One of the most important things basketball taught me is to take the wins when you can, because they can be hard to get.

I started playing basketball when I was little. My dad had a lot to do with that, training me, motivating me, and I loved it. I played Division 1 all four years of college, graduated into coaching and was named associate head coach of the UVM Women’s Basketball team in 2021.

That next year, we won the America East Conference! It was amazing, but I wasn’t feeling good physically at the end of that season. I had constant vision problems, migraines and vertigo. Then I found out why.

I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, for which there is no cure. MS can be managed, but stress makes it worse. So, I made a hard choice and stepped away from coaching a successful D1 program to focus on my health. It really hurt. Basketball, playing at a high level and coaching, is who I am.

That summer, my mom lost her second battle against breast cancer. She passed away in July. As much as her loss hurt, my family and I had time to prepare. I picked myself up. ‘We’ll get through it,’ I thought.

Six weeks later, I got a call from the hospital, at night. I was like, ‘What’s this? My mom’s gone. What are they calling for?’ What I heard I didn’t want to believe. My dad had been playing basketball with my brother… he had a heart attack… and then he was gone.

So much loss.

For the next year, I sat with my grief. I tried not to ask why, tried not to blame anything. I just tried as hard as I could to accept what had happened and move forward.

I found others who were grieving, and we became a team. We supported each other, listened to each other, helped each other get back up after devastating losses.

I got my MS symptoms under control. There are still hard days, but I get through them. Each is a hard-fought win. I also got a win I didn’t expect. Basketball came back into my life, this time coaching a high school program. The stress is less, and it connects back to the joy of the game I shared with my parents.

Now, wins don’t feel as hard to find. They are just a little different.

Dominique Bryant is a network talent acquisition coordinator for UVM Health.