For a high school athlete, being given the chance to continue playing sports at the college level is often a dream come true. Southeast Missouri State University women's basketball player Brooke Taylor received that chance and nearly lost it.

Taylor came to Southeast in 2010 from Bismarck High School in Bismarck, Mo. She was a four time all-state, all-conference, all-district and all-region selection in high school. During her senior year, Taylor led her team to a 23-4 record and a conference title averaging 23.8 points, 9.9 rebounds and four steals. Entering the 2010-11 season, Taylor was ready to showcase her skills at the college level.

"My expectations were high for the basketball team," Taylor, a 6-foot-1 forward, said. "I wanted to come in and do whatever I could to help our team succeed. I was anxious to try and take on whatever role there may have been."

Unfortunately Taylor would not get that chance.

Taylor was diagnosed with a severe iron deficiency in September 2010. Doctors said she had the lowest iron count they had ever witnessed in a living person. While running tests, doctors also discovered that Taylor had atrial fibrillation, which meant her heart rate would jump to dangerously high levels during workouts. Taylor learned in October 2010 that she would miss the entire season.

"I still had that mindset of a child, where I think nothing can actually stop me from doing what I want to do," Taylor said. "I didn't ever think I wouldn't be able to play again, but I did question if playing would ever be the same again."

Taylor has been surrounded by basketball her whole life. She watched her older sisters play in youth sports clubs and all the way through high school. She is often in the gym early and leaves long after practice is over. For Taylor, there isn't much of a life outside of basketball. Her diagnosis hit her hard.

"It was the most stressed I have ever been in my life," Taylor said. "I wasn't the same without playing. I have never just not participated in sports."

Taylor's social life was affected as much as her basketball career. She said all she wanted to do was sleep. She didn't have much of a social life because her illness would make her too tired, and people began to think of her differently.

"I didn't have the same relationship with my teammates as everybody else did because I wasn't going through what they were, or putting in all the hard work and effort they were," Taylor said. "I felt helpless on the sidelines as I cheered them on, but [I] didn't always know what to say to help them."

After a series of tests, doctors never found what actually caused Taylor's iron deficiency. Today she takes iron supplements, and she is in good health and ready to play.

"Playing the previous season without Brooke was hard because there was one less scorer, one less rebounder and one less player that could be used," senior guard Bianca Beck said. "With the amount of injuries we had last year, and not being able to use her, [it] really put a dent in the roster.

"I'm excited to see her be able to play this year," Beck said. "Her presence will change the dynamic of the team offensively and defensively."

John Ishee, the coach who recruited Taylor to Southeast, was not offered a new contract after last season, when the team finished 8-21.

"She's a real player and had she been able to play, I'd probably still be employed," Ishee said.

Southeast has high hopes for the 2011-12 season. The team is ready to compete with a fresh direction from new coach Ty Margenthaler.

"She gives us a lot of energy and [is] obviously someone that can put the basketball in the hole," Margenthaler said. "She's going to be a real bright player in the future."

Taylor is just as eager to return to the court.

"I feel like I am back to the way I used to be," Taylor said. "I'm not sure what I can bring to the team this year, but I know that I will do whatever I can to help all of my teammates and work as hard as I can to be the player our coaches would like to see me be."

Taylor no longer has to undergo iron infusions or blood transfusions. For now, her iron levels are stable.

"I'd like to say as long as I take good care of my body and keep watching it that this will never happen again," Taylor said.

Even with everything Taylor has gone through over the past year, she never let it break her spirit.

"I could remember the way I felt when I played," Taylor said. "Nothing else can give me that feeling. It's hard to explain it, but I learned to love both the good and bad side of the game."