around Cancun in the heat and seeing Christmas lights hung up was somewhat comical. Mexico was short and sweet. I only end up having 2 days in paradise due to flight troubles after our tournament in San Antonio, but the two days were needed. While in Cancun, I got my first ever massage and I drooled because it was just that relaxing.

Well, now you guys should know some interesting facts about how I spend my Christmas breaks and maybe on my next blog I will have visited about country - possibly Aruba!

Go Flames!

-Tatyana Crowder #4