Tallahassee Democrat | 06/09/2004 | FSU basketball player dies
Posted at 6:26 AM
Tallahassee Democrat | 06/09/2004 | FSU basketball player dies: "Parade magazine named Pierce a third-team All-American after her senior season at Turner County High School in Ashburn, Ga., where she rewrote the school's record book and had her No.55 retired. She played 29 games off the bench last season at FSU, averaging 5.3 points and 3.5 rebounds.
'She was a soft-spoken kid with a big heart,' said Lauren Bradley, who was a senior on last season's team. 'She would do anything for anybody, and she was really willing to learn. You could just see her grow so tremendously as a person and as a player." ...

"People with Marfan syndrome are advised to avoid physical sports, including basketball, as well as any strenuous activities that can potentially place stress on the aorta.

"'I can confirm to you we do not test for Marfan syndrome,' FSU spokesman Rob Wilson said.

"An echocardiogram, which uses sound waves to produce an image of the heart, and a slit-lamp examination of the eyes are often used to assist in the diagnosis. But Eileen Masciale, director of communications for the National Marfan Foundation in Port Washington, N.Y., said physicians need to be able to first see the big picture.

"'There's no simple test,' Masciale said. 'It takes a physician who's going to see the whole person - or an ophthalmologist who sees somebody has a dislocated lens and knows that that's the hallmark of only a couple things.'"