Torres' coach diagnosed with rare blood disorder

Updated: 4:55 p.m.

Six-time Olympic coach Michael Lohberg of the Coral Springs Swim Club has been diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a rare blood disease. Lohberg was supposed to be on his way to Singapore to help swimmers -- including 41-year-old Dara Torres -- prepare for the Beijing Games.

Instead, he is fighting for his life.

Lohberg, 58, is seeking care at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., with doctors who specialize in the disorder. Sun-Sentinel.com quoted Lohberg as saying: "The NIH is specialized in the disease and treatment. I don't think I can say what the prognosis is until they do the tests. The prognosis of these doctors [in Florida] is very bleak. There isn't much to say until I see these specialists."

Lohberg's comments as reported on MiamiHerald.com on Thursday night were equally bleak: "It's really, really bad. They told me I might last only weeks, or maybe even days. It's bad. I knew something was wrong because I was very tired and out of breath, but I thought it was from my herniated disk and all the stress. Turns out it's a disaster."

Torres, who says she has been emotionally drained by the experience, first noticed something was wrong with her coach and said he had a bad back before they left for the Olympic trials, and that he was becoming more and more tired in Omaha, saying, "He barely could walk 10 meters without having to sit down."

Lohberg learned of the rare blood disorder while preparing for a relatively common back procedure last weekend. Doctors performed routine blood tests that uncovered aplastic anemia, a condition in which the bone marrow stops producing new blood cells.

Torres, a five-time Olympian who has trained with Lohberg for two years, told McClatchy Newspapers  that she is devastated: "It's so awful, really, really terrible. I can't even talk about it right now. I haven't stopped crying."

Lohberg has been coaching Torres and six other Beijing-bound swimmers.

-- Greg Johnson

Photo: Swimmer Dara Torres looks over at her coach, Michael Lohberg, during a July 1 news conference in Omaha. Credit: Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press Photo

Comments

[Ward Duft]

Sorry to here about Mr Lohberg's diagnosis. The good news is there are new treatment options for aplastic anemia, ranging from ATG chemo therapy to, in worst case scenarios, bone marrow transplants. My wife has the disease and was successfully treated with the former over three years ago. She was completely healthy until the birth of our daughter. And though she is now showing potential signs of a reoccurrence, we're confident that we'll put it at bay, or cure it, again.

Best of luck to Mr. Lohberg and let's hope this disease finally gets the attention it deserves.

[Marcia Barnhart]

Our prayers and thoughts are with Coach Lohberg and his family. Our family was affected by Aplastic Anemia in November 2004. Our seventeen year old son was diagnosed with this during his junior year of high school. The prognosis was bleak but he went to Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio and he too receive ATG chemo therapy. After numerous blood transfusions and almost a year of recovery he is a healthy sophmore in college,currently completing a summer intern with our Congressman. Thanks to all the doctors and nurses at Children's and to all the blood donors our son's prognosis is good.

[Elizabeth]

My thoughts are with Mr. Lohenberg and his family during this time. It is definitely tough and shocking to be diagnosed with such a rare blood disease - and I definitely feel for him and his family. I was diagnosed with aplastic anemia a year and a half ago. It was a startling diagnosis because I had, up to that point, lived a very health life, so the shock of such a diagnosis was great, and on top of the fact it is such a rare disease. However, the prognosis these days for aplastic anemia patients is not as bleak as the article makes it seem. I was sucessfully treated with ATG therapy - and while not a cure - I am back to living my normal everyday life medicine free.

[Marlena]

I myself am an Aplastic Anemia survivor. This disease is treatable! Michael Lohberg has every reason to be hopeful. Best of luck - the NIH is a great choice.

[Linda Gordon]

I am an Aplastic Anemia Survivor. I had the ATG treatment back in January of 2007, it slowed down the decline and even brought a lot of my counts up. I am not to the normal level, but I am less dependant on transfusions and just need to adjust my lifestyle.

Mr. Lohberg, don't let this get you down. You might have to change your lifestyle a bit, but it is not as bad as it use to be.