Haley Morrone: Health Scare “Could Have Been Much Worse” if It Weren’t for CrossFit
Haley Morrone knew something was wrong.
This past May, her period was heavier than normal and she found herself bleeding irregularly for the entire month.
Then, she started to feel dizzy, especially when she worked out.
- “We’re in Texas, and it has been extremely hot here, so I was almost wondering if it was maybe heat exhaustion,” Morrone said.
Morrone lost 100 pounds since starting CrossFit 10 years ago. She went on to become the affiliate owner of Converse CrossFit in Converse, TX, but closed her gym in the spring of 2022 and now is a coach at CrossFit Virilis in Cibolo, TX.
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Needless to say, Morrone has a good sense of her body and immediately contacted her doctor once she started feeling dizzy.
- “They did some tests, they gave me some antibiotics…and sent me home,” the 41-year-old said.
The antibiotics made no difference, so three weeks later, in June, she returned to the doctor and the same thing happened: Her blood pressure, heart, and lungs all looked good, and she was given more antibiotics and told she was fine.
Morrone knew she wasn’t.
- “I have been doing CrossFit for 10 years, and because I’ve lost 100 pounds, my journey has always been about modifying workouts, always pacing myself, always listening to my body, so I have never been the type of person who has pushed myself to where I would throw up or anything like that,” she said.
A Medical “Mystery”
All of a sudden, she was vomiting after workouts and couldn’t even make it through demonstrating a few movements to the class.
Morrone’s doctor had referred her to an obstetrician-gynecologist, but her appointment wasn’t until late August, and she knew she couldn’t wait that long.
So, two weeks ago, looking pale and feeling weak, Morrone checked herself into the emergency room at the hospital.
Her blood was drawn and her hemoglobin levels were determined to be at a “critically low” level, she explained.
The normal hemoglobin level for women is between 12 to 16 g/dl, and Morrone’s was at 5.4. A level this low means oxygen no longer gets transported to the body effectively, which explains why she was out of breath all the time.
The doctors couldn’t believe she was functioning as well as she was with that low of a level, Morrone explained.
- “CrossFit must be doing something good for you,” she said of their reaction.
Getting Better
Doctors requested a CT scan, and it turns out Morrone had a large mass the size of a lacrosse ball pushing on her cervix. Further investigation determined it was partially in her uterus and partially in her cervix, so her cervix was essentially dilated as if she was about to give birth.
- “That’s why there was so much bleeding,” she said.
Luckily, the mass was not malignant, but Morrone went into surgery immediately to have it removed.
Again, doctors praised Morrone for being in great shape and for her body’s ability to be as strong as it was despite the trauma it was being put through.
- “They kept saying the fact that I was in such good shape and taking care of myself is why I was able to keep my heart strong, my lungs strong,” said Marrone, who started handing out one free class passes for her gym to all the practitioners at the hospital.
Morrone was released from the hospital last Saturday, has been recovering at home, and couldn’t be more excited to get back to the gym the moment she can.
She’s well on her way and has noticed that the back pain she had been experiencing in the last year has all but disappeared already.
- “I feel a million times better,” she said.
Morrone’s Message
Morrone’s message to others is to advocate for yourself when it comes to your health. If you know something is wrong, don’t settle until you have an answer.
- “They basically told me I was OK. Here’s some antibiotics, go home. And I knew, no, there is something wrong. This isn’t normal. So making that choice to actually go to the emergency room, and saying, ‘Hey no, I need to get seen before August 20th.’ Because who knows what would have happened if I would have waited,” Morrone said.
Featured image: CrossFit Virilis