A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the American Heart Association.
Purchase T-Shirts or Hoodies
To purchase the desired product, fill out the form below. You may purchase more than one of the same item in a single order. To purchase different items, you will need to fill out the form multiple times. There is also an option to donate an additional amount to the American Heart Association. Your T-Shirts or Hoodies will be shipped within 4 weeks of the order.
Keeli Burton-Oliver and the American Heart Assoc.
I have been given an awesome opportunity to partner with the American Heart Association and Cloud 9 sports to raise awareness for athletes to make sure they get regular EKGs and cardiac testing. It is important for all athletes to know about the state of their heart health. I am an ambassador for the AHA “Life is Why” campaign and I appreciate your support! Check out my first couple of shirts and sweatshirts that I was able to collab on and design and are now for sale! 35% of the profits go to the American Heart Association and there is an option for an additional donation at check out.
Here is my story-
In June 2020 every single aspect of my life as I once knew it changed. 12 days before I left for college to start my freshman basketball season at Arizona State, I had an abnormal EKG at my doctor. They didn’t seem concerned, but my mom and I were. 3 months prior to this appointment a longtime friend of mine, Sam Roos, passed away due to an undiagnosed heart condition, so the possibility of something being wrong with my heart caused me unexplainable amounts of anxiety. We rushed to what ended up being my 1st of many cardiology appointments and I was told that my condition was serious, I would never be able to play basketball again, and would probably need a heart transplant by the time I was 40.
I was diagnosed with left ventricular non-compaction syndrome. Right after this, I had moved to Arizona, living away from home for the first time, and soon after that lost some longtime friends and I had completely lost my identity. I didn’t know who I was without basketball and without the people I love around me (thankfully God gave me the best roommate ever, Jaddan Simmons, so I was very grateful for that). ASU never cleared me for competition because they wouldn’t assume “my risk” if I played with my condition.
In desperation to hold on to my team, and new friends I had made at ASU, I appealed 6 times to try and get them to let me play. I lost every single one. Throughout my appeals, I underwent 3 cardiac MRIS, 4 cardiac stress tests, saw 6 cardiologists including the head NBA cardiologist in New York, and wore heart monitors for a total of 792 hours trying to prove I could play since all my testing was showing that my condition was not as serious as the first cardiologist made it out to be, but all of that did nothing. I transferred to Washington State University hoping to prove I could play there but after everything that had happened over the last two years, my mental and physical health had declined so much that it was just not possible. Learning life with no basketball was hard. I learned a lot about myself during this time. I am a pre-med major and I hope to go into cardiology to learn more about my uncommon condition and help others with it. I have not given up on my dream to play college basketball and in the last few months, my health and heart tests have been excellent. Since I originally wrote out my story, there has been an exciting new development in my life.
I am happy to announce that I found a school willing to support my return to basketball, with a medical team that understands my condition and any restrictions I may need. With consistent monitoring and a gradual build-up of exercise, I am hopeful to be able to play next season for the University of Montana and coach Brian Holsinger. Go Griz!