Now that Puerto Rico’s Diana Reyes volleyball team is out of the Olympics after their failure to advance, the pregnant athlete should hopefully be heading home…at least for the sake of her unborn child, given Zika risks.
Right before departing for Rio this Summer, Reyes got into a really bad car accident which forced her to the ER. During a follow up check up, she got the shocking news that she was two months pregnant.
Reyes didn’t let the Zika fears stop her from pursing her Olympic Dream.
Leading up to the Olympics started, the World Health Organization reported close to 100,000 cases of Zika and Rio had three times the number of cases than any other state in Brazil.
Reyes said: “I learned of the pregnancy two days before travelling. I can play, there is no restriction. Our coach congratulated me and knows I can play. I’m waiting for my chance.”
Brazilian outlet Globo Esporte reports Reyes only told her team-mates once they arrived in Rio.
Reyes was not involved in Puerto Rico’s first two matches but played in the final match.
In pregnant women, the Zika virus immediately attacks the fetus, etching away at brain development. Babies born to mothers carrying Zika are often diagnosed with microcephaly, a condition in which the baby’s skull is too small for its brain, crushing the brain and causing severe damage.
Hopefully, Reyes is heading home though the US has declared Puerto Rico’s Zika outbreak a public health emergency. She has to be careful there too.
Oy!